99 Civic Overheating

[royal]

just came up with another issue, in my 99 Civic.

I parked my car outside a mall for like 5 mintues came back out started the car and the Temp. gauge was very close to top, i turn of the car try again and nothing, so i drive it home and let it sit and its fine, but then the heat wasnt working and the rad. fan wasnt kickin in, later then i poured some coolant in and still the temp is really high. Now i went out and checked my car the heat is working just that after say a 5 mintue drive the temp. gauge will go up like anything and in midpoints it will flacuate.

I got 4 Questions:

1. I poured some coolant in and when i check now the coolant level is low again is there a leak or should i pour more in?

2. What are the problems this can cause, any probabilties what the problem?

3. Is it safe to drive 30KM to my dealership i trust?

4. How can this problem be fixed?

Thanks.

[xg3]

Try changing your thermalstats.. sounds like that might be faulty.

If you need to fill in coolant very often, yes there is a leak...

[EscaBoi]

When you pour in the coolant make sure you air out the system before closing the cap off. Happened to me when I got my civic as well, I poured in coolant then just closed the cap off the radiator and started the car. Next day it overheated again. So air out the system first for 10-15 minutes or until you hear the rad fan going off. hope that helps

Like the user above said, if you're losing coolant that fast then it may be a leak.

[royal]

Try changing your thermalstats.. sounds like that might be faulty.

If you need to fill in coolant very often, yes there is a leak...

how much do think thermastats run for about?

also i dont think there is a leak, becasue before all that i open up the rad cover when it was hot and I lost a lot of collant there, so i think the the frist refill just filled that and i think the second refill i do right now should bring the whole sytem to the top.

When you pour in the coolant make sure you air out the system before closing the cap off. Happened to me when I got my civic as well, I poured in coolant then just closed the cap off the radiator and started the car. Next day it overheated again. So air out the system first for 10-15 minutes or until you hear the rad fan going off. hope that helps

Like the user above said, if you're losing coolant that fast then it may be a leak.


also yea i heard about airing out the system, can you just run me a quick tutorial on how to air out the system.. not sure how its done.

Thanks

[funky_monkey_99]

Try changing your thermalstats.. sounds like that might be faulty.

If you need to fill in coolant very often, yes there is a leak...

agreed! sounds llike your thermostat is stuck closed. So that is what is causing it to overheat that quickly. Replacing it shouldn't cost that much.

[Ironballz]

Do you see any coolant on the ground under your car at all?

If you don't see any of the ground, your headgasket might be leaking which can result in engine failure. I would definitely get this checked out by a mechanic soon.

[royal]

agreed! sounds llike your thermostat is stuck closed. So that is what is causing it to overheat that quickly. Replacing it shouldn't cost that much.

I am thinking the same think at this moment, because now after filling in more coolant, the coolant stay the level has been the same for about 40 mins, the rad is kicking in, the heat is working, ac working, and no white smoke so i am thinking that it is the thermostat that might need replacing.

But yet even though the rad is kicking in the temp still goes up? are these signs of bad thermostat?

Do you see any coolant on the ground under your car at all?

If you don't see any of the ground, your headgasket might be leaking which can result in engine failure. I would definitely get this checked out by a mechanic soon.

nope no coolant on the floor, and the coolant level has been the same for about 40mins so i think leaking headgasket isnt the issue, like i said above. the rad is kicking in, the heat is working, ac working, and no white smoke so i am thinking that it is the thermostat that might need replacing.

But yet even though the rad is kicking in the temp still goes up? are these signs of bad thermostat?

Thanks for all the help.




Also do guys think it will be okay driving 30mins/30kms tomorrow to my preferred dealership?

Again Thanks for all the help.

[CRXGSR]

But yet even though the rad is kicking in the temp still goes up? are these signs of bad thermostat?

Yes, it is, but it still doesn't explain the missing coolant that you have to top up. Are you filling up the rad, or just the resevoir? How much do you have to put in to top up??

nope no coolant on the floor, and the coolant level has been the same for about 40mins so i think leaking headgasket isnt the issue, like i said above. the rad is kicking in, the heat is working, ac working, and no white smoke so i am thinking that it is the thermostat that might need replacing.

There are other places it could leak such as the rad, rad cap, heater core... If it's just sitting, usually it doesn't leak. It's if it's running and pressure builds, then it leaks (usually).

