Rep Power: 0

Hello,

I have a 2002 Honda Civic LX sedan w/ manual transmission which I purchased brand new back in spring of 2002. Since then I have slowely taught myself how to take care of my vehicle and consider myself an amatuer DIY mechanic. The car has 107K miles on it and I replace the engine oil myself regularly. I have not had any problems with this vehicle until very recently.

Last month I replaced my timing belt, both drive belts, both oil seals on crank and cam shaft, the water pump, both return and out radiator hoses, and also the gasket on the valve cover after doing a valve clearance check. I thought everything had gone great even though all of this work took me much longer than I anticipated.

The problem:
My wife is the current driver of this vehicle. I have been checking under the engine since I did my 'tune-up' and noticed that coolant was splashed everywhere and the overflow / reserve radiator tank was filled to the very top which is not how I had filled it. I drove the car down the street and back to the house (maybe 1/2 mile) and noticed that the temp gauge started to peak. With the heater on full I managed to get it coast back to my house without having the temp gauge going too high. She told me she did not look at the temp gauge so she can't verify if it was overheating while she was driving. I have started to take everything apart again and trying to find what went wrong or what might have broke that would cause this. Here is what I noticed:

Symptoms:
1. Radiator fluid looks to have over flown out of reserve / reservoir tank
2. Temp gauge spikes immediately when driving
3. Felt 2 coolant hoses while car is running and they are both hot near the engine block but not hot further away.
4. Took off upper timing belt cover and timing belt is turning the water pump correctly, a higher pitched soft whine... almost squeal but not too high pitched can be heard in the background but maybe this is not related (maybe it’s the sound of my new drive belts).

What could be the problem??
1. I did not flush my cooling system and this is my first time replacing the coolant (I know I should be replacing much more frequently regardless of what the manual reads), could there by something that was jarred loose in the radiator and is now stuck in the water jacket inside the engine block preventing flow of coolant and could this overflow the coolant?
2. Maybe it’s the radiator temp. gauge in charge of shutting off / opening the flow of coolant between the radiator and the engine?
3. Could it be the water pump I installed is bad and is there a way to check without removing it? I did not notice any coolant leaks anywhere near the pump.
4. If I seated the oil seals incorrectly could leaked oil on the water pump cause the belt to slide over it and not grip it so it’s not turning?
5. Could I have over tightened the timing belt (I know it has an auto tensioned so I didn’t tighten anything myself)?
6. Radiator cap needs to be replaced? I did not notice that there was a loose fit and it seems to hold pressure. Could it be this simple?

What else can I check?
What other symptoms could be present that would help me eliminate some of the possible underlying problems?

I am out of ideas. Any insight would be very very very helpful.

In advance, thank you everyone and anyone who responds!!
-Igor

 
Rep Power: 812

hmm, i would try the radiator cap first, but chances are if the problem just started after you did the repair work, its prolly related to something you did. after you were done, did you put the coolant back in properly and bleed air from the system by letting the car warm up with the radiator cap off and heater turned on? it could be air inside which can cause overheating. could also be water pump if you used a cheap aftermarket one.

 
Rep Power: 0

I purchased all the parts from the Honda dealership. I am pretty sure I followed the bleeding proceedure, I had the car running fine for about 120+ miles at highway speeds. I had not put the gasket on the valve cover on correctly (there was a small portion that got out of the groove) which allowed about a quart of oil to flow out. I corrected that and soon after that this problem started. I dont think the 2 are related but am not sure.

ALso I did replaced the coolant with new type 2 coolant purchased from Honda.

 
Rep Power: 812

hmm check the pcv valve maybe? it could have been clogged with oil

 
Rep Power: 230

purge the cooling system. Air bubble has pushed coolant out into overflow.

 
Rep Power: 0

Rednwhite04,
I think that was it (air in the cooling system). I refilled the car back with coolant and bled it and it no longer overheats. I did notice that the radiator fan did not engage at all during the bleeding process, it might be something simple like the reelay.
Thanks for everyones help!!
-Igor

 
Rep Power: 812

turn the ac on and the fans should come on. if not, theres problem. the single cooling fan only comes on in really hot weather. but if youve never heard it, maybe theres a problem with the fan temp sensor.

 
Rep Power: 0

Problem solved. It was the radiator cap that had gone bad and was letting air into the cooling system which then caused it to over heat. I am thankful it was an easy problem and cheap to fix.
Thanks again everyone!
-Igor