About two months ago I purchased a '94 Honda Civic with about 150k on the odometer. Yesterday on the hottest day of the year (heat index was 110), my car overheated. I threw the heat on and luckily that got me two blocks to my apartment. My boyfriend is really knowledgeable with cars took a look at it. We added coolant, he checked some fuses, etc. Nothing is leaking, the hose on the top is hot so we figure the thermostat is working, the coolant is the beautiful green color that came out of the bottle, so that means there is no corrosion. What we can't figure out is a) which part is faulty, and b) when we throw the heat on, it never gets hot. It gets this tepid warm but we aren't getting the raging heat coming off the engine. I checked the oil to make sure that I didn't pop a gasket and get fluid into the engine... dipstick came out fine. We also took it for a test drive after adding the fluid and the temp really spikes when we put the air on. Thoughts?
2007-08-09 13:45:18 · 5 answers · asked by brunettegoddess 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The coolant has been bubbling in the bottle, but it only happened the first time when it overheated. We haven't let the car get that hot since that initially happened.
2007-08-09 14:21:14 · update #1
The coolant we purchased was Prestone and it was the stuff that's already mixed... said so right on the front of the jug. I've gotten a few opinions from the guys I work with and I'm going to change the thermostat since it's the most likely and cheapest and also take a look at my water pump.
2007-08-10 09:11:04 · update #2
1. Is the radiator fan working and turning on at the right temperature?
2. Is a part of the cooling system plugged or restricted?
3. Is the coolant in the reserve bottle bubbling?
4. Did the original owner bypass the heater core because it was leaking?
Keep in mind that coolant in the oil would be an indicator of a blown head gasket only if the head gasket failed between a coolant passage and an oil passage. If the head gasket failed between a coolant passage and the combustion chamber, there would be no coolant in the oil, but you would still have a head gasket failure.
2007-08-09 13:57:50 · answer #1 · answered by Eric C 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like the radiator fan isn't working or it's just barely moving when on when it should be blasting air through the radiator.
Even when the engine is cold you can click on the defroster and the radiator fan should come on. This draws the heat from the condensor coil through the radiator to warm up the coolant/engine faster and this speeds up defrosting in Winter.
If the electric fan thermostat isn't working right the fan will either not come on at all or stay on all the time.
My bet is the electric fan motor is nearly or completely wasted.
If you want to know if the head gasket is letting gases get into the water jacket, when the engine is cold take the radiator cap off (or coolant tank reservoir pressure cap on newer cars) and then start the engine. Coolant and air and gases will shoot out like a geiser in most cases.
Head gaskets don't "blow" the head will slightly warp and this allows combustion gasses and compression to go the wrong places as well as coolant and oil. When a head gasket is replaced the head has to be gauged and resurfaced before re-installing. The coolant does need to be a 50/50 mix to work properly.
Good Luck!
2007-08-09 14:23:25 · answer #2 · answered by CactiJoe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need a coolant checker. Coolant is supposed to be mixed half with water. If it is not mixed half with water it will almost act as an insulator and will not carry the heat away.
Like this one.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-prestone-anti-freeze-coolant-tester-af1420bup--pi-1289876.html
2007-08-09 13:52:33 · answer #3 · answered by mdcbert 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I change evreting and istil overheating
2016-05-18 03:30:33 · answer #4 · answered by bertha 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The radiator
2007-08-09 13:48:49 · answer #5 · answered by Joe & Jessica 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