cooling issue.
 

i have a few ideas as to whats up but here goes.

yesterday driving to work i noticed car was running a little warm... 3/4 up on temp gauge when i got to work. when i got out of my car at work i noticed there was a coolant "spray" out the front grill...

after work i checked coolant level in resevoir. was a little low, was filled up with a 600 ml bottle of water. drove car about 3 mins from work and engine went from cold to way to hot. towed car home.

this morning i just checked coolant level, was fine, but there was zero coolant flow. also when car is running and engine is warm the heater inside the car will blow cold air even when the slider is on the hot setting.


any thoughts?

h22a in 93 hatch.

Sorry to hear about your poor luck Rick

I would first check all hoses for leaks as well as the rad itself. Plastic endtanks on Honda rads are prone to hairline cracks that only leak when they are hot and under pressure. If you can, pressure test the system to find your leak

Now with the overheating issue it sounds as if the thermostat is stuck shut, and the system is pressurizing itself to death due to the excess heat buildup in your engine. One quick(and cheap) way to determine is this is an issue is to remove the thermostat from the system and see if the overheating problem disappears. If so, then replace the thermostat.

Hope this helps, good luck.

but shouldn't the water pump still be flowing coolant when the engine is cold? that isn't happening when the engine is cold or warm.

i'm going to cry if its the waterpump itself cause that a fun weekend adventure in engine removal.

the rad is in mediocore shape... but was definately leaking though, dont think the leak itself could be from a hose based on how it was coming out through the front.

i think its rental car time for today and tomorrow till i can devote more then an hour or so to this :(

Whether the engine is hot or cold, the waterpump will be pumping coolant.
That said, if the thermostat is not open, you will not see any coolant flowing from the engine to the radiator. (I assume you are looking for coolant flow in the top of the rad, through the rad cap hole). No heat in the interior of the car is also a good indication of a stuck thermostat.

Quick question: Does your rad fan cycle on and off?

So I would pull the thermostat, clean all the spilled coolant up with water(rad area as well), enusre that the coolant is topped up and then start up the car.

Its also possible that there is an air-lock in the system, in which you have to use the little 10mm bleeder screw located on the highest point of the cooling system.(upper rad hose to cylinder head fitting?, not sure on the h22) and let the air out of the system with the car running. Close the bleeder screw when there is no more air coming out of the bleeder.(

well that is good news.. rad fan does not come on

i downloaded the manual for 92-95 preludes and found that bleeder screw and some other useful info... we'll see how it goes tomorrow

yeah thermostats are cheap and should be changed as part of regular maintainance, so i would change it, plus it does sound like a stuck thermostat.
Does the lower rad hose get hot after the engine has been running?

well thermostat is ok as tested in pot of water, even with thermostat out of the car still no coolant coming through. fan still doesn't turn on and all rad hoses are cold when engine is hot...

looks like its buy a new car time and put the civic in the garage for a while :(

there are these ECT (engine coolant temp) switches i'm seeing on/near the thermostat housing... those wouldn't affect coolant flow if they were busted would they?

had a little time to mess with it today, i'm down to either there is a blockage somewhere in the cooling lines, hole in cooling lines which causes pump to suck in air as opposed to water, or water pump toast all together :(

technically the engine was coming out to change the clutch and flywheel anyways but not this soon :notfair:

The engine coolant temp switch controls when the ran fan turns on. When the engine comes out for the clutch overhaul change the timing belt and water pump too, and get new rad hoses and heater hoses.

you have to remove the engine to replace the waterpump/ also timing belts? that rimmers... if i did that swap id make sure all those components are brand new before...


sounds like the waterpump is toast... honda cooling systems are uber simple. do a compleate service on it... do a backflush and check for fluid circulation, open close the heater core (have somone turn heat on and off while you watch) ect... maybe theres something weird with the heater core since you lost all heat :shrugs:

i think i lost heat cause i lost coolant flow :( like i was taking the engine out anyways... this is just a few weeks early...

but grandpa has a 97 contour with like 39 000 kms, probably get that for 3000-4000.. then i can use his garage and take my time on the engine rather then trying to do it all in a weekend lol