Cooling Problems! 91 Honda Accord

Discussion in 'Accord' started by hammerd81, Feb 4, 2007.

  1. hammerd81

    hammerd81 Guest

    I have a 91 honda accord and recently I noticed my gas mileage has
    dropped quite significantly. My temperature guage has been reading
    slightly lower than normal and seems to fluctuate and drop frequently.
    It has also overheated once or twice on me during the past two weeks.
    I changed the thermostat and drained the coolant but still no change.
    The lower radiator hose is extremely cold and the top one hot. I
    havent noticed any coolant loss and i dont see any coolant flow with
    the radiator cap off and the engine running. I am completely stumped
    anyone have any ideas on what might be wrong? Thank you!
     
    hammerd81, Feb 4, 2007
    #1
  2. Assuming that the replacement thermostat is working correctly, it
    appears that you may have a plugged radiator.

    JT
     
    Grumpy AuContraire, Feb 4, 2007
    #2
  3. It still sounds like a thermostat problem - not many other reasons for the
    temperature guage being low unless the guage is defective (rarer than
    thermostat problems). There's no point in trying to improve fuel economy
    until you can get the engine to warm up.

    I am guessing the replacement thermostat was an aftermarket one. My
    experiences with aftermarket thermostats is that they tend to act a lot like
    that when new! It's absolutely amazing how little leakage it takes through a
    thermostat to keep the engine from warming up in cold weather. A genuine
    Honda thermostat and genuine Honda coolant should make a real difference. Be
    sure to properly purge the coolant system after filling it to prevent weird
    symptoms. See also http://tegger.com/hondafaq/overheating/underheat.html and
    http://tegger.com/hondafaq/mix_antifreeze.html

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Feb 5, 2007
    #3
  4. hammerd81

    hammerd81 Guest

    Thanks alot im gonna give it a try! ill post if it fixes the problem.
    Thanks
     
    hammerd81, Feb 6, 2007
    #4
  5. hammerd81

    NoMoreRGS Guest

    I was thinking the same thing but didn't have time to write. It
    really sucks when you replace a part and later find it's bad. Makes
    you look at other things because the new part "cant be bad!". Lots of
    grief, wasted time and money expended for nothing.

    I'm not sure if this model could be air bound that certainly can cause
    some strange behavior.

    My '91 Accord DX is the best (reliable) car I've ever owned. My wife
    and I have new cars or fairly new cars (2007 Civic Ex with Nav and
    2005 Acura TL with Nav). I traded in my 2001 CL Type S, after the
    tranny was replaced under warranty, for the TL.

    The Accord still sits in the driveway and I still like to drive it.
    It's served us well but will be picked up by the new owner this
    weekend. We don't need three cars for the two of us, we need more
    room in the driveway, and we don't like giving the insurance company
    $700 a year for it to sit in the driveway. We will miss it!


    Good luck with your fixing yours!
    There's lots of helpful people here so keep us updated.
     
    NoMoreRGS, Feb 7, 2007
    #5
  6. hammerd81

    Thom Guest

    The best thing to do, when installing a new thermostat, regardless if
    it is OEM or Aftermarket, place it in a pan of water and crank up the
    heat. Watch it as the water get near boiling. You should see it
    open. Then you know it is good, as long as it is installed in the
    correct direction.
     
    Thom, Feb 7, 2007
    #6
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