Hqly2001

I took my 2005 Civic in for oil change and honda advisor suggested i change timing belt and water pump due to it having 150k. I said fine.

After i got my car back i noticed the radiator reservior was filled to top but the radiator was dry. I drove car a few bloack and noticed reservior full again and radiator was dry. I pour more anti freeze in radiator and drove around then chevk next morning same thing. I took car back in and they said i had after market cap so i bought new rad cap and i got them to chekc line for leaks and they said everythign was fine. I get home same thing again. After the initial repair job when i start the engine it screech before starting. Wasnt smooth like before, it started up immediately before the repair. Not sure now why it takes a while to start sometimes now and it screeches!

Ive got two problems that honda said they dont know what happened. I suspect they either didnt flush or got something stuck in the system or screwed something up. The advisor heard the noise when i tried to start car but he said it didnt sound unsual, he lied. I cant figure what cause the screeching sound whenninstart the engine.

They arent willing to trace back their work to figure out the problem. Usually when antifeeeze is stuck in reservior without going to radiator that would mean theres a leak somewhere.

Im upset with honda and getting no where with them! Help me!

mikey1

where is your temp guage reading through all this madness?

is it getting hot? overheating?

me thinks you have a blown head gasket

pjb3

Search this site for head gasket problems and you should find all you need to know about the possible problem. The basics is that the most common way for a head gasket to fail on the Civic allows combustion gases to enter the cooling system which displaces coolant causing the reservoir to overflow. The combustion gases in the cooling system also prevent it from pulling the antifreeze from the reservoir back into the radiator.

Normally the leak is slow enough that it takes time for the gases to displace enough antifreeze to overflow the reservoir. You describe it happening faster than most.

I'm not sure what to say about your dealer. If you bring a car in and tell them to replace the timing belt I'm not sure I would expect them to catch a bad head gasket. A good tech might or might not. The screeching when you start the car sounds like a slipping belt which they should easily fix.

Hqly2001

my gauge reading looks normal. The car hasn't overheated driving 10 miles from dealership home, but again, maybe tis cause I filled up coolant before the drive home. I have no idea where coolant is going. Dealer said no leaks, replaced cap, car not overheating, yet. Car might overheat if I don't fill in coolant before driving. Now I'm afraid to drive back cause if car overheats then it's done!


PJ, I had them replace timing belt and water pump. The tech said he noticed low antifreeze and mentioned it to advisor, who should've contacted me and ask if I wanted to follow through with repair. Checked the coolant level etc every week and never saw the coolant reservoir overfilled like this. I drove several hundred miles days before without a problem. They didn;t note that the reservoir was overflowing either.


Could replacing the timing belt and water pump cause these problems?

mikey1

i do.....your overflow bottle is puking it out onto the road while your driving




no

Hqly2001

no, while driving the overflow doesn't flow out. However, after driving when the engine is warm, I open the radiator cap carefully and it's empty but then the overflow started to boil out. I drove up and down the street and saw no evidence of it flowing out or on the ground while driving.


It possible that they didn't flush the coolant system well or if there's a plug that caused the coolant to be stuck in the reservoir?

mikey1

my $5 dollar bet is is still on the head gasket

Hqly2001

I'm trying to determine if there's any possibility of the cause of the overflow of the reserve be due to a clog or improper bleeding of the system by the mechanic. The problem wasn't there before I brought it in. I read that blown head gasket means car would overheat. Since it's not overheating, I suspect something was done to block the coolant in the reservoir which will ultimately cause a blown gasket if not taken care of.


Anyone know about the extended warranty being made out to 2005 models as well? I see a posting for the 2006-2008 models.

Reverb2005

When they change the water pump, some coolant comes out. From what I understand they don't actually "bleed" the system, they just replace what was lost.

You can try to change the coolant yourself, pretty easy. The "simple" method is to just turn the stop-**** on the bottom of the rad and catch all the fluid, then fill. Otherwise, there is a DIY here to completely flush the system. Either way, doesn't sounds like it will solve the problem.

When/If you change your fluid, make sure you burp it properly, again, look at the DIY.

ezone

Low coolant level inside the radiator is why it overheats.
Low coolant and overheating are just symptoms.

You need to find the cause.

bsmiley

Another overheating thread? Why? We even have a thread that covers the topic: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html

Search & read. That is all.

Hqly2001

My car has not overheated.

After driving around block today the cap is cool but the hose is hot.

I have a feeling its not the head gasket as evetyone is thinking. But honda sucks and cant find the problem.

ezone

Ok I must have misinterpreted what I read about the reservoir boiling out. Sorry. I'm not the only one LOL



Screech noise upon startup: probably the alternator belt didn't get tightened enough.


Fill radiator and burp cooling system, fill reservoir to the max line (NEVER completely full).
(I think the overheating thread linked has info on how to burp the system)
Drive and recheck levels of both.
The burping process might take a few warmup and cooldown cycles but the levels should become stable after the air is expelled.
You'll have to check often to make sure they are filled.

Once stable and burped the radiator is supposed to stay completely full at all times and the reservoir will go up and down as the engine temp changes but return to the same starting point each time the engine is cold.



But if it keeps pushing fluid out of the radiator and overfilling the reservoir, that's usually a head gasket.

Did a ***** run the engine for a while without coolant in it?? No way of knowing.

Most shops and dealers tend to employ a bunch of people with widely varying skill levels. Not all can be rocket scientists....

Hqly2001

Thx.

Only the reservior is full. when i drove then opened the radiator when it was warm was only time the reservior boiled out. The radiator was empty to the eye but the reservior started to boil out. The reservior is always at max and radiator is empty. Weird.. Honda says its normal! That is not normal!

mikey1

= blown head gasket

i raise my bet to $20 now

ezone

I sure hope you are keeping the radiator filled.


The mouthpiece at the counter or on the phone rarely has in-depth knowledge about cars. They tend to parrot what they hear from the techs/mechanics without any real understanding, so they usually don't realize when they repeat something wrong.

Sometimes it's a lot like the game, 'telephone'.


Count me in for another $20.

Hqly2001

Since its an older car and im ready to just toss it when it breaks down, can i fill coolant and drive it til it breaks? How long would it last until itll stop running?

mikey1

as long as its getting you where you want to go, i guess you can do whatever you want, its your car and your money

if you want to keep buying coolant and re-filling it then thats up to you

ezone

Since when is a 2005 car considered old?

It's still got a lot of resale value if it's in decent shape even with 150k.
If it's driven until it becomes a paperweight, it's worth a whole lot less.

Hqly2001

If its head gasket then its gonna cost 1-2k. Ive read that once its head gasket then its gonna blow again. Just found out a fruend with same year model has had his head gasket blown 3 times. He sold after ficing the third time.

ezone

I've not had issues such as that with any I have fixed....(that I'm aware of).

But there are many people that just don't know to quit driving when a problem arises, before it becomes a disaster.
Too many people keep driving far beyond the point of no return.

If there is ANY sign it's getting warmer than it should, long before the needle is bent in half screaming hot, shut it off and figure out why.

Any overheat event has the potential to cause serious damage no matter if the gasket job is brand new or old.




Not finding and fixing the root cause of a failure can cause repeat failures.

Poor workmanship can cause repeat failures.

The wrong person working on your car can turn it to junk in very short order.
Even at a dealer.

mikey1

his head is probably warped after overheating,

which would cause repeated gasket failure

bsmiley

Mikey, to my astonishment, the OP corrected my earlier post. He hasn't overheated. He has a radiator problem don't ya know.