baller4

I think im almost at my limit of bothering ppl for help, anyways even in the summer it takes at least 10 mins or so for my car to heat up/ for the vtec to work (b16), and now in the winter it seems like I can drive forever and the needle stays at or below the cold line. Today i drove for a half hour on the highway it never heated up, drove through a town stop and go, then it got just over the Cold line and vtec would kick in, then back on the highway it dropped right down again, and this time even tho the needle was at or below the cold line vtec would still work, would this be a thermostat problem? or what else could cause this?

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

thermostat, its prolly stuck open.

chris_v2

9/10 thermostat

baller4

how do I get at that/fix it, and at what cost, and also how long should it take normally before it warms up enough for vtec to work?

chris_v2

if you have to ask that question you shouldnt be doing it.

Thermostats usually pay 1.0h at a shop and parts will cost around 20-25$. So your looking at just over $100-120 at a shop depending on what their rate is.

fingolfin

question... my car is doing something similar, but not exactly the same

the engine will get to a bit under 1/2 half temperature, but i only get warm air, not super hot air.. its livable, but for the first 15-20 minutes its rough on me (im skinny and cold always).

anyways, do you guys think this a thermostat problem or a heater core problem?

thanks
(sorry, don't mean to hi-jack the thread)

crazy i am

Baller, the same ting happened to my B16 last winter. It was my thermostat. I grabbed one from crappy tire and was lucky enough that my mechanic changed it for free.

fingolfin

its right at the top, fallow the top rad hose and you will come to the thermostat.
not a hard job at all... if you're somewhat handy, do it yourself and save your money

chris_v2

you mean lower rad hose

chris_v2

when your car is warm, feel both heater hoses. Is one really hot? and the other kinda cool/warm? Or are they both around the same temperature?

baller4

I would really like to do it myself, i'll locate it, any semi step-by-step instructions anyone can give me in changing it, or is it really too difficut for me too do? Im fairly handy and try to do most general repairs myself, I've spent too much time in shops lately...

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

drain the coolant.
remove the lower rad hose from thermostat housing (have a bucket ready b/c more coolant will spill out when you take the hose off).
remove the (2) 10mm bolts that hold the thermostat housing to the coolant neck.
the thermostat will fall out, or just remove the thermostat and clean the housing of any old gasket maker material.
put the new gasket on the thermostat and install into the coolant neck properly (you'll see what i mean about properly when you actually do this, or just take note of how the old one was in and put the new one in like that).
put some gasket maker (permatex, available at any crappy tire/partsource) on the thermostat housing to help it make a good seal and bolt the thermostat housing back on with the (2) 10mm bolts.
put the lower rad hose back on the thermostat housing.
make sure the coolant drain plug on the rad is tight and fill the rad back up with fresh coolant/water and bleed the cooling system (let the car run with the rad cap off and the heat inside the car on full until the rad fan comes on twice and add coolant to the rad as needed, make sure there aren't any air bubbles trapped in the cooling system).
put the rad cap back on and take it for a test drive to make sure everything is ok.

Its pretty simple and can be done in about 30-45 minutes including the time it takes to bleed the cooling system.

seanv98

Do what zeeman said and everything should be fine. Just be carefull when loosening the two 10mm bolts.

fingolfin

ops.... sorry, i meant lower... don't forget to drain the fluid though

chris_v2

only thing i would add to semens post would be, if the stat doesnt come out get pliers and twist and pull.

Also the spring side (control side) should always be facing the engine.

fingolfin

chris, the top is pretty hot (normal) and the bottom seems to be warmish
for sure a huge difference in temperture.

checked after driving 1 hour half hyway/roads

zeeman

iTrader: (1)

the lower rad hose should be as hot as the upper rad hose after about 10 minutes of driving (or once the engine has reached normal operating temp) or after 20-30 minutes of just sitting there idling.
I'd just go ahead and replace the thermostat and do a coolant flush (you gotta drain it anyways), it is a maintainance item that does need to periodically be replaced and the coolant doesn't last forever, so if it doesn't fix the problem, at least feel good knowing you've done some preventative maintainance on your car.

fingolfin

true enough... well, i guess i know what i'll be doing this weekend.

thank you guys

chris_v2

I think he was talking about his heater hoses, because in my post that he quoted I told him how to check for a plugged core.

With the heat off both hoses should be relatively the same. If you cant grab on to one hose but you can grab on to the other easily, then the core is plugged. You can either change the core or try pressure washing it out (which from my experience has a 70& success rate)

94exr

I would change the t-stat and replace coolant...while at it pull off both heater hoses at the heater core and flush it out