out of control!!!!!

[StealthMode]

my car is overheating. the antifreeze keeps boiling out of the radiator and filling up my reservoir. here's the list of what people have told me could be the problem:

blown head gasket
messed up vacuum lines
thermostat
fan switch gone bad

which is most likely? and if it is a blown head gasket, should i just get the d16y8 gasket since i'm doing my mini me some time soon anyways? will it fit on my stock d15b8 block and head? my dad's taking it to the mechanic to get it looked at tomorrow, so i need to let him know which head gasket to use if it is the case. d16y8=96-00 civic ex right? please let me know as soon as possible.

would it be a good idea to permanently jump the radiator fan once i get this thing running up to par?

any help appreciated!

 

[deth101]

therm is worth checking 1st,put it in a pot of water with a temp gauge and see what temp it opens at,doubt its a fan prob most honda's do fine w/o.unless you've messed w/em your vac lines are most likely fine anyway.do you ever get your rad flushed?is it flowing?
if its a head gasket you will need the gasket for the head you are putting on at the time,you need to use a new head gasket every time you open it period.

 

[EGVortechGSR]

You may want to check the little things before you start getting into major engine work. The conector on the fan shroud it self could cause the same symptoms your describing. First check if your fan even comes on, if not then start your diagnosis there. It sounds like your car is running just fine which it would not with a blown head gasket, if you seee white smoke or oil and coolant seeping from your motor then do a compression check and look for a cylinder or two with lower than spec numbers. I doubt that vacuum lines would cause a overheating issue, maybe a high idle. The thermistat is probably fine if the radiator is boiling over, that means that the coolant is cycling through the radiator and hoses just fine. Unless the coolant "boiling" out is not boiling hot, then i'de check for a resrtriction in the coolant system.

 

[StealthMode]

ok so just get the head gasket that goes to my car, and get another one (d16y8) for when i do my swap. but i still need to know if the y8 is for the 96-00 ex?

um, my fan turns on and it went for about 5 minutes yesterday but it shut off after a while. my car seems to run fine, but it just gets hotter and hotter. a few days ago, it was idling REAL weird seemed like the idle was way too low. then, when i took off, it almost died, so i had to give it more gas. it sounded a lot like a harley davidson. then a huge cloud of smoke came out my muffler and smoked like 8 people out in the parking lot. that night i checked my antifreeze (drained my radiator, etc.) and it was running fine. but now it just overheats.

what's the probability that it could be a cracked block? that would be bad, but good at the same time. caus4e then i could just do my motor swap. 94 ls obd1

 

[KYL174]

in response to your problem. i've experienced the same thing with my integra. and replaced the radiator a few times. to find out it was not a defect in the radiator but a new exhaust manifold gasket was needed(header gasket). after i've replaced that, everything was find.

 

[92civicb18b1]

You almost defenitly don't have a cracked block, idling problems check you vaccum lines. white smoke pouring out of your exhaust means your burning coolant/water. it sound like a blown head gasket to me, if you already have the ls then drop it in dont bother replacing the head gasket.

 

[chopluey]

What is your temp gauge reading while all this is going on?
Have you verified that your water pump is working correctly?
Definately make sure your thermostat is good.

 

[EGVortechGSR]

Do simple compression check! 15 min and you'll know if its a internal problem. The white smoke and "harley" like idle do lead me to belive its more of an internal problem( head gasket, cracked sleeve) than anything else. If it is, drop in the B18, don't waste your time on the single cam.

 

[jewls]

cracked block is possible. if it's been overheating, and you didn't catch it in time, most likely the block is craked, or at the least warped. if you have a blown head gasket, then you should be losing coolant, cuz it's going to your tail pipe. should be white smoke. also the car would be losing lots of power. mine was slow as all hell when i blew my head gasket. i had a tiny leak in it, and it caused big problems. the car would kinda hesitate and almost stall when i gave it a shot of gas. good luck with the issue though. if you end up doing the swap right away, good luck with that too, not too sure what head gasket u can use though.

 

[StealthMode]

we got a new thermostat and when my dad drove it around for a while today, the temp. guage was just fine. we checked the radiator and reservoir and saw that it is still WAY too low in the radiator and reservoir was almost overflowing. seems like it's not circulating through the motor. we checked the oil and seems that there is no antifreeze in the oil, idle is fine too. could it just be a broken radiator?

 

[deth101]

sounds like your rad is flowing check the water pump for leaks,let it run in the driveway for a while and look under your water pump sometimes they dont leak unless its running.pumps can be a pain to tell if they are leaking sometimes so be through in your inspection.
dont let a head gasket discourage you its cheap and easy to do your self but a shop will hit you for 1000,make sure the head is flat before you put it back on and if not have it planed at a machine shop for around 100 or so.if you do already have the ls I agree, put that mother in!
as far as your block goes honda's have pretty durable blocks and I really doubt it but a compression check will tell you quick and your local mechanic will probably do it for 20 or less and its a good idea in any case.

 

[chopluey]

If its not flowing or circulating I'd say its definately a water pump. With the radiator cap off, and the car idling, you should be able to tell when the t-stat opens by looking into the filler neck and watching the water level change as the water circulates from the engine to the rad, and the rad to the engine. Also by feeling the temp. of the upper hose. If it never gets warm, no water is flowing through it when the t-stat opens.
Another common, and often overlooked problem, that can also cause what your describing is a faulty radiator cap. If the cap won't hold the proper pressure your cooling system can't work properly. Caps wear out, lose their spring tension, and can't hold pressure. This causes the coolant to boil at a much lower temperature. By allowing the system to pressurize, the coolant can reach a much higher temp without boiling. Its simple physics and the whole pressure vs. temperature relationship thing. This is the same reason water boils at 212 degrees around sea level and if your in, say, Colorado at 5000ft altitude, water boils at a lower temp. If your climbing Mt. Everest water boils before it even gets hot. The pressure on the liquid we're describing here is atmospheric pressure. The less pressure, the lower the boiling point of a given liquid. The higher the pressure, the higher the boiling point. (like your radiator) The closer you get to sea level, the higher the atmospheric pressure.
Get your cap checked at Auto Zone or if its really old (a couple years) just get a new one. And make sure your water pump is circulating coolant.
Hope this helps. Sorry I went long. Good luck. B)

 

[StealthMode]

well i actually am in colorado. my dad got me a new rad cap last night, and i put it on this morning. i'm going to go check soon, once the temp cools down a little.

the one thing that bothers me is that it shot out all that white smoke and was imitating a harley, but it's never done that again.

seems to be better now, but i'm going to check when i get back from getting gas.

 

[chopluey]

Great! Let us know how it worked out. Wouldn't it be way cool if all you needed was a rad cap?
I can't believe your in CO. I was just using that as an example. And maybe a poor one at that. What's the boiling point of water there? Sure is a great part of the country!

 

[StealthMode]

well i thought it was doing good, but as i drove it to get gas and to the bank to deposit my check, it started to overheat as i got close to home. i took it REAL easy and made it home ok. it was weird, the temp guage got almost all the way to the top, and then it fell to a little over half and was a little above normal for the last block or so. idle temp is just below half on my guage i think. so i'm going to have to go to Auto Zone and probably pick up a water pump. this is really disappointing.

boiling point, well i have no clue what it is exactly out here. but in class, we usually just use 100 celsius. maybe i'll get back to you on that.

it's nice here, but my car is dirty as heck and i hate the cold weather.