88 Accord Thermostat Problem

Ive been getting zero heat lately, and discovered it was a bad
thermostat.

When I go to start in the morning, the temp gauge is down as far as
the actual pointer will go. When I drive home (about 15 mins each
way), it gets all the way to the top.

The thermostat is stuck open (no heat) so is my engine really
overheating? Or is this incorrect because of the bad stat?

Also, can I drive it for 1 or 2 days like this, or will I kill it?

 

Should be able to find a new engine after you burn up the one in there
now. Do you have any experiance working on Hondas? bob

 

How do you know the TS is stuck open? If your motor is hot,you should get
heat from the heater core,in the passenger compartment.If no heat,then the
motor is cold.Maybe you have a bad temp sensor or Temp gauge.

When my Integra thermostat failed,the car's temp gauge would rise at stop
lights,then drop when the car was in motion.(open TS)


If the TS is stuck open,all that means is that the coolant always
circulates thru the radiator,and the car will take a lot longer to warm
up,especially on cold days.
If the TS is stuck -closed-,than the coolant never circulates thru the
radiator,and the motor can overheat.

If the car overheats,maybe the radiator fan is not working,that has a
separate temp sensor.Or you could have a bad hose,where the inner wire coil
has corroded and allows the hose to collapse under suction from the water
pump.
Or maybe you have a failed water pump.

 

No, but my dad does. I bought the new one yesterday and were
installingit today.

 

Also, how long should it take to put in?

I heard it was a simple thing, but stuff always ges wrong when I work
on vehicles.

 

This should be a simple job, but you probably have a 50/50 chance of
breaking the thermostat housing. Most dealers stock the housing so if you
break it, you should be able to get it.

 

How does one break the thermostat housing?

A 50/50 chance??? (WTF?)

On my Integra GSR,the hard part was accessing one of the bolts.

 

I broke one of the bolts on an '86 LX-i that we owned many years ago.
bob

 

I never said Integra.... we were talking about a 3rd gen accord. The t-stat
o-ring usually weeps a little bit, right over the bottom bolt. If you are
lucky, everything comes apart fine. On these accords, you are very likely
to break a bolt or even the entire housing.