[89HondaLegend]

Hello everyone I am a little bit concerned about how hot my Legend is running. I believe that it is running hotter than it should.
So here is what is heppening:

The temperature gauge on my Legend has never gone above half way ever. Not when it is going in traffic with the A/C on or in the hot weather. I have never seen it go above that mark at all. I even had a radiator which was leaking about 1 litre of water every couple of weeks and the gauge still never moved. My Nanna had the car before me with the leaky radiator and she used to drive it around with no water because it would all leak out (I used to top it up whenever I saw the car though) and the Temperature gauge never moved then either. So I am wondering if there is somthing faulty because it is lacking power and seems to be getting really hot.

I had a look under the car today while it was hot and there was smoke or steam coming from somewhere around the CAT. It looked like white smoke coming from somewhere around there. I could not keep my head under there for too long because the cooling fans were on and it was hot enough to melt your skin.

Also when I stop the car I let the car idle with the fans on until they stop. It usuall takes about a minute or two but lately they have not turned off at all because it has been so hot. They run on high speed until I turn the ignition off. Otherwise it takes about 15-20 minutes for the fans to turn off.

One more thing, the weather here at the moment is over 102 during the day. Now if you combine that with A/C and some tough driving the gauge should move a little but it never does.

Now I have done the thermostat and there is coolant in the radiator and the radiator has been replaced, I don't know if it was a second hand one though.

So the only two things I have in mind at the moment is to take the thermostat out because I can not keep running it so hot in this hot weather (The fast idle lasted for about 30 seconds when I first started it up this morning then it went back down to normal idle because that is how hot it is) and if anybody knows where there is a link or a DIY on the TB coolant bypass I would also like to do that too.

 

[1990Legend_LS_5spd]

Was the cooling system properly bled of air? Trapped air pockets can cause the situation your describing.

 

[89HondaLegend]

I believe it was bled. Do you have to bleed it when it is hot or when it is cold or does it not matter?

 

[1990Legend_LS_5spd]

when its cold ... i would say look on the uk site for the bleeding instructions for there is a bleeder screw to loosen while your filling it with coolant ... when coolant starts to leak out ... tighten it and top it off. its located near the thermostat and looks like a brake bleeder.

 

[telafonic]

Hmmm. Maybe the coolant is leaking from somewhere onto your exhaust, which is causing the steam. Have you checked your heater hoses? In fact, check all the hoses. Does your temp gauge move at all? I mean, when the engine is cold, does the temp gauge start at the bottom?

Rear headgasket is a possibility, can you see any fluid or traces of fluid on around the heads?

EDIT: Why would you want to take the thermostat out? When it's that hot, will that make a difference?

 

[89HondaLegend]

I have bled the cooling system previously however no air came out, just coolant. I will bleed the system again tomorrow though and see what arises.

Telafonic there is a little bit of oil coming from the rocker covers but that is it. I had a look underneath my car and noticed that I am leaking either power steering fluid or transmission fluid. SO that may be what the white smoke is. As I said it was VERY HOT under there.
Also the car temp gauge starts at the bottom and moves up to half way but that is it.

 

[89HondaLegend]

I am going to be driving the car over some mountains soon and I can not have the car overheating then. So if I take the thermostat out there will be more air to cool the motor down when it is moving.

 

[telafonic]

Well, if the smoke/steam can be explained by another fluid, then I wouldn't think lower performance is that unusual.

I have replaced all my hoses, water pump, radiator, and coolant, and even when it's very hot, my needle doesn't quite get to halfway, but I can definitely feel a difference in the car's performance. It is more sluggish, and the transmission shifts differently.

You're quick!
So, how does taking out the thermostat give you more air? Didn't you say the thermostat is new? I guess I just don't think that will make a difference.

 

[89HondaLegend]

Does your gauge ever move above that mark though. Have you ever seen it go above?

 

[ND1980LS]

I have bled the cooling system previously however no air came out, just coolant. I will bleed the system again tomorrow though and see what arises.

Telafonic there is a little bit of oil coming from the rocker covers but that is it. I had a look underneath my car and noticed that I am leaking either power steering fluid or transmission fluid. SO that may be what the white smoke is. As I said it was VERY HOT under there.
Also the car temp gauge starts at the bottom and moves up to half way but that is it.

