Akfranklin2014

I purchased a used 2000 Honda Civic LX in July/August 2015. I've had minimal problems with it until now. In January 2016 I noticed if I as sitting in traffic too long the temperature would rise, but once I started going again it would go back down. It didn't happen often, so I didn't think too much of it, although I made a note to have my mechanic look at it when I changed the oil. In February we had to take a trip to Ohio (I live in Virginia) for a funeral. It started the overheating much worse then. We came back and I let it sit until we could figure out the problem. In April it was determined the head gasket needed to be replaced. Once it was, the problem stopped. However, less than 3 months later, it is overheating again. It seems to be the head gasket again but I'm at a loss as to why it would go again so soon. The temperature rises gradually, it doesn't just shoot straight to hot. And it seems to start getting hotter when I'm going at slow speeds. I don't have all kinds of money to throw into diagnosing it and running into walls. Any suggestions on what it could be?

ezone

Does the radiator fan turn on when the coolant temp reaches about 200F? Does the fan turn on each and every time?

There was an old bulletin about the fan thermoswitch intermittently failing, so if the temp switch for the fan is original, may as well replace it.


Overheating can ruin a head gasket even if it is brand new.
A head gasket can fail without other outside causes too.
Poor workmanship and/or poor parts could complicate the previous head gasket work. I've seen a few people post here about fel-pro head gaskets failing far too early.

Akfranklin2014

The fan is connected directly to the battery for some reason so it's always on. Also, the head fast was a Fel Pro, but how would I know if it's faulty or not?

ezone

The two usual reasons: Either because it was overheating and someone couldn't figure out why, so this was a band-aid......or it is broken (switch, relay, wiring, etc) and someone couldn't figure out how to fix it correctly.


Does the fan spin the correct direction? It should blow air toward the engine when running.

Is the fan motor worn out from running constantly?

How did you figure out the first one was bad?
Start over. Overheat can have many causes.
Is the coolant level in the radiator low?
Radiator core condition?

Under what conditions does it overheat....this time?
Sitting still in a drive thru?
Driving highway speed ?
Something else?

Could the temp gauge on the dash be lying to you?

Akfranklin2014

Update! So I feel like an idiot now...the problem was there was no tubing attached to the reservoir cap to pull the coolant back to the radiator...so the pressure in it was building and pushing the coolant out therefore making it fun hot. Paid $1 for some tubing yesterday and drove it all night...didn't go one speck over it normal temp. Now I need to get my AC fixed and I'm good!