Ok so after I finally get my distributor fixed my car starts overheating.. I figure I have a blown head gasket cuz the oil looked like chocolate milk.
Well, replace the head and the gasket just cuz I had an extra one laying around and now it still overheats. The weird thing is, is that after letting the car warm up, it stays at a constant level (below half, no t-stat. Was a temp fix) then it'll start to get above half so I turn the car off. As soon as I turn it off and then immediately turn the to the "On" position, it goes back to the mark where it should be. Turn the car back on, hangs there for a sec, then gauge goes back up.

 

are your fans turning on? thermostat working properly?

 

might be the temp sensor, check/replace it

 

Still making chocolate milk, I'm thirsty? Did you bleed the air of the system? Are you losing antifreeze?

 

I took the thermostat out and it fixed it for a day.
Yes my fans are working.
I haven't gotten the oil changed yet due to this problem.
When I get back home, I'm gonna refill the coolant back up to see if it eats it or not.

 

Did u bleed you cooling system

 

was teh new head checked for flatness and surfaced before going on?

 

New head is good. Helped my buddy take it off his running car so he could put a vtec head on.
No, I have not made it back to my house to put coolant back in my car yet.

 

Ok so coolant was low, refilled it, and now it overheats ONLY WHEN I USE THE GAS. It's fine at idle.

 

make sure the radiator cap is holding pressure, also start the car up with the cap open and let it warm up, once it is decently warm watch for bubbles in the coolant, especially when revving...you may have exhaust getting into teh system and leading to overheating.

 

I watch the overflow tank and when car gets warmed up, it starts bubbling there. ONLY WHEN IT WARMS UP.

 

sounds like you got exhaust leaking past the head gasket to me (though I have been wrogn before as i will detail briefly). i had a b18c that would only leak it when it was warm AND when pressing the gas WHILE moving. and i spent half this summer chasing cooling problems on my d15 powered crx car, ended up replacing the radiator, radiator cap, all hoses, water pump, fan motor, thermostat and finally headgasket with the head being milled as well.

 

Alright. So it is more than likely another warped head...

 

Put your thermostat back in.
Without a thermostat, the water rushes by the cylinder walls and doesn't have a chance to soak heat off them.

 

got to agree with that, make sure all parts are there before testing it!

 

Alright, I'm gonna go do that. I will let y'all know what the result is.

Wait, wouldn't more flow equal less heat? How would putting something in a motor to restrict coolant flow help take heat off?

 

Ok so it's building pressure in the cooling system... When it got to operating temperature, I took it up and down the street. Drove it normal and did a little spirited run, ran fine for a little and then started heating up so I got it back to the house. As soon as I got in the driveway and let it idle, it calmed down and went back to the normal temp.

And this is after I put the t-stat back in and poured more coolant back in

Could a radiator cap fail and not allow the overflow to go into the reservoir?

 

The speed of the flow is important, not just the volume. It's thermal transfer. Just like how you can touch a hot pan really quick and not get burned. your hand isn't on the pan long enough for the heat to transfer and burn you. Just how not running a thermostat allows the water to rush past the cylinders and never have a chance to carry the heat away.

If you haven't been running a thermostat for a long period of time, then you could cause radiator and heater core damage from erosion. The increased velocity can wear through the thin wall tubes inside them.


Does the temperature stabilize with the heater on?
Is your ignition timing set correctly?
Are you losing water?

 

you may have a bad radiator cap
your radiator may be plugged
also you may have a broken impeller on your water pump.
it would easy to check the radiator
pull the upper and lower hoses
and fill with a garden hose at the upper hose location
with radiator cap on
water should flow out of the bottom port without backing up.

 

I have a new waterpump BUT, I can't get the crank pulley off... Stuck a screwdriver in the hole (no pun) and the damn thing wouldn't budge.. All it did was bend the screwdriver.
Anyway, it seems like there is A LOT of pressure in the cooling system cause the hoses are almost rock hard.
I do lose coolant. And I ran it WITHOUT a t-stat for 1 day.
Also, I figured out why it overheats, it only overheats when the coolant level gets low. If it starts getting hot, I pull over, fill it back up, and I'm good to go until it runs low again.

 

Sounds like you have a leak!
Do you see any wet spots on or around the engine?

So many different methods for getting the bolt off.
Most will say a GOOD impact wrench. But that is $ and if you let it hammer on the bolt then you risk damage to the crank bearings.

For me, I remove the inspection cover (very easy) between the engine and tranny and then lock up the flywheel.
Runs the risk of cracking the transmission case.
Not my picture.


The CORRECT tool for the job is on the right
It goes through the holes in your crank pulley and locks it.
Again - not my pic



You -NEED- a 1/2 ratchet or breaker bar.
If you use a ratchet and the bolt is stupid tight, then expect that the internals of the ratchet may break.
Get ONE extension if you can just so the breaker bar clears your fender.
Put a pole on the back end of the bar and sllooooowwwly pull it to the ground.
I use an old 4 foot piece of fence pole.
Do not jerk or bounce on it or you may break your tools.
Just a nice easy pull to the front of the car.

While you are at it, replace the timing belt and idler pulley.

 

you can use a long 1/2 inch breaker bar
with a 17 mil deep socket
that is all you really need
attach the socket to the breakerbar
then fold the breakerbar into the suspension area of the car
put the socket on the bolt
make sure the breaker bar wont go flying off wedge it to the ground or pin it to the suspension.
disable the ignition system
get in the car and bump the starter with the key
the force of the motor spinning against the breaker bar that has been wedged
to the ground or suspension will easily break the bolt loose

 

Sounds like a great way to tighten the bolt on ever further.

 

^yup.

 

Ah I stand corrected I thought you were talking about A 4 cylinder Honda motor which spins counter clockwise I which case what I described will work