Hi again,,
Im still having problems with my 95 accord 4 cyl overheating.The other night i drove about 6 miles,and it was normal on the gauge ,then all of a sudden the gauge shot up to the red zone again.
To review the history again,,(a couple weeks ago the rad had a leak in it and the engine overheated...)

Thats when all my troubles begun!

I removed the thermostat the other day,,just to see if it was that,,and it still overheats.I stays "normal temp" when on idle in the driveway,"a bit below halfway",but after a half mile on the road it will quickly shoot up toward the hot!
There is no steam from exhaust,no water in oil,no oil in rad,motor idles very smooth no skips etc....The engine will be hot but the rad is cold (the coils,or fins).both fans operate properly,.The top hose is hot,the bottom warm.Is it a plugged rad?I gotta get this car running ,i just bought it!
What could be wrong?
Thanks!

 

You say you had a leak in the radiator, How did you stop the leak? If you used stop leak or put a used radiator in the car I would start by replacing the radiator.

 

i used Risilone liquid copper rad stop leak.Supposed to seal heads,blocks,and rads.This was after the car overheated the first time with a hole in the rad.Now it heats up again ,and i removed the thermostat,thinking it was that ....it wasnt.
I can squeeze the bottom hose on the rad and it will push the water up through the top fill hole ,,would this happen if the rad was plugged ? Would like to know for i am trying all i can here,,i really like tha car,and would like to keep it,thanks for the help

 

use stop leak goos. They will cause more problems than fix and rarely actually fix the actual leak.

When you refilled your cooling system, did you purge/bleed the system of air with the bleeder screw on the back of the thermostat housing?
Put the thermostat back in, or at the very least, put the restrictor ring of the thermostat back in. Verify that the heater core valve is OPEN when refilling/bleeding the system.

If you overheated the engine enough to peg the thermostat gauge, you most likely warped the head and it will need to come off to verify it is still flat enough to seal.

 

yup i opened the purge valve and the thermostat ring gasket is in also..,,do i leave the rad cap off when doing this,,and also do i run the engine when purging it?

 

Car needs to be level.
Engine off, heater core valve open, bleeder valve open(attach clear hose to watch for fill/air bubbles), refill system through the radiator/radiator cap until radiator is full and no more bubbles from thermostat housing, fill overflow tank between hot/cold marks when done.
Close system.
Start engine and watch temp gauge. It should not go any higher than the first 1/3 on the temp gauge.


If the temp starts to go higher than this, there is something wrong. Do not allow it to get past the half way point, as this is the beginning of overheating of the engine.

 

yes,,,thats what i did,the temp is always there at that point below half..then when i drive it about 1/2 mile it will overheat about three quarters on the gauge
The rad core is cold when the temp is normal,,or high..should it be? The rad core is cold in front .Dosnt seem as thought water is going through

 

Did you seriously not replace the radiator? It's likely it is clogged. It's like $50 for a Denso radiator at rockauto with a 5% off coupon code. If you keep running that car with it overheating you're going to wind up ruining the head gasket and likely junking that car. Is it worth it to you ?

You should first do a compression test to see if the head gasket is still sealing.

 

^This.

If the radiator has not been replaced yet, you are wasting time/money/energy. That small leak or crack on the outside of the plastic tank is just the tip of a gigantic crack on the inside. Replace the radiator before it completely lets go.

 

i am going to get another rad now.That,s why i ask questions here on this site,,,,to get an answer.If i had known to change the rad,i wouldn,t have asked here,,............sorry if i seem "stupid" some of us ,just really dont know what to do,so,we ask...........

 

wow thanks mad mike, never heard of that technique before.
replaced ect sensor and been having trouble with the engine running method.
tried yours and after 45 min things are much better.
another session or two should do the trick.
hats off to you kind sir! 8)

 

the leak wasn,t in the plastic parts,,it was in the cooling fins about halfway down the rad,,,i ordered another rad ill keep you all posted,that,s (if your interested?),and let you know how i made out.Hoping that it isn.t a water pump.........too bad for the car,,its in mint shape!

Like i said before....The rad is cold pretty much all over on the outside,,after bleeding etc,,,Wont overheat while idling,,but drive it 1/4 mile,,the heat hand goes up to max! Can rev it on idle and water surges from rad........so assuming that the water pump is ok............i.m asking here for i don,t know! after all if i knew,,,,i wouldn,t ask...thanks!

 

One way to test for a bad water pump is to squeeze the upper radiator hose when the engine is hot and idling. Careful, because the hose will be HOT! If you do not feel much coolant circulating through the hose when you rev the engine, the pump may be bad. The other cause might be a bad or a clogged radiator, heater core. Replace the radiator.

 

Engine running method is only used on vehicles/engines that self bleed. Older V8s in common RWD configuration use this trick, this allows the coolant to heat up, opening the thermostat to self purge the air. Then the radiator is topped up.

Honda F/H series engines do NOT self purge, this is why there is a bleeder screw on the thermostat housing. Engine off/cold, fill the cooling system until a solid stream or, less messy, the clear vinyl hose stops bubbling. Close the bleeder, complete coolant system fill and then drive while watching the temp gauge.

 

hmmm so what about b series?
it's a b18c1 i'm bleeding.
runs fine after warm up but bogs a bit before then.

 

I'm not all that familiar with Civics/Integras/etc.
I believe some have the bleeder valve in the same location like the Accord, others have it on the water outlet(radiator side of the head) and then some other later models don't have a bleed screw but are 'burped' by fill-up/warm-up/throw-up method. Open the cap after it has warmed up and see if there is need to top off. If not, it will throw-up on you when the cap is opened. But verify that your engine/car has the correct water outlet/thermostat housings with the bleeders(if applicable) in the correct location.

Check that the FITV(if applicable) is working properly, along with the IACV.
Verify that the thermosensor for the computer is within spec for the temp when cold. If it is registering colder than it actually is, the ECU may be commanding for more fuel than needed.
Start with basics, compression check, verify no coolant loss, no pressurization of the cooling system(blown head gasket), etc etc.

 

Just to update on the overheating issue with the 95 accord....it was the rad,i installed a new one and all well! Thanks!

 

Make sure to use 50/50 coolant, if you make it yourself you need to use distilled water along with the full coolant formula.