Well, if you feel like grabbing a hylms manual, some tools and parts. You can do it
overheating 1995 honda civic
- Thread starter jai_tee
- Start date
although I'm quite sure that I can pick up a manual and 'try' and figure out whats wrong with my car I may leave it up to professionals to try and figure it out. Nothing like a car with problems to make a girl feel like a 'girl.'
Anyway - to respond to the question above about how much am I losing, oil etc.
I'm losing I'd say 1/4 cup of water/coolant every day or so? And that's with roughly a 30 minute drive . It's taking it from the reservoir not so much the radiator. Unless of course the water has gone down from the reservoir and then of course it starts taking it from the radiator. So I guess a good guage would be... I filled it up on Monday of last week - drove to and from work (roughly 30 mins total) and then of course ran errands and such would account for another 30 mins of driving each day so lets say a total of 1 hr. And then of course I also drive out of town one day a week for 1 hr soooo that's what... I'd say what roughly 4-5 hrs of driving and I noticed that I needed to fill it up with water (does that help?)
I opened up the cap previously and didn't notice any oily/sticky film. No 'mushy' stuff either in the oil cap.
Anyway - to respond to the question above about how much am I losing, oil etc.
I'm losing I'd say 1/4 cup of water/coolant every day or so? And that's with roughly a 30 minute drive . It's taking it from the reservoir not so much the radiator. Unless of course the water has gone down from the reservoir and then of course it starts taking it from the radiator. So I guess a good guage would be... I filled it up on Monday of last week - drove to and from work (roughly 30 mins total) and then of course ran errands and such would account for another 30 mins of driving each day so lets say a total of 1 hr. And then of course I also drive out of town one day a week for 1 hr soooo that's what... I'd say what roughly 4-5 hrs of driving and I noticed that I needed to fill it up with water (does that help?)
I opened up the cap previously and didn't notice any oily/sticky film. No 'mushy' stuff either in the oil cap.
Do you have white smoke coming out of the exhaust? If so, you've got a blown headgasket and proably a warped head, unfortuanatly. But, a 1/4 of cup is alot to be missing. But, a hylms manual will take you step by step and exactly how to do it, even if you don't have much mechanical incline.
But, you can replace your readiator cap and do a preasure test on your cooling system.
But, you can replace your readiator cap and do a preasure test on your cooling system.
so, you say you have a leaking coolant system. you can check your radiator hoses or make sure your water pump is working. the weep holes on the water pump is sometimes suppose to leak a bit. (when i say leak i mean just drops not like straight water falls.) well it is normal but if you got a straight coolant water fall. than your seals and bearings in your water pump is worn and you need an new water pump. (i recommend changing your timing belt when ever you do an water pump service because i am an tech and coolant will destroy your belt.) well when the engine is over heating. there could be problems with oil leak, coolant leak. your engine you say has oil, but burns alot of coolant. never use coolant that is not 50/50 if you don't know how to mix the coolant. (buy one that is 100% coolant and use half the bottle. pour the other half water. simple as that.) well you can always use the antifreeze testers also, and did you ever took out your thermostat? if so make sure the wax pellet is inside facing the engine in the 12 o clock direction or your coolant will not flow. never use straight water because it will burn your radiator and heater core which is located the outer side of the firewall. (you would have to take out the whole dash to see it.) you may i'm guessing having a plug on the heater core inlet/ outlet hoses also. they are located on the firewall. two hoses one for inlet and the other for outlet. check those and see if you have coolant going in and coolant coming out. (the thermostat also controls your cooling temperatures, so be advise make sure your thermostat is working properly. and your radiator cap must be good for to open and close during times when your coolant needs to transfer back into the reservoir tank. let me know on anything.
Defly mysterious now . . .
No leaks
No burning
No mixing with the oil
hmmmz!
That is a lot of antifreeze to be going through.
You dont have a leaky heater core do you? When you turn on the heat do you smell antifreeze?
Well,
I agree with the above posts that stated not to use straight water inside the cooling system as it will cause parts to prematurely wear. Use a 50/50 antifreze mix as stated above.
Defly gotta figure this out
No leaks
No burning
No mixing with the oil
hmmmz!
That is a lot of antifreeze to be going through.
You dont have a leaky heater core do you? When you turn on the heat do you smell antifreeze?
Well,
I agree with the above posts that stated not to use straight water inside the cooling system as it will cause parts to prematurely wear. Use a 50/50 antifreze mix as stated above.
