Rep Power: 0

Hi everyone,

I have come here seeking some help from the smarter than myself people here. I have a 1994 civic 4dr.

A couple of months ago my poor baby started overheating, the
radiator had sprung a leak, so I changed out the radiator, its better
but if I drive for extended periods of time, longer than 20-30min
or more the car will start heating up while I am stopped at a sign or at a red light. Once i start driving again its fine the needle comes back down.

I noticed my fan wasn't coming on so I decided to bite the bullet and
I changed the thermostat and fan switch and fan relay. That worked
and now my fan comes on when the cars temp goes up. But I still have
the original problem. My car heats up while stopped and when I get going again its fine. Also after a long drive I can see and hear bubbling sounds from the coolant reservoir and the top outside of the bottle is wet with coolant. I don't have the means (right now) to go out and buy another car, and Im not the kind that just gives up, can someone tell me what to look for so that I can usually (with a little studying) fix it myself.


Thanks all.,

 
Rep Power: 0

you need to find out if coolant is actually circulating through the entire system. they have some die you can buy.

 
Rep Power: 518

I would guess the head gasket was compromised during the previous overheats, and now it has manifested itself in the symptoms you see now.

Right now the radiator/cooling system is low on antifreeze, that's why it gets hot at idle.
If you refill and burp it, it will be forced out again in a short time because of the head gasket leak. (leaking combustion gases )

HTH

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for the replies, where would the coolant be leaking to, I don't see any puddles.

Thanks

 
Rep Power: 518

Yes you did.



And it isn't a coolant leak. It is a combustion leak that is displacing the coolant.