PoopyWeen

Hey!

I've been having problems with my 2002 Honda Civic overheating and I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out whats wrong with it. Just as a disclaimer, I'm definitely not a mechanic and have only basic knowledge about cars in general.

Anyways, this happened for a while a couple months ago. I figured it was the standard water pump issue so I took my car to the mechanic and he put in a new water pump, timing belt, thermostat and made sure the radiator wasn't leaking. Couple of months, no problems. Then it started again.

It doesn't overheat every time I drive it. It seems as though it happens more often when it's idling. Also, the heater works when it's running ok, but the heater starts blowing cold air right before it starts overheating. I checked the oil and it looks normal and not like the head gasket is blown.

If anyone has any idea what is wrong, PLEASE let me know! It's at the mechanic now and he can't find anything wrong with it and when he drives it, it isn't overheating (obviously the only time i want it to overheat....). Anyways, any input would help.

Thanks!

ezone

Overheat, loss of heater: Radiator is low.

Reservoir level is ____ ? (empty, or almost completely full?)
Mess of antifreeze has been sprayed from the reservoir?


I have no idea what that is. LOL

ezone

Of course it's blown. It's what these do.

PoopyWeen

Haha like I said, no one's ever accused me of being a mechanic. Fluid levels all seem to be fine and I haven't had any antifreeze spray. I was told that if the head gasket was blown the oil would be milky and bubbly and it looks fine. Could it still be blown?

ezone

This is not accurate.

That's only one of many possible symptoms a blown head gasket might cause....and this engine will not exhibit this symptom.




This engine will pass almost every check most people can think of for a blown head gasket. This is why nobody can figure out when one has blown. This is why everyone is always in denial.

Absolutely.

I have found only one test that reliably proves if there is a head gasket breach or not, on this engine.
It's buried somewhere in the first post in this link:

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/36-mechanical-problems-vehicle-issues-fix-forum/340759-overheating-misterious-coolant-loss-common-causes-reference.html

^^^CLICKY LINK^^^

He probably already filled up the radiator. Now it won't happen again for quite a while.

WAS the cooling system low? (yes)
Do the radiator fans operate correctly?

vtechcivic

I had an '01 civic that had the same symtoms. Just because a head gasket could be blown, it wont always have water in the oil. if there's no antifreeze in th eoil or on the ground, the only other way for it to disappear is out the exhaust as steam

ezone

Most of these push the coolant out of the overflow reservoir while driving down the road.

Sometimes there is very little mess left over and no puddles on the ground after you stop, so it's not noticed.

vtechcivic

Never thought about that. Makes total sense though!!

TimN

I am having an overheating issue with the 04 civic too. I've read several threads with similar issues. We had the timing belt changed 15,000 miles ago as preventative maintenance. A few months ago it began overheating and we changed the thermostat and radiator cap. Until recently it seemed to be OK but just the other day it overheated again...while idling in traffic. So we switched out the thermostat again. I drove it highway for an hour last night and no issues and then stopped to check on an issue and car began overheating and blew antifreeze out. Shut it off and then started driving and the gauge went to normal. Stopped to get gas and left it run and started to overheat again. This time I checked to see if fans were running. They would come on for 3-5 seconds and shut off for 30 seconds and then cycle again still while the gauge was rising. Started driving again and the gauge went back to normal. Got home and let it cool and removed the radiator cap, radiator was low and overflow was full. Added fluid and started car and fluid began to cycle and air bubbles surfaced. Allowed the car to run for 15 minutes before fans kicked on and temp gauge never did go above normal even after replacing cap. What the heck is going on? It has my mechanic and myself baffled. Please help if you know what to do next. Thanks.

mikey1

your head gasket is blown,

and now that the engine has overheated you will most likely need a new cylinder head as well, or at the very least have yours machined (if possible)

vtechcivic

If ur losing antifreeze and u can't see a puddle underneath or its not in your oil, I wud have to say a head gasket. The air bubbles could possibly be caused by the leaky gasket. If u wind up with a lot of air in the cooling system, it will definitely cause it to run hot. My '01 civic did the same thing. It wud be fine idling real n my yard but as soon as I'd take off, it'd overheat. I bought a used motor off line with between 45 and 50k miles on it. It only set me back $563 with shipping included. Plus, they shipped it right to my mechanic's front door.