Civic 02 strange Overheating
01-02-2011
#31
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Re: Civic 02 strange Overheating
Here is a link to the 2004 / 2005 service bulletin I referred to;
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/hy...ic_coolant.pdf
This vintage car definitely has head gasket problems, but some people may have this problem. If you do have this problem, the dealer will pay for it.
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/hy...ic_coolant.pdf
This vintage car definitely has head gasket problems, but some people may have this problem. If you do have this problem, the dealer will pay for it.
01-02-2011
#32
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Just finished up changing the head gasket and everything seemed fine.... until i noticed the oil light was on. tried cleaning the sensor, but nothing. It sounds and runs fine, just can't figure out this light.
Oh yeah, the headgasket was the problem...
Oh yeah, the headgasket was the problem...
04-13-2011
#33
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Well, this problem started for me at 165,000 and we're at 214,000 now on our '03. I was filling coolant every two days. I put in a bottle of Barr's Copper Leak Sealer and now I only add coolant every week to 10 days (we average 2,500-3,000 miles per month)
If you don't have the $$ right now to do your head gasket, try the Barr's Copper Leak stuff (at your own risk, of course)
If you don't have the $$ right now to do your head gasket, try the Barr's Copper Leak stuff (at your own risk, of course)
04-24-2011
#34
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Hi, my 03 Civic with only 92000 miles seems to have the exact same problem. I have already replace the radiator cap. It still overflows into resevoir. Next week I am going to try have the themostat replaced and see what happens. I get this sick feeling that it's the head gasket too.
04-24-2011
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Re: Civic 02 strange Overheating
If coolant is being pushed upwards in the overflow its almost guaranteed to be the head gasket. Only a few cases here out of hundreds or even thousands have been other things.
04-24-2011
#36
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Tbohar,
Just wondering what would be the Symptoms if it's a bad themostat? Would it be just overheating or would the coolant also over flow into resevoir?
thanks,
Just wondering what would be the Symptoms if it's a bad themostat? Would it be just overheating or would the coolant also over flow into resevoir?
thanks,
04-24-2011
#37
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A thermostat generally fails in one of three ways. It fails to open which would cause fast and constant overheating. It only opens partially which would cause to lack of coolant flow so it would overheat under low rpms and idle, or occasional overheating. Or it fails to close which would mean your car would take a very long time to get up to temperature. You can remove your thermostat and put it in hot water to check and make sure it opens properly. Of course the thermostat gasket could always leak as well causing your coolant level to drop and eventually for the car to overheat. I don't think a thermostat issue can cause the coolant to overflow into the tank though, it takes some pressure to do that. What happens is the head gasket is pooched and the exhaust gases get pushed into the coolant system, so the air displaces the coolant and the easiest place for the coolant to go is the overflow tank, so it overflows it.
Last edited by BlueEM2; 04-24-2011 at 05:10 PM.
08-16-2013
#38
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I found one thing on 2004 civic after hg replacement . the water outlet housing has a thin metal gasket between it , where u have EGR flow and water passage , the distance between those are way too small and when it leaks what happens ?
EGR valve open when the engine reaches normal temperature and you accelerate , when its closed and the gasket leaks the gases will try to get into cooling system so you may get bubbles of air of radiator cap and overflow tank , when you hit the acceleration the EGR valve opens and release all the pressure to the cylinders so there is no more air getting in the cooling system , that is why the temperature gauge comes to normal .
Its a good idea to check because i have good compression in all cylinders now, and thats not the HG , cylinder nr 4 is the closest one to the EGR port so it will be the first one which gets pretty wet .
EGR valve open when the engine reaches normal temperature and you accelerate , when its closed and the gasket leaks the gases will try to get into cooling system so you may get bubbles of air of radiator cap and overflow tank , when you hit the acceleration the EGR valve opens and release all the pressure to the cylinders so there is no more air getting in the cooling system , that is why the temperature gauge comes to normal .
Its a good idea to check because i have good compression in all cylinders now, and thats not the HG , cylinder nr 4 is the closest one to the EGR port so it will be the first one which gets pretty wet .
12-18-2017
#39
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Hey guys,
Its my first post but I thought I will help you guys.
