Over Heating HELP NEEDED


RoEk9

RoEk9

Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2010
Messages
2,438
Hi lads,

Well usually when driving hard or just cruising my heat gauge is always exactly midway or just in or around, but then tonight just around 10pm (after having a fair rip ) i pulled back onto my road and noticed the heat gauge was nearly at the peak!! Was just a few lines short of hitting max! Its never happened before and im sure of that! I quickly turned on the heat and blew in all the heat into the car! Put it to level 4.

Then slowly drove down the road and the gauge went slowly back to halfway. Continued driving for a small bit and it was fine then hit vtec 2nd- 3rd gear and it went back up so i did the same turned on fan and it went back down.

I had it sitting in my drive and it went back up and then back down again!

Anyone give me any advice to why this might be happening? I could see that the overflow was above minimum. Can it damage the car driving at these temps? All help appreciated in advance! :thanks:
 
Check your coolant levels first.
The overheating can be from a few areas:
Radiator is old and needs to be replaced
Coolant Thermostat failing
Head Gasket failing
Or the water pump is failing.

If you dont know how old everything is or if you have never changed these items, it may be time to just replace everything including all hoses.
 
tama666 said:
Check your coolant levels first.
The overheating can be from a few areas:
Radiator is old and needs to be replaced
Coolant Thermostat failing
Head Gasket failing
Or the water pump is failing.

If you dont know how old everything is or if you have never changed these items, it may be time to just replace everything including all hoses.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info tama, Ill check the coolent level again in the morning!

I have no idea how old everything is so maybe as you say i might be best replacing everything. The radiator itself is the oem honda which has been in the car for the last 13years im guessing! No damage would have been done driving while it was so hot would it?
 
13 year old radiator, oem, I would replace that, all hoses, thermostat and your water pump. After all that, monitor water temps for a while, if it is stable, then you have fixed it, if not, you may have a head gasket replacement needed.
 
tama666 said:
13 year old radiator, oem, I would replace that, all hoses, thermostat and your water pump. After all that, monitor water temps for a while, if it is stable, then you have fixed it, if not, you may have a head gasket replacement needed.
Click to expand...

Yes i think i will have to, but if its not leaking should it not be still working ok? Im going to look into new parts i should just get this done and hope no engine damage comes from it. I wont be driving this weekend with work but i will see what the temps are like next week. Im guessing the best radiator would be Koyo or Mishimoto? And as for hoses and ones in particular? Really appreciate the help! :nice:
 
RoEk9 said:
Yes i think i will have to, but if its not leaking should it not be still working ok? Im going to look into new parts i should just get this done and hope no engine damage comes from it. I wont be driving this weekend with work but i will see what the temps are like next week. Im guessing the best radiator would be Koyo or Mishimoto? And as for hoses and ones in particular? Really appreciate the help! :nice:
Click to expand...

A radiator can become clogged over time if not flushed on a reoccurring basis. When was the last you flushed the coolant system?
 
tama666 said:
A radiator can become clogged over time if not flushed on a reoccurring basis. When was the last you flushed the coolant system?
Click to expand...

I wasnt aware of that. I have never flushed the system i only once topped up the coolant! Would it be worth flushing now or is it to late?
 
Try it! :) Cant hurt right?

I had this happen to me, it ended up being a clogged radiator, I cut it open and I was shocked!
I would replace it as over time rocks can damage enough fins on the radiator to need replacing anyhow.
 
tama666 said:
Try it! :) Cant hurt right?

I had this happen to me, it ended up being a clogged radiator, I cut it open and I was shocked!
I would replace it as over time rocks can damage enough fins on the radiator to need replacing anyhow.
Click to expand...

I checked the top hose and it was boiling and touched the bottom hose and it was cold, my mate reckons its the thermostat as a result. I think i will buy a new rad and hoses aswell , hopefully its the thermostat anyway and an easy fix!
 
the rubber in the hoses get brittle over time and heat cycles...good man to change them.
A clogged radiator can also give you a hot top hose and cold bottom hose, friendly fyi.

Also remember to change the water pump and belt while your at it. ;)

Please keep in mind that the recommendations I am giving you may not fix your issue. It could ultimately be your head gasket, which would mean removing your head to replace that gasket. So that is a bit more expensive if you know what I mean. So think about what you want to do here, a 2 step approach may save time or not, but a one set approach meaning doing everything including the head gasket, would be the sure fire way to stop the issue and would save you money if this is indeed the case with the head gasket needing to be replaced.

Personally I have done the 2 step approach 2x and I will never do that ever again; 1 step on a 10-13 year old car of unknown history.
 
Last edited:
Cheers for all that tama! Hopefully i will get it sorted( im putting money on it that its the thermostat)! Going to order new hoses and rad in the next week aswell! This just couldnt have happened at a worse time im financially crippled for the next two weeks! How and ever it will be sorted and i appreciate your help!

Will let you know how i get on :))
 
Pull out the thermostat and stick it in a mug of boiling water to see if it's opening or not
 
RoEk9 said:
Yes i think i will have to, but if its not leaking should it not be still working ok? Im going to look into new parts i should just get this done and hope no engine damage comes from it. I wont be driving this weekend with work but i will see what the temps are like next week. Im guessing the best radiator would be Koyo or Mishimoto? And as for hoses and ones in particular? Really appreciate the help! :nice:
Click to expand...

everything you get should be oem execption being the radiator, go Koyo if you can, I run it and love it. I have gone mishimoto and it cracked and leaked, must have been bad luck.

Over heating your engine can damage it severely. Warp a head and damage the block. Basically new engine time.

Best of luck buddy, hope this helped.
 
Vtec6000 said:
Pull out the thermostat and stick it in a mug of boiling water to see if it's opening or not
Click to expand...

question...if top hose is hot, correct me please, but wouldn't the top hose be cold if the thermostat is not opening?
 
Vtec6000 said:
Pull out the thermostat and stick it in a mug of boiling water to see if it's opening or not
Click to expand...

going to take it out next week, wont have a chance to do anything with the car this weekend with work. Will do that to diagnose if it is the thermostat. Thanks for the help :nice:
 
tama666 said:
everything you get should be oem execption being the radiator, go Koyo if you can, I run it and love it. I have gone mishimoto and it cracked and leaked, must have been bad luck.

Over heating your engine can damage it severely. Warp a head and damage the block. Basically new engine time.

Best of luck buddy, hope this helped.
Click to expand...

Will order the parts i need from honda. I think i will more likely be going with a mishimoto rad. Can get one for 250euro so its not bad! A few lads around have them and they seem to be holding out well!

I just hope i havent damaged anything already!! but im guessing once it didnt hit max i should be just about ok!
 
RoEk9 said:
Will order the parts i need from honda. I think i will more likely be going with a mishimoto rad. Can get one for 250euro so its not bad! A few lads around have them and they seem to be holding out well!

I just hope i havent damaged anything already!! but im guessing once it didnt hit max i should be just about ok!
Click to expand...

ok, then I am not going to tell you more about how the oem temp gauges are crap.
 
tama666 said:
ok, then I am not going to tell you more about how the oem temp gauges are crap.
Click to expand...

now that you have mentioned it you must!! as in the fact that it nearly hit max means i probably was at max temp?
 
RoEk9 said:
now that you have mentioned it you must!! as in the fact that it nearly hit max means i probably was at max temp?
Click to expand...

...something in that nature...yes. its how long it was there to be honest.
 
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