Defly gotta figure this out
nope - don't smell antifreeze when I turn on the heater. I also don't know how to check if I have a leaky heater core. Well I hope it won't be THAT expensive whatever it is. If it's a blown gasket that's like $1k ack... and I'd rather not have to spend that - but fine. I'm taking it to my uncles garage this weekend and he'll run a full diagnostic. I'm out this weekend so I wont be posting what he finds till Monday night. Thanks everyone for all the advice... I'm definitely going to check this website out much more frequently! Seriously... guys who know cars definitely rock. Have a good night all - and a good weekend.
do not use water unless required because it can damage your heater core and case heat not to dissipate well and that will ruin your cooling system, which you could end up replacing many parts for more than $8-$10 of 50/50 coolant mix.
to check if you got heater core problems? your interior should be leaking water under the dash (your feet.) well thats about it unless you check your heater core hoses on the firewalls. there should be two hose right next to each other. one is for inlet, and one is for outlet. the heater core also has a blower motor to blow and dissipate heat just like a radiator. its a mini radiator. well let me know. coolant should come out the out let hose and coolant should be in the inlet hose when you take if off and look at it. (make sure you have low pressure or it be dangerous.)
you can avoid buying a new thermostat to 'see' if its faulty buy bringing it to a slow boil in a pan right in your kitchen. the element will make the rubber stopper open up once it hits the right temp. you can do the same to your temp sensor the electric fan uses by boiling it as well and then using an ohmmeter (multi-meter) across the terminals and see it go from 'open' reading to a 'closed' reading.
Flushing out the air with the bleeder valve is a good idea too. But you can tell right away if water is circulating or not by touching the hose from the thermostat side: should be cold, the other hose should heat up right away. Once warmed up the thermostat will open and shortly after the sensor switch will activate the relay and the relay will trigger the fan to turn on.
Hope this help you other guys out there too.
Flushing out the air with the bleeder valve is a good idea too. But you can tell right away if water is circulating or not by touching the hose from the thermostat side: should be cold, the other hose should heat up right away. Once warmed up the thermostat will open and shortly after the sensor switch will activate the relay and the relay will trigger the fan to turn on.
Hope this help you other guys out there too.
I dont understand how you loose coolant and have a faulty water pump?
I have overheating problems too
Is your car still working like a champ? I'm buying more coolant today to see what happens with my coolant level..
I have overheating problems too
Is your car still working like a champ? I'm buying more coolant today to see what happens with my coolant level..
An airlock within the system is the most probable cause.Make sure your fan and coolant sensor is operational first off.Never add cold mixed coolant to a hot engine.Never add either alone.Damage could result.Usually mixed 50/50 for aluminum head.Fill to the filler mouth.Reconnect overflow tube.Loosen bleeder valve and close when coolant flows flows with no sign of air.Set heater control to hot start engine set to fast idle bring to operating temp.DO NOT tighten rad cap.When engine reaches operating temp top off and refill untill level stabilizes,then refill the collant reservoir to the full mark. Quoted from CHILTON manual
a few things,:
if you can see no signs of a leak, and no white smoke then i would say that you have air in the system. it definitely could be a thermostat. definitely do a complete flush. prestone has a good kit, you cut one of your heater lines, install this fitting, hook up a water hose, leave the radiator cap off and let it run while your are pumping water into it. make sure you are running the heater at the same time too. it comes with a cap for the fitting, cap it off when ur done and you should be good to go. this will also help get any air out of the system. but you definitely need to drain around half of the water and fill it with antifreeze. depending on what your climate is, less antifreeze for warmer climates. but you definitely need the antifreeze, it has alot of stuff in it that prevents corrosion of the engine, and foaming of the coolant(which is bad) thermostats are cheap and easy to replace, might as well replace it anyways. id suggest getting a "failsafe thermostat. they are designed so that if they fail, they fail in the open position so you dont overheat. also making sure the temperature range of the new thermostat is important, make sure its the same as what cam out. it should say on the thermostat itself.
if you can see no signs of a leak, and no white smoke then i would say that you have air in the system. it definitely could be a thermostat. definitely do a complete flush. prestone has a good kit, you cut one of your heater lines, install this fitting, hook up a water hose, leave the radiator cap off and let it run while your are pumping water into it. make sure you are running the heater at the same time too. it comes with a cap for the fitting, cap it off when ur done and you should be good to go. this will also help get any air out of the system. but you definitely need to drain around half of the water and fill it with antifreeze. depending on what your climate is, less antifreeze for warmer climates. but you definitely need the antifreeze, it has alot of stuff in it that prevents corrosion of the engine, and foaming of the coolant(which is bad) thermostats are cheap and easy to replace, might as well replace it anyways. id suggest getting a "failsafe thermostat. they are designed so that if they fail, they fail in the open position so you dont overheat. also making sure the temperature range of the new thermostat is important, make sure its the same as what cam out. it should say on the thermostat itself.