no oil leaks, no coolant drips...but overheating and low oil.

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Nov 26, 2005
  #1  
I own a 2001 civic lx 5-speed and its overheating. there are no leaks anywhere, plenty of coolant, the fan works, the car overheats and i find that the oil level is drastically lower within 2months time after an oil change. how much is drasticallly, well lets just say that its barely a quarter of an inch on the dip stick.
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Nov 26, 2005
  #2  
might be a bad thermostat but if you still have oil on the dipstick your okay but when you get to the point of no oil on the dipstick your bad.
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Nov 26, 2005
  #3  
yea, check your thermestat, with all fluids and no leak, i'm 99.99% sure thats what it would be.
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Nov 27, 2005
  #4  
I forgot to note that i already changed my thermostat also.
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Nov 27, 2005
  #5  
how much lower are you talking about on the dipstick? And how much oil do you have to add. A car low on oil will overheat. If you have no oil, you create friction. Friction creates added heat. thus the engine overheats. Oil doesnt only lub ricate, it aids in cooling.
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Nov 27, 2005
  #6  
he said there is about 1/4 inch on the dipstick and i think that is a quart or less
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Nov 27, 2005
  #7  
ok, does the temp go back to normal once oil is added?
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Nov 28, 2005
  #8  
temp does stay cool longer, but after a 5-10 mile trip on the freeway it starts to heat up again
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Nov 28, 2005
  #9  
What is the position on the temperature guage?
Did you checked the thermostat? Put the thermostat in water and bring it close to boiling (better if you have a termometer too). Do the thermostat open?
Complete the oil to be between the marks.
The check engine ligt come on?
Have you check the coolant? Is between max and min? The coolant is cleat or have oil on it?
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Nov 28, 2005
  #10  
blown headgasket?

you can get a blown hg from infrequent oil changes as well.
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Nov 28, 2005
  #11  
Quote: What is the position on the temperature guage?
Did you checked the thermostat? Put the thermostat in water and bring it close to boiling (better if you have a termometer too). Do the thermostat open?
Complete the oil to be between the marks.
The check engine ligt come on?
Have you check the coolant? Is between max and min? The coolant is cleat or have oil on it?

You need to suspend the thermostat in a pot of water. If the thermostat is touching the bottom of the pan (or what ever) it will often be hotter than the water. Got that from the Helm.
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Nov 28, 2005
  #12  
You should get your oil chekced too, but that often is a long process, takes about a month for me.
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Nov 28, 2005
  #13  
Headgasket could be your issue. If it is, the coolant level will show high in the overflow bottle, but, low in the rad because of the exhaust pressure leaking into the cooling system and forcing the coolant out of the rad. Then you get air/steam pockets in the engine and the car overheats. Pay close attention to what's happening because you don't want to toast the motor!
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Nov 28, 2005
  #14  
OK..... next time your car heats up, turn on your HEATER with fan on high. See if the engine cools down. If it DOES, then check that you have the correct thermostat in your car, and DO NOT buy aftermarket thermostats. Nothing but grief from those POS. I learned the hard way and only buy Honda thermostats for Hondas. If it does NOT cool down with the heater on full blast, you have a problem somewhere else, NOT the cooling system. In this case it is simply being overwhelmed by something else. That Oil level could be a clue.... mine doesn't seem to use any oil between changes, or so little it's not obvious. Every engine uses some oil, and is supposed to. But you may have a mechanical issue.
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Nov 28, 2005
  #15  
Quote: You need to suspend the thermostat in a pot of water. If the thermostat is touching the bottom of the pan (or what ever) it will often be hotter than the water. Got that from the Helm.
I doing that. Thanx to pointed out.
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Nov 28, 2005
  #16  
No answer for the temperature guage!!
What is the position on the temperature guage when the engine overheat?

Sometimes if the oxygen sensor goes bad, and you run too lean, you can have overheat and melt your engine! But if no check engine light come on then maybe is not the case.

No trouble codes at all?
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