My car (02 civic lx 130k miles) did exactly the same thing in this thread. I've tried many things like a new radiator cap, new thermostat, new hoses, prestone super flush and a 80/20 mix of antifreeze to water.
None of those solutions worked.
The car had problems starting in the morning. It wouldn't start unless if you open the throttle.
I've taken the spark plugs out to see inside the cylinders and it had some pretty bad carbon deposits on the piston. Use a flash light to see inside.
I was really frustrated spending many hours trying to fix this.
I took it to my mechanic. He kept the car for 3 days until one of this techs reported coolant inside a cylinder.
They pulled off the head and checked it for straightness. There was a bulge in the middle. So they had to send it to a machine shop to get that fixed. The engine block was fine.
They put on a new head gasket and reinstalled everything. He kept the car for another day for tests.
After paying about $500 dollars for the repairs, the car was fine.
It looks like I blew a head gasket.
Some things to look for:
Hard starting in the morning (car has been cooled overnight)
A check engine light with the codes that lead to misfiring cylinders
Coolant in the cylinders, check after that car has cooled overnight.
It doesn't sound logical that a warped head and a blown head gasket will cause this weird overheating issue. But it looks like bad sealing between the head and engine will cause a havoc of problems.
I've speculated that the water pump wasn't pumping coolant at specification. But if you have your thermostat out and see water swirling in your radiator when the engine is running then the water pump is fine. Replacing that means a timing belt service. The timing belt drives the water pump in the d17 engines.
Well I hope that helps. Keep us posted!
Its my first post but I thought I will help you guys.
My car (02 civic lx 130k miles) did exactly the same thing in this thread. I've tried many things like a new radiator cap, new thermostat, new hoses, prestone super flush and a 80/20 mix of antifreeze to water.
None of those solutions worked.
The car had problems starting in the morning. It wouldn't start unless if you open the throttle.
I've taken the spark plugs out to see inside the cylinders and it had some pretty bad carbon deposits on the piston. Use a flash light to see inside.
I was really frustrated spending many hours trying to fix this.
I took it to my mechanic. He kept the car for 3 days until one of this techs reported coolant inside a cylinder.
They pulled off the head and checked it for straightness. There was a bulge in the middle. So they had to send it to a machine shop to get that fixed. The engine block was fine.
They put on a new head gasket and reinstalled everything. He kept the car for another day for tests.
After paying about $500 dollars for the repairs, the car was fine.
It looks like I blew a head gasket.
Some things to look for:
Hard starting in the morning (car has been cooled overnight)
A check engine light with the codes that lead to misfiring cylinders
Coolant in the cylinders, check after that car has cooled overnight.
It doesn't sound logical that a warped head and a blown head gasket will cause this weird overheating issue. But it looks like bad sealing between the head and engine will cause a havoc of problems.
I've speculated that the water pump wasn't pumping coolant at specification. But if you have your thermostat out and see water swirling in your radiator when the engine is running then the water pump is fine. Replacing that means a timing belt service. The timing belt drives the water pump in the d17 engines.
Well I hope that helps. Keep us posted!
Same issues as everyone else. Here is a pic of my valve cover after I wiped it. Fresh oil coming from the area it appears.
12-18-2017
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You don't need to replace the head gasket unless you're having overheating problems.
12-18-2017
#41
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I am having the idle only over heating issues. Just like everyone else the car cools as I rev or accelerate the vehicle. Most recently the maintenance required light flashes a few time when I start the car. I have approximately 900 miles left to go for the oil change.
12-13-2020
#42
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2002 Honda civic EX ,Coolant was all over the place from the radiator cap, So I replaced new radiator (since it has 290000 miles ), new thermostat, new coolant sensor, New timing belt ( Timing is correct) , New water pump, Jumped coolant fan to be on all time, Hoses does not leaking, empty reservoir , Did the compression test 180 on 3 cylinders and 175 on one. Also i did the test pressurizing cylinders but no coolant came out from the radiator cap. But the issue is my engine is still get over heated. I really don't think i have a blown head gasket . That's the only part left to do but I don't get any diagnose to replace my head gasket, Any thoughts ?
12-13-2020
#43
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Did you properly burp the coolant system and/or ensure there weren't any blockages in the coolant path?
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