How can I check a radiator cap for its wellness or oldness?
I think this might be a reason why I am overheating at idle. Its an old generic brand cap.

When I looked at it this morning, there was a little coolant leaking out of the top part where the sticker is. Is this bad?

Also when the car is hot, the top radiator hose looks like its about to blow up because its so bloated. Is this normal?

Please help asap.....thanks

 

Well one way to check if it was stuck is just to remove it (while the car is cold) and press down on the sealing surface with your fingers. You should be able to push it down. It does require a bit of force though. But the way you are describing it then it sounds like you need another one.
BTW If you want an OEM cap and don't want to pay OEM price then I could get you a used one from my work (salvage yard). IM me for more info.

 

It sounds like there is some kind of blockage in your cooling system. The top hose should NOT be bloated. If there is a blockage causing pressure to build up, the result could be the leaking at the cap. Time to start seriously investigating your cooling system, amigo, esp. if you are boosted.
You might just want to get a new cap if you are unsure about it...probably 5 bucks at the nearest auto parts store. Note, however, that they can be pressure tested with tool.
Good luck.....anyone else got ideas?

 

thanks. where could a blockage be? Could that be related to my water pump? How would I fix a blockage?

I knoe a can try to flush the cooling system, but its hard right now since I cannot access the drain bolt on the block since my turbo is blocking it. I cannot get my turbo off because my downpipe bolts are sheared

 

The first place I would suspect the blockage to be (if that is what the problem is), would be the radiator. How does the lower radiator hose feel when the engine is hot? Is it hard like its under pressure or soft? If there is a block in the radiator, pressure would back up before it, thus perhaps the bloated upper hose.
I dont think it would be related to the water pump. I mean, it sounds like the pump is working fine, trying hard enough to push the water through to bloat that top hose. Besides, the only things that can really **** up on a water pump are the bearings (you would hear them) or it would leak, otherwise, its simply paddles being driven from a gear connected to the timing belt....pretty simple.
I dont know what your "tech level" is regarding doing work yourself, but if you dont have much experience or the right tools, you may want to have a shop check it out and try to diagnose it. They can pressure test the system. My guess is that if there IS a blockage, the pressure would read to high....
Hmmmmmmmmmm..........anyone else got ideas? c'mon now !

 

mike,

I really appreciate your input.

I am lead to belive now that it is my radiator, not the water pump because I dont hear anything funny from it. My lower radiator hose feels hot but not nearly as bloated as the top one. I have mechanical experience(installed 3 turbo kits).

So now I am thinking just to replace the radiator?

 

.Glad to help out a fellow H-T'er.
If it was me, I would probably have the system pressure checked. I've got 100k on my 94 GSR and never had an over-heating problem, plus I dont have alot of extra cash right now to be replacing stuff unless I was sure I knew it was gonna fix the problem. But how many miles are on your car? If its been boosted, running hot, etc, it might not be a bad idea to put a new, and perhaps higher performance, radiator in. I'd hate to see you replace the radiator and have that not be the problem, but its up to you and how much time and $ you have ! ha ha
If you decide to put a new one in, I suggest you replace the thermostat too, esp. if you are going to drain the system anyway. I've thought about the thermostat being an issue, but its before the upper hose, so I cant see how the thermo would be causing a block or the bloating hose or leaking cap....hmmmm.
Here's a thought though...how close to the turbo or turbo piping is that top hose? Maybe its getting cooked and subsequently weakened by the radiant heat from the turbo, thus the bloating? Do you have a digicam? Can you post an image of the top hose....how bad is it?

 

nope I dont have a digicam right now. It bloats pretty big....and it really does not look normal if thats what you want to see. Replacing the radiator would most likely fix it...... i think. Where else can there be a clog?

The upper radiator hose is not very close to the turbo. I also replaced the thermostat about a month ago. It was some generic Stant thermostat.

So the only reason for the upper hose bloating up would either be the radiator cap or the blockage in the radiator?

I sometimes find myself filling up the radiator every few days....not much though, maybe 1 coffee cup full...... I see no leaks in my garage either

 

i would replace your radiator cap and thermostat, i think maybe ur thermostat could be stuck, both items are pretty cheap too

 

Here is what I would be looking at:

1) thermostat
2) radiator cap (it's leaking, replace it now)
3) upper radiator hose, normally these should not be "bloated"

 

Question: did you rebuild the top end or put in a low compression head gasket when you went turbo? If so, perhaps the head gasket was not seated correctly and is blocking a water channel in the block. But I'm assuming the issue didnt start when you put the turbo in, but rather was running fine after being boosted and they are not related.
Anyway, a friend suggested you get a coolant test kit, there is one that can detect engine gasses getting into the radiator fluid (ie. head gasket leak).
Another question - what's up with the overheating - you say its only at idle? do you hear your radiator fluid boiling after you turn the car off? This can also be indicative of head gasket leak as the hot engine gasses will heat up the coolant big time.
Also - how many miles and what year is the car?
I still think the most likely suspect is the radiator itself.....hmmmmmmm

 

Nope didnt rebuild top end or headgasket yet(planning on doing headgasket within a month) Id rather not fudge around with a coolant kit since i do not have time. I ruled out thermostat since I just replaced it.

