03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
08-27-2016
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03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
Been steadily trying to get my 03' civic in working order. Able to fix a lot on it so far. Unfortunately I used blue-devil in this car a few months ago which has probably caused all sorts of issues. When I go to drive this car, like the title states, it overheats in under 5 minutes. And then when I go to turn the fans on hot, no heat will come out, only cool air. Not sure what this is an indication of. Also, when it overheated I turned it off, and felt the upper hose that connects to the rad, hot as can be. Then when I go to feel the hose connecting to the stat housing, it's cool. I just replaced the stat, feel certain I did the job correctly, it was brand new OEM, new gasket, the jiggle pin wiggles freely over the gasket and the indentations on the gasket mated with the grooves on the stat housing. Not sure where else to look.
Thank you
Thank you
Last edited by Niaboc67; 08-27-2016 at 08:49 PM.
08-28-2016
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Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
First off, ebsure your cooant system is properly filled. Burp your coolant system by parking at an incline such that there is no doubt that the radiator cap is the highest point in the coolant system. Pop off the cap and start your car, heater on full blast. Top off radiator as necessary. Stop after you're sure no bubbles appear in the radiator. What I like to do is top it off fully, making sure no bubbles appear, then run it for an additional 5-10 minutes.
You could also do a boil test with the t-stat. You will have to do the above procedure again, though. With the t-stat cold, ensure the valve is shut. Toss it in some water overy a stove. The t-stat should open at 180F (I think). Maybe 190. If it does, kill the heat and make sure it closes.
If all that passes, get a compression test done and expect the worst news.
You could also do a boil test with the t-stat. You will have to do the above procedure again, though. With the t-stat cold, ensure the valve is shut. Toss it in some water overy a stove. The t-stat should open at 180F (I think). Maybe 190. If it does, kill the heat and make sure it closes.
If all that passes, get a compression test done and expect the worst news.
08-28-2016
#3
Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
you started out with a bad dream, now you turned it into a nightmare,
chances are you have a bad head gasket, now you put that crap in it you will most likely need to replace other components like your water pump, rad, heater core, etc etc
08-28-2016
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First off, ebsure your cooant system is properly filled. Burp your coolant system by parking at an incline such that there is no doubt that the radiator cap is the highest point in the coolant system. Pop off the cap and start your car, heater on full blast. Top off radiator as necessary. Stop after you're sure no bubbles appear in the radiator. What I like to do is top it off fully, making sure no bubbles appear, then run it for an additional 5-10 minutes.
You could also do a boil test with the t-stat. You will have to do the above procedure again, though. With the t-stat cold, ensure the valve is shut. Toss it in some water overy a stove. The t-stat should open at 180F (I think). Maybe 190. If it does, kill the heat and make sure it closes.
If all that passes, get a compression test done and expect the worst news.
You could also do a boil test with the t-stat. You will have to do the above procedure again, though. With the t-stat cold, ensure the valve is shut. Toss it in some water overy a stove. The t-stat should open at 180F (I think). Maybe 190. If it does, kill the heat and make sure it closes.
If all that passes, get a compression test done and expect the worst news.
It's hard to drive this car anywhere because it only lasts 5 minutes. I live on flatland, trying to think of a way to prop it upwards, because I know the coolant system has to be bled.
Ok, so:
1. Park on an incline to get rad cap at highest point
2. Pop of rad cap
3. Turn on car
4. Turn heater on full blast
5. Fill with coolant (if nessecarry)
6. Let run until you see no bubbles
7. Then let it run an additional 5-10 minutes
The cooling system is filled with 50/50. I'm thinking possibly clogged heater core due to no heat coming out, even when the temp gauge is 3/4's the way. Maybe clogged due to blue devil, after I poured that stuff in there, I looked in the radiator an hour later and there were these white rock salt deposits. Also when I took the stat out, it was caked in the stuff.
There seems to a major restriction for coolant flow. Because when the car overheats I'll feel the upper rad hose, it will be very hot, yet, the stat hose will be cool. Other than a stat what else would cause there not to be hot coolant flowing to the stat area? The hot coolant seems to move freely to upper rad hose, but the stat hose, not at all. Could this be caused by a clogged radiator or a clogged heater core?
Thanks again
08-28-2016
#5
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
you started out with a bad dream, now you turned it into a nightmare,
Buy another potential nightmare from someone else.
