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Hello, I recently purchased a 2001 EX V-TEC w/ 160K miles (extremely clean and well-cared for). I had the timing belt/water pump done even though it had been done around the 103K mark and also had the valve lash adjusted. Today I decided to take the car up into the mountains to see how it would do. Upon reaching the destination (went from 1500ft to 4600ft in about 12 miles) I noticed the temperature creeping upwards, which I expected due to the climb. I then stopped at a drive-thru to get a drink and noticed the temperature gauge pegged in the red, so I pulled into a stall and let it cool down. I then drove towards home, experiencing mild overheating (slightly above 3/4 of the gauge), but the engine ran fine with no power issues and the temperature mainly stayed within the normal range. I pulled into the driveway and popped the hood to find coolant loitering in the battery tray and dried on the air intake box (obviously coming from the nearly full overflow tank). I cleaned up the mess and did a pressure test on the system with no issues (held 16psi for 5 minutes). Since this issue earlier today, I haven't seen the needle go past the normal range, and I pushed the engine hard to try and recreate the conditions. I read all the posts about this problematic situation the 1.7L engines face. I believe the car runs too well for a head gasket to be the issue. I've also heard that air in the system can violently expel from the system at times, taking some coolant with it. Being a GM small block / LS-based guy, I know nothing about these Honda engines, and with many possible contributors to the coolant loss/overheating, I'm not sure what else to do to try and diagnose (I hate throwing parts at things that aren't the issue).
After driving for a bit to confirm a bad H/G, massive amounts of bubbles could be seen coming up within the coolant overflow tank (not much else can cause this many bubbles). We're going to do a leak down test on Monday, but I think I'm going to bite the bullet and do the head gasket, water passage gasket, thermostat and radiator cap, coupled with a good radiator flush and new coolant. I'd rather replace everything in the system and rest easy, rather than throwing parts where they're not effective. Are there any other parts I should replace while we're in there?
I'll report back next week with the findings under the head.
the sureway to test for headgasket in these cars is the one ezone uses. i suppose you saw it before while researching, but would recommend doing again just in case.
unless it's massive amounts of leaks, other tests don't detect gasket leaks in this engine.
Mine, i diagnosed as gasket and i could still drive for 8 months and drive back from Quebec to TN, not a single overheat, but still losing coolant from overflow.
it was a small leak.
Understood, and I appreciate it! We'll perform the leak down test on Monday. Being around cars all my life tells me just to do the H/G repair and move on. Throwing the thermostat, rad cap and water passage gasket in for good measure. I'd rather jump inside the car knowing I don't need to carry around gallons of coolant in the trunk...Lol
Okay, folks, so we found that no pressure escaped into the water jacket, but instead leaked from cylinder #4 to #3, explaining why the heating of the coolant was so slow. Got the head back from the machine shop and will be reassembling on Monday!