Its weird, cuz it overheats randomly, at idle. Lately its been doing it a LOT more often. I have to blast the heater on full in order for it to stop climbing. I never noticed if the fluid is boiling.....is this really noticable?

Its a 94 integra with 120,000 miles.

I am picking up a Fluidyne radiator soon and a cometic headgasket. I hope these things solve my problems.

BTW i love you guys, so helpful

 

Yeah, at 120k and boosted, you cant go wrong with a quality new radiator. The randomness of the overheating is interesting though. I would figure with a blocked or at least "congested" radiator, it would overheat regularly. As far as the boiling fluid, you would probably hear it bubbling. A friends motorcycle used to do it when it was run really hard and had a bad cooling fan (old 80's Ninja - had a cooling fan). Also a friend with a Turbo Sciroco had a bad head gasket that was cooking his radiator fluid and it would boil after a hard run on a hot day. The boiling is obviously a sign of badness going on with the cooling system whatever is causing it.
Anyway, good luck, and let us know how it turns out !

 

what would explain the missing coolant?

 

Right, I forgot about the missing coolant......
I wonder if the resevoir is overflowing....otherwise, unless its leaking out somewhere, I can only figure that its getting burned up through a leaky head gasket or a crack in the block. I seriously doubt its a crack, but it does make the head gasket look a little more guilty.
Does the car blow any white smoke?
If you're gonna replace the HG anyway, I wouldnt worry much, but you may want to do it sooner rather than later. We all know that prolonged overheating will ***** up an engine eventually.
PS- c'mon all you HONDA TECHS, help us out here ! ha ha

 

nope I dont really see any white smoke from the car anywhere. Someone told me how to test headgasket, I dont know if it is too acurate though. They said to rev the engine with the radiator cap off, and if it shoots up like a geyser, that means its bad. I tried this and nothing.

Also my compression checked out alright:
1 210
2 210
3 190
4 210

 

Any news on your problem?

 

well right now my car is in my garage dissmantled. I have swapped out the radiator with a fluidyne, oem thermostat, cometic .043 headgasket, and a new ect thermoswitch. I wont know till next week if it solved the problem because I am waiting to put in my new Y21 tranny on the weekend.

I really thought it was my headgasket because I found a little trace of oil in my coolant. When I looked at the stock gasket after we took it out, it looked fine Maybe there is damage not visible to eye???? I am praying that it is not a crack in the sleeve. But the compression came out fine

I hate having to wait.

 

Well, waiting does suck, but at least it sounds like your baby is on it's way towards recovery. Do let us know how it turns out !

 

My sister's accord had the same problem, bloated upper radiator hose and bad radiator cap. The cap is like $10 and hose is like $15.

Sorry I left out the first time but we also replaced the thermostat.


[Modified by mickey513, 12:21 AM 3/5/2003]

 

so her cap was the problem? That would suck that im spending all this money on new radiator, ect ect and it was just the darn cap.

 

I don't see how the hose would be bloated and the cap leaking if there was not another issue involved.....I think you are doing the right things, esp. since you are boosted.
And I did mention in my first reply that replacing the $5 cap might be a good start.......but as they say....hindsight = 20/20.....just keep on keeping on and you will be ok in the end, eh?
PS - if you pressure test your old radiator and it turns out ok, you might be able to sell it for a little cash, or you could keep it as a backup for the dark days ahead.


[Modified by miketegra, 6:11 PM 3/4/2003]

 

Well you might think you wasted money on a new radiator, thermostat etc but in a car with high mileage and a turbo car at that, nothing but a top notch cooling system is in order. I am a firm believer that if you change the oil and filter (Honda filter is a must) on a regular basis, keep your cooling system in good order (flush regulary, good rad, cap etc) then a HUGE portion of mechanical problems that usually come along with engines will dissapear or at least be delayed a great deal.

Also another little thing to remeber would be things like spark plugs, timming, distributor cap and rotor etc.

Do all that and your Honda will provide you with years of rev happy reliability.

Just my $0.02

Evan