Overheating issues

[B18CBeast]

Just got my B18C motor in my 92 hatch, ready to go but I have been having cooling problems. I let it idle last night for 10 minutes to warm up and took it out. The thermostat was fine for a while until I hit VTEC then it just climbed like crazy and the check engine light came on. Fan works, no coolant leaks. I'm lost and need a ride for work and school. Thanks.

 

[deth101]

when its warmed up can u feel heat in both upper and lower rad hoses,when was your last flush?sure the therm is good..put it in a pot of water and boil, check w/thermoter when it pops/opens to see if its good.

 

[ksrcivic]

This might sound kinda wierd, but check ur oil, pull the dipstick and check to see if u have coolant in the oil pan, if u do then u have a blown head gasket or a crack in the block, this is a problem i had to deal with on 3 different turbo cars that were over boosting and blew their head gaskets, every one complained of a similar occurance, no coolant leaks, thermo works fine, but they were over heating with no sings of why. One of these problems happened to my own civic when i had the turbo on my EX, anyway hope this helps.

 

[dohch22a4]

Shortly after I finished the B18C swap into my '92 VX hatch, I noticed an overheating problem, although not quite as severe as yours. If I ran the car for more than a few minutes at idle the needle would climb like a motherfucker. I got so fed up with it that I sourced a four-core radiator from a '94 Accord EX and wedged it in with some minor fabrication. Beware, you can't have A/C with a large unit like this, but I had already yanked out my A/C unit when I did the swap. If you want to keep your air, just get a better radiator from a Del Sol VTEC or an aftermarket one like a Fluidyne.

Of course, you could have a blown head gasket or a cracked block. Bad news bears! Walter Matthou!

 

[97CTR]

don't overlook the simple things too, is there enough coolant. that should be the first thing you should check if you haven't.