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98 ex civic auto/w AC y8. installed aftermarket radiator, slim fan,and a 1.3 radiator cap about 9 months ago. i live in hawaii so it's always hot. it's been overheating especially in the day time. all three sensors were replace including oem thermo. the curious thing is that when i check the radiator it's empty and my coolant reservoir is full. i'm thinking the cap isn't good. i've done the air bleeding remedy but i'm still having problems. no sign of head gasket blown and plugs check good. any help would apprerciate.

 
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It's your head gasket man...

 
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thanks for the reply. i wasn't positive about the hg being blown so i'm taking it to a shop on Monday to have it checked. what is the best test to verify the head gasket blown.

 
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check it on Tbohar's signature... right in front of yer eyes

 
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Yea click on the Overheating? Here is why link in my signature and it will give you a **** ton of info on overheating and HG's

 
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Simple fill rad up till no more coolant will fit remove both caps start engine and leave it running with it blowing on full heat for 5 mins keep a check on your rad level as it bleeds through engine if you got no movement your water pumps done replace caps go for 10 min drive stop on a level road and check you coolant is running through engine and temp is remaining at normal level just below half way and second of all id check your ATF is correct

 
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^ all in the signature, again

 
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i got same prob today with my civic 98. i just came from 30 day vacation. i am currently working in SAUDI arabia. i notice that when i am running my car with AC, specially when i was in idle the engine temperature goes high.

i read the Overheating common causes - reference.

gonna try the ff: hope it fix my prob.

2. You need to bleed the coolant system of air, which consists of jacking up the front of the car while it is cold. Removing the radiator cap, starting the car and turning the heat on full heat full blast. As the radiator drains down you need to refill it with OEM Honda coolant. Once the air is all bled out I lower the car back on its wheels, leave the radiator cap off overnight and top up the radiator in the morning. You will notice it has gone down a little bit top it up, put the rad cap back on and off you go. If however, the overheating problem comes back go to step #3.

3. A thermostat and radiator cap are common causes of air getting into the cooling system. They tend to age and are actually part of a cars regular maintenance. Since your POS is overheating, change them out and repeat step #2. If the overheating continues go to step #4.

 
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Thanks for the help everyone. Just performed 3 tests using a "combustion leak tester" and 3 times it came out positive that I do have a blown head gasket. Blue dye turned a bit yellow greenish color.

 
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Yep... an overfilling overflow is almost a guaranteed sign that your head gasket is toast

 
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oh that sucks! are you fixing it or just doing an engine swap

 
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nice we just fix my engine overheating prob when we replace the thermostat. i thought it is not the thermostat prob coz the fan is running when we check it. but when we do more test we found out the thermostat got more delay to energize the fan causing the engine temp to ramp up.

 
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hi mauicivic,

what happen to your car now?

 
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Ok guys I am having trouble with my 99 civic overheating when I am stopped for a few minutes like a drive thru or just idling for 5 minutes. It will actually boil over . We replaced the radiator and thermostat and it still does it. Hoses all appear good any ideas . It is not using oil or water unless it overheats of course and oil is clean not milky? Turning heater on pulls temp right down to normal and my fans are kicking on as they should? Driving around town and on highway it stays normal only gets hot if idling for more than a minute or 2. It is driving me nuts so any ideas would be very appreciated????