I just purchased a 96 honda civic. The guy who sold it said he had replaced the radiator. 2 days after owning it, the top radiator hose blew. Thankfully it was an easy fix.
However I have been nervous about the temp and watching the gauge.
Little bit if background, its shifts a little hard, so I have been catious of this and not pushing it.
Yesterday and today I noticed the needle rise slightly above its normal spot, maybe a tad over half while accelerating, after a minute itll go back down. So I wasnt idling, I was moving.
Should I be concerned or is this normal?
Added photos

 

Either you are light on coolant and still have air in the system OR you are seeing the early signs of overheating. This can be caused by lots of things... you will have to start troubleshooting.

 

[QUOTE=Pixierisalove;52905917]I just purchased a 96 honda civic. The guy who sold it said he had replaced the radiator. 2 days after owning it, the top radiator hose blew. Thankfully it was an easy fix.
However I have been nervous about the temp and watching the gauge.
Little bit if background, its shifts a little hard, so I have been catious of this and not pushing it.
Yesterday and today I noticed the needle rise slightly above its normal spot, maybe a tad over half while accelerating, after a minute itll go back down. So I wasnt idling, I was moving.
Should I be concerned or is this normal?
Added photos


Drive it for a few days, then check the antifreeze when its cool. Does it shift hard only when the engine is warming up?

 

[QUOTE=youstolemybeer;52906063]I check the coolant every morning in the reserve tank and its at the cold full line.
ya it does mostly shift hard when its warming up even if i sit and let it get to temp in idle then drive. I do live in a winter state so it gets cold.

 

What type of troubleshooting? I am not car savvy.

 

you need to check coolant level in the radiator when its cold. make sure it is topped off and let it run with the cap off so if there is any air in the system it can bleed itself. make sure to have your heat on. wait for the fans to come on, top off the radiator and put the cap on. it will help if you can get the front of the car up as well. if the temp still rises after bleeding the cooling system, it may be a blown head gasket.

 

I may be wrong, but if the temp gauge is going back down, I would say there is air trapped in the coolant system. I personally dont think you have a overheating proplem. As stated previously, pop the radiator cap off and hopefully have the front bumper higher than the back and let the car idle (rev it to 2500 every so often) until the coolant fan turns on to bleed out the air that is probably trapped.
The reason why I asked about the transmission shifting hard when its cold is because every darn automatic trans I have ever owned has done that in the winter. Shifts hard until it the trans fluid warms up. once its warm it shifts smoothly.

 

This is the most likely issue.

As stated by many above, bleeding the cooling system needs to be done properly before any additional troubleshooting occurs. Jack up the nose of the car, remove the radiator cap, fill the radiator to the top, crank the engine and run until the fans come on. If you are not using a bleeder bucket, as the coolant warms up it will expand and run over... so you will make a mess doing this. Once the fans have come on, turn the engine off and let the car cool all the way down to ambient temperature. Top off the radiator, replace the cap and road test.

This process is INFINITELY easier with a bleeder bucket... WAY less messy and more effective the first time. With the bucket, you will have a coolant expansion area so you can run the engine until the cooling fan cycles on and off three or four times before shutting the engine down. After cool down, you remove the bucket and cap the radiator... the bucket keeps the radiator full the entire time. These can be purchased at your local auto parts store or online.

For reference, here is a link to one available from WalMart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/No-Spill-...CABEgJb1fD_BwE

 

Im not sure i understand how to check it inside the radiator and not the tank next to it

 

I did try to bleed out the air but i guess i have to try again. I just did the first try and took a test drive. It was ok, went up once. I went to the store, got stuff, and came home.
on the way home my heater started blowing cool air and the car indicated it was over heating.
ill try again later once its cooled off with this detailed process.

 

** Update **
I have burped it, I have looked for leaks, I have bleed it twice. Now im tryin to replace the cap just to ensure it isnt that. However, as the radiator was replaced, the cap for my year/make/model doesnt fit.

 

Headgasket is leaking. When the piston compresses the air in the cylinder, some of it is going into the cooling system, replacing the coolant with air.

 

** update **
Been driving since this post and it has been doing fine even without a new cap