Rep Power: 0

To begin with, I just want to say hey guys. Its my first post, and I've heard only could things about the forum so i'm here to give it a chance!

I have a 1997 Honda Civic LX (Non Vtec) I think its a 1.3 liter. I noticed once I was in traffic that the temperature gage began to rise, so I thought maybe I was just low on coolant so I topped it off and noticed it didn't fix anything.

When I begin to drive and get air flowing through the radiator, the temp gage goes back to normal. This lead me to think that the fan relay may be out, so i replaced it, and it didn't do anything.

I then replaced the fan/motor (thinking the fan motor failed), and got the motor hot and noticed the fan kicked. Sweet, I thought I fixed the issue, but no, a week later same thing...fan ain't kicking anymore.

I replaced the radiator cap, and put a new thermostat on, and even a new radiator switch. And....still didn't fix it...

Then I though maybe the fan motor was faulty, so I went and replaced the fan put the new new one in, and NOTHING.

I AM STUCK and frustrated that why it still overheats when in idle and the motor at running temperature. What else could it be that isn't kicking the fan on when need be?!?!?!


HELP!!!!

 
Rep Power: 242

Water pump, headgasket.

 
Rep Power: 0

There wasn't any oil in the radiator or coolant in the dip stick. So I'm guessing it's not the head gasket.

And if it was the water pump shouldn't the fan still kick on?

 
Rep Power: 208

blown head gasket

 
Rep Power: 0

well wouldn't I see it in the coolant or oil?

 
Rep Power: 208

no....

 
Rep Power: 209

Do yourself a favor and do a google search for honda civic head gasket failure and you will find that most people never encounter coolant mixed with the oil. More commonly coolant will rise in overflow tank and not get transferred back into radiator during cooling off period...subsequently, radiator coolant will get low.

Rent (free) a block-tester from Autozone or other chain store and buy the ($9) fluid to test with. It's a blue fluid that will turn yellow or green if your coolant is getting exhaust gases in it from a blown head gasket. Also, do a cylinder compression test. Most importantly post your results. I doubt a 50 year old prostitute has blown more heads than these old civics.

 
Rep Power: 517

Manually jumper the fan switch and see if it kicks the fan on.

Repeat about 1000 times and make sure it comes on every time. If it fails to come on even once, figure out why.




And, letting it overheat can blow the head gasket. Oil and water don't have to mix to be blown.

 
Rep Power: 203

Read this thread.....

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...reference.html

it's for 7th gen but the information still applies..

Anytime you overheat a Civic engine you stand a chance of damaging the headhasket.

If it's a north American Civic it should be a D16y7 engine 1.6l. The more often it overheats the more likely the head will be warped. The head will also need to be checked and possibly machined while the headgasket is being replaced. If you fail to do that you've wasted your time changing the headgasket.

 
Rep Power: 0

One item you missed is the FAN SWITCH temp sensor. When coolant temp reaches above 95C, this turns on the fan relay, then fan kicks on to cool radiator. You need 22mm deep socket and extension to prevent breaking the plastic connector when installed. Update your results once you install it.