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Car Forum / Honda Cars / December 2005Over heating
I just bought this 88 honda accord for my son. The guy before me told me that the radiator was bad. So I replaced the radiator and thermostat. The problem I am having is that when the car starts up the upper radiator hose gets rock hard and the antifreeze blows out of the cap. However, when you loosen the air bleed screw on the top of the thermostat housing it will get soft again. I keep playing this game of antifreeze out of the cap and the bleed screw shuffle. The previous owner claims to have replaced the head gasket too. I checked the torque on the head cylinder and found one loose. I don't feel any fluid gushing through the radiator hose and the engine doesn't even get warm enough for the fans to turn on. What should I replace next? Try this: Remove the radiator cap. Completely fill the radiator so you can see the liquid almost to the top of the edge of the radiator fill cap. Start the engine. If you see the fluid bubbling, you have a head gasket leak. HTH. >I just bought this 88 honda accord for my son. The guy before me told > me that the radiator was bad. So I replaced the radiator and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > fluid gushing through the radiator hose and the engine doesn't even get > warm enough for the fans to turn on. What should I replace next? > Try this: > Remove the radiator cap. > Completely fill the radiator so you can see the liquid almost to the top of > the edge of the radiator fill cap. > Start the engine. > If you see the fluid bubbling, you have a head gasket leak. id second that, and assume the seller did a halfass head gasket job in order to get rid of it. time to do it right. > > Try this: > > Remove the radiator cap. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > id second that, and assume the seller did a halfass head gasket job in > order to get rid of it. time to do it right. I was always under the impression that the water pump belt should be disconnected for that test. I see bubble often in all of my cars when normally configured. JT If the engine is on slow idle, and the fluid is all the way up to the neck, you should not see any bubbles if "properly configured". Now when you rev up, you may see some bubbling, more like "gurgling" (?), but not really air bubbles like it was mentioned in the OP, where air escapes from the vent, until it eventually changes into liquid. Also, you should not get any considerable "flow", until thoroughly warmed up. It should take a while until the "top hose" gets warm, or hot to the touch, IF the thermostat is correct. So, a leak in the head gasket is quickly detected. HTH. > I was always under the impression that the water pump belt should be > disconnected for that test. I see bubble often in all of my cars when > normally configured. > > JT > If the engine is on slow idle, and the fluid is all the way up to the neck, > you should not see any bubbles if "properly configured". Seems to me that "propefly configured" could benefit from some elaboration. To me, it implies that a system in good repair may have some bubbles until an air purge is properly completed. With a system in good repair, an air purge, per the manual, may take over half an hour. That's at least how long it takes for my 91 Civic to warm up enough for the fan to come on twice, and this was at about 70 degrees F ambient, as well. During this time, one will see air bubbles emitting from the anti-freeze showing at the neck of the tank. So I think the OP is going to have follow the procedure for purging the cooling system of air. Then, say a day later, check for bubbles per what Mike and you say. OK, maybe I should have stated "normally configured"; the terminology the previous poster used. >> If the engine is on slow idle, and the fluid is all the > way up to the neck, [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > purging the cooling system of air. Then, say a day later, > check for bubbles per what Mike and you say. > If the engine is on slow idle, and the fluid is all the way up to the neck, > you should not see any bubbles if "properly configured". [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > quickly detected. > HTH. Thanks for the tip. Yeah, this thing will start spewing anitfreeze through the radiator cap at start up until I loosen the bleed screw. And when the bleed screw is loosened the hose pressure goes down. When the bleed screw is tightened again the hose instantly gets hard. Bottom line is that the head is getting pulled this weekend and praying that it is only the gasket and not the head. Thanks again Robert Baum > > I was always under the impression that the water pump belt should be > > disconnected for that test. I see bubble often in all of my cars when > > normally configured. > > > > JT If it does it at start up, loosen the fan belt to disable the water pump. If it still does it, look for a bad head or headgasket. Simple... JT > > If the engine is on slow idle, and the fluid is all the way up to the neck, > > you should not see any bubbles if "properly configured". [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > > > > > JT Thanks alot. I will try this. Hopefully, it will work. I wish this was a tank turret. That I can fix. Robert Baum >> If the engine is on slow idle, and the fluid is all the way up to the neck, >> you should not see any bubbles if "properly configured". [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Bottom line is that the head is getting pulled this weekend and praying > that it is only the gasket and not the head. When you see all that sludge and carbon on the valves you'll know that the rings are shot too. The car probably has a blown head gasket or bad head. not much to do but pull the head and find out whats going on. Good Luck. Scott > I just bought this 88 honda accord for my son. The guy before me told > me that the radiator was bad. So I replaced the radiator and [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > owner claims to have replaced the head gasket too. I checked the > torque on the head cylinder and found one loose. Oh...my...God. A LOOSE head bolt?! That is the very *pinnacle* (or nadir) of incompetence. In all likelihood the head is now warped, or warped even more that it was to begin with. Anybody who would replace a head gasket and "forget" to tighten a bolt is not likely to be careful (or honest) enough to have the head machined either. I agree with the posters who suspect a lousy head gasket job. You should go beat the seller up.  SignatureTeGGeR® The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ |
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