i am looking into buying an 88 or 89 civic sedan on saturday for 500 dollars. the car looks ok but has one problem, the guy said he took it to a shop because it overheated and they said it had a cracked block that would cost 2000 to fix. he also said it ran fine and didnt burn any coolant. also there was no coolant in the oil. after reading on HT and using the SEARCH function i have come up with this. the water pump went out causing the car to overheat and puke all the coolant. then the car overheated and the shop tryed to jip the owner. i the car drives and i buy it i am concerned about getting it home. i will use AAA as a last resort but would like the car to make it home on its own. if i turn on both fans (radiator and AC) and have the heater full blast and take several gallons of water with me do you guys think the car could make it? the drive is about 25 minutes on streets and 15 on highway. which way would be better street or highway. thanks a lot

Vlad

 

bump any other ways to keep a car cool other than heater full blast and wiring the fans to work all the time?

 

ok so is the block cracked or was that the part thye were trying to rip the guy off. if the water pump is no goood, just replace it there and drive it home all good if you ahve the right tools it can be done.
but i remember one time i blew my thermostat housing in another car while i was in town and so i try it home with no coolant, i jsut drove it until it overheated then shut it off and wait an hour for it to cool down and just did it again. mabye got a mile each time, so idk how long the engine will last but yeah cause doing that could result ina blown head gasket

 

Remember that no matter how much you cool the radiator, if the water does not circulate you will overheat. You can take off the thermostat and replace the water pump.

Either way you can get a friend to tow you back home and pay him with some

Hope that helps

 

yea thats what im thinking too. i have AAA so towing isnt a problem but id like for the car to make it home on its own. having the fans on should cool the engine too since they blow air on it. having the heater on wont do much because the coolant leaks out. what if i take off the hood and wire both fans to run all the time. also would it be better to drive on streets or the highway.

 

Highway at low rpms but a good rate of speed. I'd tow it. Not worth risking really.

 

i guess since i dont have a good reason for not getting it towed itll have to be towed to my house . ill still drive it around the block and into the garage/carport though cause im stubborn like that. ill post some info and pictures on it on saturday.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91civicLX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i guess since i dont have a good reason for not getting it towed itll have to be towed to my house . ill still drive it around the block and into the garage/carport though cause im stubborn like that. ill post some info and pictures on it on saturday. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Good luck!!