spooky11

I have a 2004 Honda Civic EX with about 130,000 miles on it. I noticed that it was starting to run warm and I got it checked up and they determined I had a blown head gasket. Had them replace it along with the timing belt and water pump while they were in there.

Got the car back and it is still heating up quickly. I am talking about 1 minute and at speeds less than 30 mph I will be at a mid range temperature reading. And then this morning after driving for about 40 minutes I began to slow down from speeds of about 60 mph to idle and it started to overheat above the half way point.

When I sped back up, it cooled off. I then shortly thereafter parked and shutdown the car. I noticed either white smoke or steam coming from beneath the engine hood as I walked into the building.

Having not driven it for the day, I went out looked it over and it seemed to be way low on coolant, so I filled it up and took of form home where it heated up quickly again, but never going above or even quit reaching the halfway temperature setting.

So I am currently at a loss on what the problem could be with this car after reading all I could around through this and several other forums.

Thanks for the help.

ezone

Heating up....yeah, when it's 90+ outside (remember that things can get much hotter than that sitting in the sun) the gauge can show operating temp pretty dang quick.


FIRST STEP: Refill the radiator so it doesn't continue overheating, take it back to the shop because apparently they haven't fixed it yet. You paid good money for them to fix it, yes? Get your moneys worth.





If you must DIY:
Does the radiator fan(s) run when it should?

Fill the radiator completely full, and burp all the air from the cooling system.
Fill the reservoir to the MAX line (usually about halfway up the bottle)

If it leaks out under the engine compartment anywhere, stop there and figure out why. Don't drive with an active coolant leak.


Drive it and see what happens. Don't let it run hot, any overheat event can ruin even a brand new head gasket and more.

RustyShackle

This isn't really related to spooky's problem but since our lord and savior ezone is present I have to ask a question that doesn't deserve it's own thread.

I am getting close to doing a timing belt/water pump soon and wondering about adding new coolant after draining to replace the water pump. Is there anything more to the burping procedure apart from filling the rad full and the overflow reservoir to the line, then run the engine with heater on and molest the coolant hoses adding coolant as needed?

ezone

I'm just a dumb mechanic.

There are several ways to burp a system.....
Knowing many different ways to accomplish a task allows one to select what may work best in a given situation.

I adapt/alter methods to match the system in front of me.
Adapt on the fly.



I prefer using the funnel-fill tool and running the engine about 2000-3000 RPM until the thermostat has opened a few times. Quick, simple, and I don't have to babysit it forever.

I also might adjust the car so radiator neck is the highest point in the system, which would mean raising the front end as high as reasonable safety allows....then running the engine until the thermostat has opened and air bubbles have been purged through.

If there are known issues with a design that makes burping really difficult, I might disconnect or (pry open) a hose at a high point to let trapped air escape, or manipulate a hose to push air on through.


I've seen where Honda just says to leave the radiator cap set on the first detent and let the engine run until the fan cycles a couple times too.

After a service I usually overfill the reservoir a little bit so that any air that works itself out later on doesn't leave the reservoir low.

If there is too much air left in a system, that may cause problems when the system tries to recover coolant out of the reservoir during cooldown, so it's important to get as much air out as you can the first time.