I have a 92 SI hatch, D16z6 with 88,xxx. Car have been overheating lately. I only drive the SI two days a week.

What I replaced in from May 2024 to now (Aug) in order.
1. Thermostat (Car overheated 3 mins after startup).
2. Fan switch and temp sensor (was still showing signs of overheating after replacing thermostat).
3. Radiator and cap (replaced because still overheating, slightly above normal)
4. Water pump (replaced because overheating still exists)
5. Wired fan directly to power with ON/OFF switch but still have same issue.

I bled the coolant each time it was exposed to air. This car is precious, so I do not beat the heck out of it and drive with care since not many are around anymore. I don't believe it can be the head gasket, though I have not done the compression test. Coolant don't look mixed of signs of contamination.

what can be causing this issue?

 

Warped head

 

What are the Signs of Overheating that you speak of? The reason I ask is you said that is started over heating within 3 minutes. Heck it takes my little d15b7 10 minutes just for the gauge to move

 

The 3 mins was what started it all. After that, signs of overheating is driving for a good 20 mins you can see the temp gauge slowly climbing above normal. When I come to a stop sign, light, or roundabout the needle goes up to in between normal and Hot, and will drop back down to slightly above normal.

i notice mine gets to normal temp after 2-3 mins of driving after initial startup. Not sure if it's a small engine that does that or not because my 2014 accord gets to normal temp anywhere from 7-10 mins of driving.

 

ok, get an actual temp gauge from autozone/amazon wherever, an analog gauge. tee it in at the thermostat housing and see what the temps actually are, If the dash gauge is climbing at a stop light or drive thru, thats normal, its when your driving down the road and the gauge goes to HOT is the problem. A lot of times it could just be a bad ground causing the gauge to act wierd

 

Alright weird thing happened. So last week I was driving home from work and heard a loud thump. Didn't think much of it because I was behind a large truck and though a rock must have gone under the car. When I got home yesterday, the tensioner pulley was just sitting on the belt holding its dear life. The loud thump was actually the nut that held the pulley. I found a spare nut and put the pulley back together. Car operated in fine with normal temp this morning all the way to work.

Could this slight overheating be caused by the friction of the pulley sitting right on the crank and AC belt?

 

Go buy a lottery ticket. YOu got VERY lucky.
Yes the running warm could be caused by a slipping belt. Glad its fixed