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Alright, so I have a 1995 Civic DX, all stock with the 1.5 liter SOHC (non-VTEC). This car has run perfectly fine up until recently, and now it's just one thing after the other that's keeping this car off the road.

I was having overheating issues with this car, and this is the second time around on this problem. The first day I had my car, my overflow hose shot right off of the radiator, and I had coolant spray all over the engine compartment, and I redlined my temperature (yeah, stupid move on my part). This was the first head gasket job I did on the car. I replaced the head gasket, the water pump, the timing belt, the thermostat, and I had the head replaned at the machine shop. All seemed to be fine after that job, except that not even 20,000 miles later, I was having the same issue again. I opened up the radiator cap and noticed white, soapy bubbles coming to the top, so I figured it must be the head gasket again (even though we went with a tri-metallic the first time). When I got to the gasket, it looked perfectly fine, but I figured since I had already dug that deep, I might as well get a new one. I brought the head back to the machine shop, they said it hadn't been warped at all. So far I've replaced the thermostat and the head gasket, added new oil and coolant, and now I'm presented with a totally new issue.

My temperature gauge doesn't rise off of cold at all when idling or driving. But I checked under the hood after the test drive, and I noticed steam coming from my radiator, and the fan was not operating. I checked to make sure it wasn't the thermostat, but the upper and lower hoses were hot. More curiously, the fan would come on for a matter of seconds, and then shut right back off. What should I look to as the cause of this? Would it be a bad temperature sending unit, or fan relay switch, or both?

Also, the engine runs rough when accelerating. I timed the vehicle the best I could, and it idles just fine. If the timing is off, it would only be by a single belt notch. Would that be enough to cause this problem?

And the last thing, my exhaust has always had strong metallic/sulfuric smell. The obvious thing to look at would be the cat converter, but with all of the problems I've had under the hood, I'm feeling like it is something there that is causing the problem. Any ideas?

I've invested so much of my time, money, and energy (none of which I really have to begin with) into this car, and I just want to get it up and running again. If I can't get this car back on the road soon, I'll be the next thing to blow a gasket. I keep Google-searching my problems, and it takes me to these forums where people have similar issues, but I really just needed to get into one and post my own situation to see if anyone could help me out with it. If you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

 
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To add to that, I was wondering if it was possible to switch a 97 Civic DX radiator into my 95?

 
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the head must be polished and torqued correctly

 
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I did have the head polished at the machine shop, and I torqued the head down to the exact specifications in the Haynes manual.

 
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If you were leaking coolant internally b/c of a bad head gasket, there's a good chance your cat is coated with coolant residue and not functioning properly.

If your fan isn't kicking on (or only does so sporadically, as you described), it's probably b/c you need to replace the thermosensor. About $40 retail for the part, but you need to have a deep socket to get it off and the new one on.

If you want to be sure, you can test your fan relay with a small wire. Pull the plug/connector off the thermosensor and use the wire to close the circuit. If the fan kicks on and stays on, it's not your fan relay.

I have spent the last few months working these issues out myself...and I've gotta replace the cat next week.

Cheers.

 
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It's the relay or the switch.

 
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Yeah, I was definitely thinking that my cat was on it's way out, thanks for verifying those suspicions for me. Should have done that job after the first time it overheated.

I already closed the fan circuit last night, and the fan did come on, so yeah, it must be the thermosensor. That wouldn't happen to be the reason why my water temperature is always reading cold, would it? Or is that the temperature sending unit under the distributor that's responsible for that?

 
Rep Power: 236

The thermosensor means the temp sensor, right? Get a service manual and troubleshoot the circuit or replace the temp sensor, it's #13: http://www.bkhondaparts.com/billkay/...itch=&hidIrno=

As to the cat, don't worry about it unless fuel economy or engine performance is reduced. Replace it when needed.

 
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Wait, there are two sensors, one on the thermostat housing, and one underneath the distributor. The temperature sensor is the one underneath the distributor, and the temperature sending unit is on the thermostat housing, correct? This may be a stupid question, but what is the difference between the two?

I replaced the sensor on the thermostat housing today with one off of a '97 Civic DX, and that made my water temperature gauge start working. But the fan is not switching on for some reason still. If I change my temperature sensor, will this solve my problem? In the meantime, I've just wired the fan switch together so that it is just always running.

 
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If you had to bridge the switch connector then change the switch.

 
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I did change it, with the one from the '97. It was an exact fit in my '95, so I figured it would be fine. Just making sure I go through my options before I drop money on a new one. I have yet to have the fan actually kick on from it, I let it idle for about 15 minutes, but nothing. So when I took it for a test drive, I just bridged the switch so I wouldn't have to worry about it overheating a third time. But when I got back, I plugged the switch connector back in, and the fan still wouldn't go on.