karkfump

Hey guys,

Just had the thermostat stick on my 2006 Civic LX this past week at 130,000 miles, and I replaced it with an aftermarket thermostat the next day. Had to drive the car home the night it stuck (outside temps around 25º) and pulled off every time the temp gauge maxed out. 15 mile drive or so. Thermostat replacement appeared to correct everything, but have now topped off the coolant level 5 to 6 times with more than a gallon of fluid, and there appears to be no external leaks, no abnormal exhaust. Oil change the previous week showed no water in oil, but this was before the thermostat replacement. Not sure about now.

Is this the infamous "block" problem, and where can the water coolant be going except for somewhere internally?

ezone

So why did it overheat? A thermostat isn't the only possible cause of an overheat.
Where is the coolant going? There should be evidence somewhere. A gallon of liquid is a buttload of coolant to lose with zero evidence. (Are you doing something wrong? The reservoir should not be totally full!)
Do you have any idea how quick engine damage happens when the engine gets overheated?

------------------------------

Is the oil level going UP? If it is gaining on the dipstick, then the coolant is going into the crankcase. Will look like a chocolate milkshake.

Internal crack in the area of the oil separator baffle on the back of the block is the suspect area for one of the possible block cracks. You can't see it without some disassembly.

The external block leak would be on the front of the engine, you should be able to see it if you look. Found this on a GIS, the circled areas are where coolant can leak from:



Either of these leaks are covered under the 8 year unlimited mileage warranty extension. All damaged parts from overheating are covered as well, as long as the block is at fault.

If something else like your water pump or a hose has been leaking, that's technically not covered by the block warranty extension.

See your dealer. It is up to them to make the determination.


Have ALL recalls been done? There were belt and tensioner and pump pulley related recalls. See your dealer.

karkfump

The overheating was by all appearance the result of the thermostat sticking. Replacing the thermostat cured that issue. I drove the car home and pulled off when the temperature gauge topped out (the simple series of white squares). Upon replacing the thermostat, I topped the coolant level off directly in the radiator, not the overflow tank (which is slightly above the max line). so far there is no evidence of any water or coolant in the oil, or any increase in the oil level, but I have not been able to find any evidence of any external leaks either.

The belt pulley and tensioner were replaced by the dealer over a year ago.

ezone

Maybe it is just burping out air since you replaced the thermostat?

If you only filled the radiator after replacing the stat, then jumped on the road and drove it, that would probably explain needing refilled. Air was trapped in the engine after the stat replacement.

This is what I use


Lock the funnel on to the radiator, fill it up, run the engine until the fans cycle. This gets all the air burped out under most conditions.

karkfump

That would be logical if I had only topped it off once, but it has been well over a gallon+ total over the past week (4 to 6 times topping it off) and less than 32 ounces was lost during the replacement of the thermostat.

Anyway I did notice a drip underneath (haven't jacked it up yet or had it on a rack) today, landing on the exhaust about 6 inches back from the oil pan, and I could see a little steam being emitted in that area, or it may have been the coolant dripping onto the exhaust. I will get it on the rack tomorrow for a better look.

Any ideas guys as to a drip in that location?

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Dont keep driving it while it overheats, you may blow the headgasket.

Pressure test would be a good place to start.

karkfump

There is no overheating issue. The car only overheated when the thermostat stuck, and the thermostat has was replaced the following day.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Ah ok, a pressure test will help you find the leak faster either way.

karkfump

The Honda service department took less than 4 hours to determine that it was indeed a cracked block on my Civic, so it is covered and I may have the new short block installed by this time next week.

By the way, the crack was up on the backside of the block, close to the intake manifold I believe.

ezone

4 hours? I bet it took a tech about 10 minutes, tops. And yes, it can take a week to get it all done. It is a 2 day job, but it can easily take a week to get everything together and actually get it accomplished.

I have yet to see one cracked on the back.
So far I have only seen them cracked on the front.
Or overheated and ran til it quit, so we have no idea where the leak started.

It takes a while...I order what I think I need and then go drop the engine and trans out. Take it apart. Measure the head and order it if necessary. Get parts. Cuss. Reorder whatever is missing, and stuff is always forgotten. Assemble and reinstall. Run and drive it, and recheck. (I have had to order more stuff at this point too.)
I can never stay on a job like that from start to finish without interruptions.

At least you are going to get a free engine out of this. Yay.

johng35

Do they only replace the block ? The shop swaps all of your old internals and then bolt all the extras back on the new block?

I would think they have rebuilt bottom ends on stand by - then Honda uses your internasl for the next guy ?
Just curious how this works in this case for the R18 - and the extended warranty from Honda.

ezone

Read through this thread. Read MY replies to this thread.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...-cracking.html


You will get what is needed and a running car will be returned to you. Nothing more, nothing less.
I would always ask for the rocket scientist to do the work. I wouldn't want the oil change kids or a hack to do the work.
If something isn't right when you get it back, you go right back in there and keep at it until it's right. They are not going to rebuild your entire car though.
New block. '09+ style.
It is a short block assembly. Crank, rods, and pistons come in it.
Old blocks are scrapped. (I like to think they are melted down to make Bud Light cans and Kias.)
Warehouse full of new ones.
Cylinder head if needed. If you didn't overheat severely, the old head will be reused.
Anything melted. Dipstick and coils melt when someone runs it til it quits.
New water pump. New bolt for the tensioner.
Read my posts in that thread linked above.

karkfump

Complete short block was replaced, plus new head gasket, oil seal, but less than 2 weeks and I have my first ever (for this car) engine malfunction light coming on and my ODB II scanner just gets an error when I try to read the code?

It was fun for a moment! :Þ

ezone

Take it right back to them--- "EVER SINCHOU TOUCHED IT....."

It is VERY possible they did (or forgot) something that caused the light.
It's a big job, it can happen. (Could be as simple as one of the 4 dozen connectors not plugged in all the way. Or not.)
OTOH, it could be totally unrelated.
Nobody knows..... until it is diagnosed.
Hope they (the tech AND the shop) are honest and ethical no matter if it is their fault or not.

Did your scanner work on this particular car before? Is it CAN capable?
If it DID work on this car before, you might mention to them that it no longer works, it could be related to the problem.
If it never ever worked on this car before, then don't mention it.

karkfump

I had never used my scanner on this car, and I have had the link error the past couple of times I have tried using it on other cars so I assume it is fried. Advance Auto read the code for me the other day and it was pointing to the coolant temp sensor, or coolant levels, but the levels are fine.

ezone

It's your scanner, not the car.




Their description, or yours, doesn't tell a darn thing.
Be far more specific. Exact code number?

karkfump

Yeah, not sure about their actual code number, so I ordered myself a new scanner and should have it tomorrow.

karkfump

P-0128 Coolant temperature below the thermostat regulating temperature?

ezone

Ok, an ordinary person might read that definition and just decide to throw the specified part at the problem.

I, on the other hand, want to know:

Freeze frame data
Does the stat work
What does CTS #2 act like

Does the PCM have the newest software?
(You can't determine this info with your scanner.)


Meaning, it COULD need a thermostat, or it COULD need a temp sensor #2, or it COULD have corroded wiring in the connector, or all the above....

OR it needs a reflash, per TSB #09-092. This addresses the common CTS #2 problem, and the software update for the P0128 code. (Yes, the sensor is a problem area.)

You are way out of warranty, so be ready to pay.
Chances are good that this has nothing to do with the engine job done last week.
May as well try to blame the dealer anyway, seems like the last one to touch it always owns all the new problems no matter what.