But yet even though the rad is kicking in the temp still goes up? are these signs of bad thermostat?

Yes, usually, but sometimes if you fill up with just water (no coolant), it might do that too.

Also do guys think it will be okay driving 30mins/30kms tomorrow to my preferred dealership?

Just watch your gauge, and pull over and stop if you need to.

[sunnybono]

just came up with another issue, in my 99 Civic.

I parked my car outside a mall for like 5 mintues came back out started the car and the Temp. gauge was very close to top, i turn of the car try again and nothing, so i drive it home and let it sit and its fine, but then the heat wasnt working and the rad. fan wasnt kickin in, later then i poured some coolant in and still the temp is really high. Now i went out and checked my car the heat is working just that after say a 5 mintue drive the temp. gauge will go up like anything and in midpoints it will flacuate.

I got 4 Questions:

1. I poured some coolant in and when i check now the coolant level is low again is there a leak or should i pour more in?

2. What are the problems this can cause, any probabilties what the problem?

3. Is it safe to drive 30KM to my dealership i trust?

4. How can this problem be fixed?

Thanks.


After driving, have you noticed any green puddles on the ground. If not, it could be possibly an internal leak (head gasket problem). secondly in a case like this, be prepared to be hosed if you take it to the dealer. The car is atleast 7 years old!!!!

sk

PS. I've never heard too many major problems with that year honda. It was considered one of honda's best years for Civic. Then they changed to body shape and suspension on the 2000+ models, that is when the big problems began for Honda owners.

[gstylez]

thermostat = 3 bolts

[royal]

Like said above.. i really dont think there is a leak in the system.. i just think the fill up went low because when i opend my hot rad. a lot of fluid sprayed out, so my first fillup probably filled up the rad. and my second fill up, filled up the resivor ..

i am pretty sure the system itself doenst have a leak.. but then again i am no mechanic and that could be there and i am not noticing it. Ohwell i will find out 2moro morning from Honda.


thermostat = 3 bolts

Also what do you mean by this? .. is it reall easy to change? also how much thermostats run for? I am thinkin definatley less than <$100 installed.

Well lest see what Honda Dignoses 2moro.

Thanks for the help.

[untuned]

you have a head gasket issue.



Like said above.. i really dont think there is a leak in the system.. i just think the fill up went low because when i opend my hot rad. a lot of fluid sprayed out, so my first fillup probably filled up the rad. and my second fill up, filled up the resivor ..

i am pretty sure the system itself doenst have a leak.. but then again i am no mechanic and that could be there and i am not noticing it. Ohwell i will find out 2moro morning from Honda.




Also what do you mean by this? .. is it reall easy to change? also how much thermostats run for? I am thinkin definatley less than <$100 installed.

Well lest see what Honda Dignoses 2moro.

Thanks for the help.

[azn_dan]

well like others have said, you should make sure your rad isn't leaking. This happened to me, and after a bit i found out my rad had a leak and wasn't repairable. So i had to get it replaced :| .

[xg3]

correct me if i am wrong.. but i think you can just pick up a thermalstats at canadiantire or something... if not their auto department can order you one..

changing the thermalstats is something you can do yourself for sure...

[magical]

If you dont notice any coolant from the underside of the car but it is going somewhere, dont necessarly expect white smoke, white smoke happens when your head gasket is gone and it is leaking into the exhaust chamber...

If your head gasket is gone, and it is leaking into the combustion chamber, then you wont notice any white smoke, and at this point, even replacing the head gasket is a 'temporary fix' .. the problem is the coolant has now gotten into your bottom end and no matter what they say, I'd look at replacing the engine rather than fixing the headgasket at this point...

What will happen if you do fix the headgasket is that another 20,000-30,000 km down the road the bottom end bearings will probably die and your engine will be toast...

My suggestion is to have a compression test done on the engine, that should show if your headgasket is faulty, because from the symptoms that you have told me it sure sounds like a HG failure....

On the side note, I do know that a company that does work on vechiles here in my town gets a great deal on low KM Japanese motors, my brother did a swap for a very reasonable price on his civic, the motor had somewhere around 80,000-90,000km and was a japanese engine ... so although you might be in for a bill if the rest of the car is in good shape this should do you for a long time...