civic engine heating up ???

hello,

i've got an older civic and today noticed that the engine was heating up
going up to H, got to a gas station and stopped and noticed that there was
no coolant......bought some coolant and this seemed to help. Everytime i am
cruising it is fine it is when i stop at a light it creeps up and when i
accelerate that it creeps up for a bit. Does it take some time for the
coolant to make it everywhere and work? After adding the coolant i have
about a 5 mile ride home and it was still acting funny.

any ideas?

 

fill to the top, then look for bubbles in the fluid when the engine's
running. suspect blown head gasket.

 

so if there are bubbles the head gasket is blown? is this something hard to
replace??? a price? can i drive a 200 mile trip without a head gasket?

thanks for any and all advice

 

'fraid so. assuming the systems not just expelling air block. fill it
completely, run it till hot, and watch for continued bubbling.

it's a huge pita, not so much for the strip-down but the prep for the
new gasket.

you're looking at $500+ to have someone else do it. call around for
quotes. parts are cheap, it's all labor.

if it's boiling inside 5 miles, /definitely/ not!!!!

 

---------------------------------

Top up the reservoir to MAX and check it when the engine is cold. Keep
topping it up until it stops 'sipping' from the reservoir when it cools.
It may just be displacing AIR which has gotten in, (unless you've truly
screwed up you engine).

'Curly'

 

Is the radiator fan working? If it's not working, you can run the
heater on high to keep the engine cool enough.

 

Sounds like a malfunctioning radiator fan.

Prolonged overheating will get you into deep doo doo...

JT

 

When you added coolant to the radiator did you open the bleeder valve for
the coolant system first? If you did not do this, then there will likely be
trapped air in the system which could be causing your continuing problems.
Wait until the engine is cool, open the bleeder valve, and then top up the
cooling system closing the bleeder valve only after there's nothing but
coolant coming out of it, i.e., no air bubbles.

What that said, the question remains as to why your cooling system was so
low to begin with. Is there a leak? Common problems are a leaking water
pump or a bad connection at a hose fitting. Less common is a bad radiator
but Honda used a rubber o-ring to seal the radiator drain plug and sometimes
these go bad. If the leak isn't obvious and you can't find it, then you may
have to get your system pressure tested.

Eric

 

94 Civic, same problem, cause was blown head gasket. Cost $800. Do not
drive it like that.

G-Man

 

It may be something at simple as a sticky thermostat. I'd start by
replacing it

 

In the expansion tank or none in the whole system?
Did he remove the radiator cap to check the radiator for coolant?

He might want to check the radiator after it cools to see if there's
coolant in there,too,not just in the expansion tank.

 

Should there be coolant in the radiator?? If I open up the radiator cap and
there is none should I add? - when should there be coolant in there...when
the car is hot, cold, etc?

 

There should always be coolant in the radiator, all the way to the top. If
there is not, not only does coolant have to be added, but if it is
disappearing every week the leak needs to be found and fixed.

Of course, don't open the radiator when the engine is hot or even very warm.
A couple years ago I did that because the radiator wasn't very warm and
scalded my arm pretty badly. Learn from my stupid mistake.

Mike