drk9ght

i've checked all the threads i could find..have'nt found an answer..
here is the problem
the car is overheating irratically
i've replaced the following with factory parts
radiator,thermostat, waterpump, all hoses, used type II honda coolant.
there are no leaks in the system and i bled it properly...
i've done a compression test on all the cylinders and the are all good
and there is no leaks from the block....so it's not a bhg.
before i was aware of it i have used aftermarket coolant but only the green
kind (i know now this is really bad).
but when i changed everything out i used only the type II honda coolant.
i HAVEN'T flushed the system so i'm thinking the only thing it could be is a blockage in the system?
if an EXPERIENCED veteran could point me in any other direction of what
else it could possibly be other than this?

PLEASE IF SOMEONE COULD GIVE ME DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BEST WAY TO FLUSH THE SYSTEM I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.

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LPB

Did you use an OEM thermostat? Do you have to occasionally add coolant to the reservoir?
Have you checked for leaking O-rings on the Water (coolant) Bypass Inlet Pipe (under thermostat base). There is also another O-ring connected to a coolant tube running under the intake manifold from front to rear.

I would start by having the vehicle tested for a seeping headgasket by taking it to an emissions testing facility and having them "wand the radiator" -- vehicle at operating temp, coolant circulating, and wand held over the open filler neck of the radiator. This procedure will ID even the smallest amt of leakage.

If the test indicates that there is no head-gasket seepage, then I would test temp sending units. This assumes there are no coolant leaks.

Oh yes, do the radiator fans function at spec?

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drk9ght

thanks guys....
i did use a oem thermostat...
i'll try adding more antifreeze to the resovoire, i'm not 100% sure that i have bled the system entirely of air.
if that doesn't work i guess i'll have to take it down to a shop and have the hg tested more thoroughly....
btw how do i know if the fans are working to spec, what are the specs?

thanks for the instructions miked... and your patience, i know this issue has been hammered to death.

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berge

describe exactly when/how the car overheats.

drk9ght

well... after i had changed the thermostat and refilled the coolant back into the system (not sure if i bled the air out of the system properly) the car
was fine for about a 11 days (the temp was normal).
then just last night coming home from a friends house the temp guage was
was rising and falling repeatedly and rather quick. then it stabilized at normal temp after about 5 minutes. the rest of the way home it was fine. i did turn the heat on for the first time i think, since i changed out the thermostat, when i first got in the car.
anyhow i bled the air from the system properly today...
letting the car warm up with the heat turned all the way up and the bleed valve open i filled it till it was flowing out. so far
the temp has been stable coming to work today and driving around during my lunch break... i'm going to watch it for the next few weeks
and if the problem starts up again i guess i'm going to have to take it to get the hg tested. it's the only thing left that i haven't fixed.....

LPB... how do i test the "temp sending units" and what are the factory specs for the fans as far as turning on and off??
in regard to seepage i don't see coolant leaking from my engine block or anywhere else in the system... is it possible though that coolant isn't leaking out but for air to be sucked into the system, if in fact it was a bhg?

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berge

did you have any problems BEFORE you changed the thermostat and coolant?

Sounds like your car is ok right now. correct?

are you actually LOSING any coolant? or is the only sysmptom right now the factory temp gauge itself.

drk9ght

yes ... the car was overheating and up until that point i had replaced everything. although i replaced the thermostat about a year ago with a aftermarket $15 job (also replaced the waterpump at that time).
everything was fine until 8 months later my radiator started leaking... i didn't have the money to replace it right a way and it was a slow leak so i just continued and kept topping off the coolant every day until i did replace the radiator.
then it was fine for about a week and then it started to overheat again.
a friend told me that air in the system can cause the thermostat to go bad
especially if it's a cheap aftermarket one. so i was hopeing it was this
but before i replaced the thermostat again i did a compression test on all the cylinders and they were fine, i checked for leaks all through out the engine and ther was none.
so i thought it just had to be the thermostat that went bad...
i replaced it with a oem one this time and like i said it was okay for 11 days....

but yes the car is okay now that i rebled the system, i'm not sure if i bled it properly when i changed out he thermostat the second time....i'm not loosing any coolant thus far...and yes it was actually overheating the temp gauge isn't off... there was coolant in my overflow tank...

so i'll see if it starts acting up again if it doesn't then i must have had air in the system and didn't bleed i right. if it starts up again i'll have to get the hg checked proffessionally...

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berge

I think you should take LPB's advice.

LPB---

"I would start by having the vehicle tested for a seeping headgasket by taking it to an emissions testing facility and having them "wand the radiator" -- vehicle at operating temp, coolant circulating, and wand held over the open filler neck of the radiator. This procedure will ID even the smallest amt of leakage."

these cars are notorious for their delicate headgaskets for a reason, driving around with a leaking rad. probably didn't help.

good luck.

drk9ght

i need all the help i can get thanks mike!

it's been 2 days and the car hasn't overheated and the temp on cold start
has warmed up to normal and stayed there. since i bled the cooling system properly of air.
if it starts to overheat again i'll move onto testing the gauge and sending unit like u instructed.
although i doubt it is the gauge because when the temp goes up it IS actually overheating (i see coolant spilling over into the overflow tank).

thanks for all your help mike, hopefully through my experience i can one day be on your end helping somebody else out.

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Jetdoc

Sounds like a classic BHG to me. Read this for my experiance on the cooling system My BHG story sounds a lot like your troubles. You are right, air(hot combustion gases) are being forced forced pass a seeping head gasket causing the erratic cooling system behavior. Sounds like you have done everything you can do. Unless the water pump is not working properly(unlikely) then the only thing left is the head gasket. Remember that the cooling fans will operate erratically when there is excess air in the system. Many people think the fans are the problem when they are just a result of the HG problem.

James92LS

Hey MikeD - what do you mean "drain bolt below the bleeder screw"... Is there some other drain bolt up there? I don't see what you are talking about in the pic.

-James

Hotstartup

MikeD once again

James92LS

Hey Mike, no problem... Just wanted to make sure I didn't miss something

Thanks for all the info you provide us!

-James

pvp100

I am new to this forum. I have a 1986 silver grey Acura Legend. Other than Minnesota rust it is in very good conditon. Driving in slow city traffic or parking ramps causes the radiator temp to rise toward the redline. It hasn't overheated yet but I would like to solve this problem before it does. The fans operate when the temperature rises to the higher levels on the guage. If I turn the car off with the temperature near the top of the white line just before the redline, the fans also turn off. I was told it may be the timer fan relay causing part of this problem. I have flushed the radiator but have not replaced the thermostat. At highway speeds the tempertures return to normal levels in the middle of the guage or slightly below the middle.
Any suggestions?
DaveN

Hotstartup

post in the first gen section they might be able to help u more. but to me it sounds like u have a radiator fan problem.