rayhaque

I have a 99 Honda Civic that I bought in 2000. Has been SOLID only needing mufflers, tires, and oil changes over the years. I am just rolling around to 170,000 miles on it. A week ago I was driving home from work and it overheated.

1) Started by replacing the thermostat and radiator cap. Also, checked fluids. Still overheats!
2) Ran through the "burping" procedure several times, still overheats.
3) Knowing that I am overdue for a water pump and a timing belt, I spent a day replacing the timing belt, water pump (which looked perfect coming out) and all other belts since they looked worn. Still overheats!
4) Flushed my system using Prestone stuff suspecting radiator blockage. No dice! Was supposed to drive the car 3-6 hours before dumping it out. But i can't run the car for more than an hour or 2 miles before it starts running hot.

Some things to note:
- The fans run (both radiator and AC fans, I checked both).
- I seem to be getting good heat from the dash when I drive it around. Heater core does not seem blocked.
- When flushing, water runs straight through the top and out the bottom with no resistance. Doesn't seem clogged?

I know most would suspect a blown head gasket. However, I pulled all my plugs after running it for a while. No signs of moisture in there. No vapor (or strange odors) from the tailpipe. And no signs of any oil/antifreeze mixing going on.

I also suspected that the thermostat was bad or I put it in wrong, so I pulled it out and ran without it. Still overheating!

I noticed when I am running hot that there is steam escaping from the top left corner of my radiator. Is there a release valve in there, or is my radiator just bad? Also - when looking at it, the fins look bent or worn on the BOTTOM half of the radiator but look fine on the TOP half of the radiator. Almost like an animal crawled in there and bent them up for me.

New radiator? It's the only thing I can think to replace that I haven't replaced already. I also wanted to do a combustion gas test, but none of the auto parts shop in this area sell the kit. And ... it's $70 online. OUCH.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well if you overheat without a thermo in there, its a blockage in the system. more than likely radiator is the issue and no steam should be escaping. sounds like you have a small leak and not able to hold coolant pressure. bent fins are normal from rocks and other flying debris, and should not significantly affect cooling performance.

rayhaque

I was expecting a radiator to cost $300. Looks like I can buy a new one for $80 for this car so why not? I might as well throw some new hoses and clamps in there too.

It will have to wait until Friday when I get paid though. I broke the bank with the repairs and tools this past week.

I see a lot of these overheating posts are never followed up with what fixed the problem. So I will be sure to report back on whether this fixed it or not.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

^ Thanks

Note: if you not loosing coolant in an invisible way, head gasket might not be the issue (you made no mention of it, so am supposing that is not happening)

Note 2: next time, be sure to post in the 6th gen ( 1999 cars are 6th, not 8th/9th) - not gonna bother you too much about that

Note 3:these engines seem to behave differently - it's not coolant that gets in engine, it's exhaust that gets out of gasket to the coolant so you are not going to find moisture in the cylinder most of the cases, rather the coolant blowing out of the overflow tank due to the gases going out the combustion chamber to cooling system.

rayhaque

Oh no. When the engine runs hot, that is what I was experiencing. GURGLING in the overflow, and that little burst of steam coming out of the radiator. Problem is, I don't know if that is just "hot air" or combustion gasses!

If there any other way to check for combustion gasses other than one of those $70 kits that I have to order online?

It would suck to throw another $100 into this, only to find out that it's probably the head gasket.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

sorry, have not been online since then...
many have found that the gases test kit do not actually indicates presence of combustion gases, but they bit the bullet and changed the gasket and have been happy since then... (when no CEL comes on, off course...)

rayhaque

I am pleased to say that my overheat problem is resolved!

Went out this morning and bought a new radiator and hoses. Had or order in the lower hose from out of town, but it came in this afternoon and I was able to finish the job Drove about 5 miles, stopping inbetween to check for leaks and such. Never overheated! I think my overheating days are over.

So to reiterate:
The problem was likely a bad radiator. With steam escaping from the top (which I didn't notice at first) it was probably losing coolant and pressure. Replacing the radiator would have probably sufficed. However - it helps to put in new hoses. My timing belt and water pump were "overdue" for changing. And why not put on all new belts if you have to pull them all off anyway?

Also, the "burping' procedure went much better this time. Before it seemed like I was burping forever - and there were always air bubbles! This time around, I really felt like I was able to complete it. I got to the point where clinching the bottom hose only brought up coolant - and no air bubbles!

Thanks for all the advice folks. I am happy to have it back on the road.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

glad you got it fixed.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

glad to see it got fixed - so the evaporation leaks was your clue, i assume