Car: 91 CRX Si with a ZC swap that has ~90k miles on it. Sorry if these long and/or easily findable through searching. I'm still in HS taking Auto classes so I'm trying to learn these on my own.
EDIT: Should add. No A/C anything. All parts out. and heater was working fine before I effed things over.
So it is having a few issues and one of them I may have caused and I have another slightly unrelated question.

First
I had to replace the radiator because I accidentally put a hole in the old one. After doing the replacement along with a new lower hose, clamps, and a thermostat, the heater doesn't blow hot air. It blows air slightly warm, but not hot. What did I mess up? I've tried getting air out by letting it warm up with the cap off. Also the lower hose doesn't get hot, and I know it really shouldn't all that often, but the car doesn't overheat or even get to half. Just stays at 1/3 of the space.

Second
After the radiator incident, the lower hose blew (which is when I put the new one in) the fan stopped kicking on. The stupid thing is ziptied in place by the previous owner and so testing it is kind of tricky. Should I be bothered to even fix it if the engine is not overheating?

Third
The more concerning issue (it's cold out here but whatever). The gas tank rotted out on me so I had a shop replace that and I was hoping that it was the cause of my stuttering/bogging issue but it wasn't. I gave it new plugs and wires (Old wires for the CRX motor not the ZC not the right fit). Problem is that the car still stutters and jumps while driving. It is throwing a code for the O2 sensor, but only after a while of driving and never at the same interval. One the CEL lights up though the stuttering stops. Is the o2 sensor my only issue here? (Btw im working on getting it fixed, just waiting for the gasket because I'm pulling it off)

Unrelated question. What should I use to coat my new gas tank to protect it from this midwest winter?

 

O2 doesn't get a gasket. You need a special socket for your wrench.
That is the right place to start to clear your sputtering problem.
Also look into a new fuel filter since your tank rotted. Probably lots of debris made it to the filter. A tank of gas with injector cleaner wouldn't hurt either.

It may be that the thermostat was not installed correctly since your water temp is never getting high enough to made the gauge read higher and since your heater never gets hot.
This might explain why the fan never kicks on - if the water doesn't get hot then the fan won't turn on.

 

I knew i phrased that poorly. I'm pulling the Manifold off the block only because none of the stupid wrench attachments fit the sensor. For clarification on my end, what size is the adapter?

As for the thermostat, I probably put it in upside down. Ya know I told myself look how it's in there before you pull it out. *yoink* shi*...
I just looked it up, I think i put in upside down. I put the small pin on the bottom, can't believe it can make that sort of difference. Also the gasket I got from the store didn't have any notches, that shouldn't be a problem since it sealed tight anyway?

Yup, fuel filter is on my long list of things to change. Any idea on coating that tank before I lose it in two years to Illinois road salt? Thanks for the help so far!

 

I actually don't use a sensor attachment to remove. A few times I tried using the attachment to remove and found the O2 was rusted in place or hadn't been installed with anti-sieze compound. Ended up breaking the attachment.

Now I just break off the end and use a regular socket. Find the right adaptor that fits your new O2 sensor.

 

Sounds like a good idea. I'll see about doing that soon.

 

thermostat should be installed with the bleeder nipple facing up. make sure your heater is cranked all the way to hot. i also go a step further and squeeze all the hoses to help burp air bubbles out. sounds like you just didn't get all the air out of the heater core. hope you used an oem thermostat

 

Thanks for the help! Got the o2 out by pulling the manifold off. New fuel filter in. Rubberized dupli-color black spray on tank for those pesky snow storms and rain and road salt mixes.

She's running smooth again.

I did readjust the thermostat. Bled it quite a bit. Might have killed some wildlife on accident in process... can't catch all the spills. The heat works great on re-circ, but coming from outside it's just warm. Now all I need to do is...

New resistor pack because fan 1 and 2 don't work.
See why that stupid rad fan doesn't turn on
Get cold idle off of 2k and stop it from fluxing between 2 and 1 until warm.

Thanks again, I really appreciate everything you guys do here.

 

1) Those relays or whatever they are should be easy to find at the junkyard. There was a thread no more than a couple months ago about trouble shooting the AC system.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...ighlight=relay

Check that out.

2) Check the thermostat. Maybe the plug is loose. Try to take a piece of wire and connect the plug wires together, skipping the thermostat. If the fans don't kick on, refer to that thread again.

3) Clean your FITV. I am having this issue right now too. Pretty positive it's the thermo valve or the idle air control valve. Generally it's one of the two.

 

1. The blower motor resistor pack just needs to be changed. speeds 1 and 2 don't work but and 3 and 4 do. Get's a little too warm in the car now. Car doesn't have any part of the A/C left inside of it.

2. I'll have to go looking for that and see.
3. Haha, it's too cold for doing that right now, and seeing as this is my only car I can't do it right now, but I will when I catch a break.

 

Hey man, it's called a weekend. It's how I get everything done :D The FITV should be easy to do on a day off. I can understand being busy, but if it is causing you trouble try and make some time.