If you're as concernd as it sounds like you are...and it sounds like you may have an oil/transmission/power steering/coolant leak(s)...I'd take it to your local Honda/Acura specialist and let them diagnose the problem correctly.... better to be safe than sorry......good luck...John

 

[telafonic]

Yeah, before my repairs, it went way high. It's possible your temp. sending unit is bad.

See above post, I edited.

 

[89HondaLegend]

You are right. It will not make a difference. However if I am driving the car and the coolant drops in temp the thermostat will start to close causing the temp to heat back up. So if I take it out then there will be full flow of coolant all the time.

DO you have AIM?
Mine is HondaLegend89

 

[telafonic]

Yeah, let me start up AIM Express.

 

[jmm67]

Your thermostat opening has nothing to do with your temp guage on your instrument panel. The thermostat opens and closes based on the coolant temp in your engine. The temp guage is based on a sensor near the bleeder bolt (I broke the wires on mine a month ago and had to resplice them together). The thermostat regulates how long coolant stays in the rad to cool it better so it is never recommended to remove it for a long period of time. To me it doesn't sound like you have a problem. If it is lacking power then I would check for a frozen caliper or maybe you just have a bad tank of gas or something. Is the mileage any different than before? Keep an eye on all your fluids and determine if you are losing any, other than that I wouldn't be overly concerned.

 

[89HondaLegend]

Well the brakes are fine and not sticking. The motor just seems to be slow and as I saaid very hot. The mileage is not that different but the power sure is.

 

[jmm67]

Not sure how you determine that it is hotter than it should be considering the cllimate you live in. If the temp guage is staying below half way then don't worry about it. Sounds like your fans are performing as they should as well.

 

[jmm67]

By the way I drove on a stuck caliper for months before noticing it when i checked the brake pads for wear. It is not that noticeable except for a drop in performance.

 

[89HondaLegend]

Well please explain this: I took the thermostat about 15 minutes ago and put everything back together. Now I filled up the radiator and bled it and I put the cap back on and everything. Now I let the car warm up until the needle was on half way. Then I took it for a drive. Now I went down some streets and the gauge stayed the same. So I decided to take it on the highway. I drove up to about 70MPH and watched the temperature gauge constantly. I had the A/C on as well. The gauge did not move. It never dropped at all. So I turned the A/C off and did the same speed but the gauge never dropped.

Now I know that if you take the thermostat out of a car the temperature will drop if you take it out in the highway. So what happened to mine? It should have gone down with speed but it didn't. This makes me wonder about the second hand radiator that I had put in. I did not want one but the shop just put it in.

I have another question. When I took the car out and floored it it took off fine but then it slowed down as if I had turned it off and then it took off again. The I did the same thing and the car slowed down and it was if I had turned off the fuel or spark plugs. I did just change my fuel filter yesterday though. So could this just be a bit of air in the fuel system?

Thanks very much guys no doubt we will get to the bottom of this.

 

[cigarettcancerman]

Long as your radiator holds fluids it shouldnt be the problem with overheating... long as the grill is exposed and clean it should help with cooling at hight speeds also. if fluid temp is off then its your thermostat or temp gauge, if there was a problem with you're cooling system making it get hotter but not over heating then its your thermostat or fan since while being hot its still controlled.. anything to cause you to run hotter that the themostat or fan isnt controlling is more than likley going to keep getting hotter and hotter untill you overheat.

As for the hesitation, Try unplugging your fuel pressure regulator hose and plugging it. This actually stopped mine. It usually happend at low speeds or after sitting a while, especially on hills. Hesitation is usually caused by fuel not burning right, which doesnt automatically mean its fuel, without spark it wont burn either. So it would be a fuel pump, fuel pressure, fuel injectors, plug wires, spark plugs, coil, or very unlikley your ECU...Check all your spark plugs and keep track of what cylinder they came from. Let me know what they all look like and if any one cylinders plug looks different from the others. If you want to get more technical check the resistance of your plugs, wires, and coil and check your fuel pressure.

 

[telafonic]

Yeah, I am wondering if it might be the fuel pump too, but just because the radiator is holding fluid doesn't mean it's not a factor. I've had a bad radiator before, and it held fluid fine.