ThatDude

Hey guys, I have an 01 civic with about 160k miles. So it started acting weird a few months ago. The thermometer would sometimes go up to about 3 quarters while driving (not during idle) and then back down, then back up like it had a mind of its own. I changed the thermostat and it seemed to work for a while then the problem started again while on the freeway one day. It was spitting up coolant under the hood sometimes so it was stinky and white smoking also. I just carried water and filled up pretty much every day to top it off.

About a month ago, it over heated to the very top and started white smoking real bad. I pulled over, let it cool down and drove it to a gas station. What's weird is I filled it up with water at the station but it was still overheating just parked there. The water wasnt even able to reach its destination. I changed the radiator and it seemed to fix the problem but last week, white smoke started appearing at red lights and when I was going slow but it wasn't over heating. The thermometer slowly started staying at the halfway mark over a couple of days instead of a little lower like it always has. Yesterday, it went a little above halfway then back down when I turned the heater on.

I believe its leaking coolant when I park and possibly driving on top of also the white smoke from under the hood. I don't get why its over heating only sometimes? Not even really over heating but getting a little warmer than it should. Anyone know what it can be? Head gasket? The radiator cap was replaced with the radiator.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html

ThatDude

Thanks. Are hoses usually changed when a mechanic puts in a new radiator? I'm wondering if its leaking from a hose becsuse the smoke/fog is coming out to the left of the radiator.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

oh, crap, i thought i read your reservoir was overflowing...
not sure, you need to ask the mechanic if he did change the hoses.
better take it back for an analysis (don't commit yet, see what they say) and if shady answer, come back here with some pictures and we can go from there.
could be installation issues

ezone

When was the head gasket last replaced?

ThatDude

Not sure when head gasket was changed. Coolant is slowly leaking somewhere near the left fan closest to the battery. Fans are working fine and it didn't overheat when I left it on for 10 minutes in Park to make sure the fans kicked on. The oil and coolant aren't mixing up either.

ezone

Maybe "not replaced yet"?
So it's being pushed out of the overflow bottle?
BTW, that's the RIGHT fan. The battery is on the RIGHT side of the car.
Left and right are always determined as the driver sits inside the vehicle, facing forward.
Never as one stands in front of the car.

HTH

ThatDude

I'm not sure if the previous owner replaced the head gasket. Yes it looks like a little bit of coolant got pushed out of the reserve tank but not much. I'm not sure if this is what's leaking on the ground when I park or if its a leak from a hose.

So, at this point all I know is..
Doesn't overheat during Park
The fans are working
White smoke is coming from the right side of the radiator, near the battery, when I drive slow and when im At a red light
Its overheating then going back down. It doesnt stay hot
Oil and coolant are not mixing. They both look clean
I have replaced the radiator, cap and thermostat. Maybe I need OEM cap and radiator?

Someone told me to get a coolant pressure tester. I'm really hoping its the radiator hoses or somethig not expensive. Radiator hoses were not replaced.

ezone

Search this site for how I test and prove when these head gaskets are bad.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

actually, i edited the first post on the "overheating common causes" that now have your method for testing (both) pressure and bucket

ThatDude

Well I bled the coolant for about 10 minutes yesterday. The heat was working on and off since this started this week. There was coolant in the system before I bled it. Somewhat low but nothing major. The heater started working after I bled it and no more white smoke like before. It stayed cool all day while I was driving around for hours! What the hell...

ezone

If you could keep the radiator completely full, it would probably stop the overheating and loss of heater output.


Your problem seems to be that the radiator isn't staying full on its own, as designed.

ezone

Nifty! I hadn't noticed that yet. Thanks.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

good! as stated on the linked thread, usually it's the head gasket, but do please try the cheaper ones first

ThatDude

Well I guess I'm just going to keep an eye on everything right now. Someone told me to do a pressure tester as soon as I can.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

nope, check the how to test methods in the link i provided above in the 2nd post

ezone

9 out of 10 head gasket failures (on 7th gen 1.7 engines) will easily pass that test.

ThatDude

I drove it this morning and the heater worked fine. How exactly do I check for air under the cap?

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

open the cap. with the engine cool

dred

head gasket denial....
When Mine went I had heat as well until the coolant was too low.
Add again good for another week.

Mine would push fluid into over flow but not run over.
rad was never full tried burping and all the other denial BS.
i could smell exaust if I opened rad.
I pulled plugs and could see one wasnt the same as the others.

Been almost 55000km's since it was changed, I still open the rad weekly when cold just to see the coolant to the top of the rad neck

also had timing belt water pump plug thermostat oil change coolant change
caching

good luck

IMeanNoAssets

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and ask if you've r/r your ECT sensor just above the thermostat? The reason why I asked is I'm trying to troubleshoot an engine bay noise in my 02 lx and I was reading up on most of the components of the radiator and fans. And also, do you smell coolant from the inside of your car when you're driving?