Lather. Rinse. Wipe hands on pants.
craigslist.org
08-28-2016
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that crap will gum up your whole system,
you started out with a bad dream, now you turned it into a nightmare,
chances are you have a bad head gasket, now you put that crap in it you will most likely need to replace other components like your water pump, rad, heater core, etc etc
you started out with a bad dream, now you turned it into a nightmare,
chances are you have a bad head gasket, now you put that crap in it you will most likely need to replace other components like your water pump, rad, heater core, etc etc
When the temp gauge is at 3/4 the way I turn on the heat, nothin' but cool air. What would cause this?
Also, after it overheat and I shut the engine off, I check the hoses, the upper rad hose is very hot, while the stat hose is cool. Other than a bad stat, what else could cause coolant to not flow down there, or possibly not cause hot coolant to flow to the stat area.
Thank you
08-28-2016
#7
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
When the temp gauge is at 3/4 the way I turn on the heat, nothin' but cool air. What would cause this?
Guess what's missing from that equation.
You need to figure out why.
Core clogged? Water valve stuck closed? Heater box temp (blend) servo inop? Linkage problems on the heater case?
Air trapped? Coolant empty?
08-28-2016
#8
Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
this is because your heater core is gummed up/clogged due to the crap you put into the cooling system,
the coolant can not pass through the heater core fast enough now (or at all), which is why you get cold air blowing,
this is why i said previously you will most likely have to replace the heater core,
the exact same thing is probably happening with your radiator, which again is why i said you will need to replace it,
08-29-2016
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this is because your heater core is gummed up/clogged due to the crap you put into the cooling system,
the coolant can not pass through the heater core fast enough now (or at all), which is why you get cold air blowing,
this is why i said previously you will most likely have to replace the heater core,
the exact same thing is probably happening with your radiator, which again is why i said you will need to replace it,
the coolant can not pass through the heater core fast enough now (or at all), which is why you get cold air blowing,
this is why i said previously you will most likely have to replace the heater core,
the exact same thing is probably happening with your radiator, which again is why i said you will need to replace it,
Also, what could be causing no flowing coolant through the stat hose? The stat is brand new and it's been replaced several times, I am 99% certain the stat is operating correctly. It's as if the coolant in that stat area isn't heating up. Could the heater-core be preventing the sending of the hot coolant to the stat hose?
Thank you
08-30-2016
#10
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Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
Besides doing that you should do a proper flush on the engine to hopefully remove that blue-jizz that's in coolant system.
08-31-2016
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Watch: How to Flush a Heater Core (Fast) - YouTube
Besides doing that you should do a proper flush on the engine to hopefully remove that blue-jizz that's in coolant system.
Besides doing that you should do a proper flush on the engine to hopefully remove that blue-jizz that's in coolant system.
Would flushing it really get the blue-jizz out though? I looked down in the radiator and I could see chunks floating around at the top.
Oh but ChrisFix is the man! He always does these jobs on his mazda truck or ford minivan though. How does one do this on a 2003 civic. I couldn't find a post or video on how to do this on the 7th gen. If someone could please post pictures of where the tubes are such that would be great.
08-31-2016
#12
Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
in my opinion, no, nothing will,
that stuff basically turn into gum....literally, it will stick to everything in your cooling system, and plug everything up,
which is why i said originally you should be expecting to replace your rad and heater core at absolute minimum
that stuff basically turn into gum....literally, it will stick to everything in your cooling system, and plug everything up,
which is why i said originally you should be expecting to replace your rad and heater core at absolute minimum
08-31-2016
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Would flushing it really get the blue-jizz out though? I looked down in the radiator and I could see chunks floating around at the top.
Oh but ChrisFix is the man! He always does these jobs on his mazda truck or ford minivan though. How does one do this on a 2003 civic. I couldn't find a post or video on how to do this on the 7th gen. If someone could please post pictures of where the tubes are such that would be great.
Oh but ChrisFix is the man! He always does these jobs on his mazda truck or ford minivan though. How does one do this on a 2003 civic. I couldn't find a post or video on how to do this on the 7th gen. If someone could please post pictures of where the tubes are such that would be great.
08-31-2016
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08-31-2016
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Which I am prepared to do, looks like I can get both the rad and core for under 150$
08-31-2016
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If you intend to work it yourself (as in asking a forum), any manual is worth it's weight in gold to find the hidden bolts and supposedly good where to start and where to now.
08-31-2016
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08-31-2016
#18
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Re: 03 civic overheats in under 5 minutes of driving?
However, if you go over either the heater core PSI limit you might damage your already gummed up (damaged) heater core. So, in essence blowing a load of blue jizz could make things worse and
things up. Lol. 
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