Hi guys, I just replaced about everythign you vould thing of and the car still runs hot,almost boiled over the other day. Im almst at the end of my rope and I hear the junk yard calling for this car. here is the deal, I have replaced the following:
Radiator
Thermostat housing/thermostat
misc hoses
Temp sensor on the block
Fan/Fan motor
Water Pump
and some relay my mechanic said might be the problem

What else could be the cause, could there be a blockage somewhere in the engine and how do I dognose/fix that? Any input would be appreciated or I fear the car will be tossed away by next week. The Honda is on standby...

 

"Runs hot... almost boiled over..."

What is really going on? Explain exactly.

Normal behavior for these cars is for the temp to run at or just above thermostat temp while cruising. At idle, the fan should turn on at 235° or thereabouts (basically just below the red) and turn off at about 210° (at or just below the middle of the gauge). This behavior is normal for a car as it left the factory. At no time should it spew coolant of course; if it is doing as I described and coolant comes out, it needs a radiator cap.

Repeat, the temp gauge approaching the red mark at idle is normal. The fan doesn't even come on until the temp reaches that point. Nothing is wrong with this. You may not like it running that hot, but that's a different matter; but that's not the same as saying that something is "wrong". Just because the gauge reads near the red does not mean that anything is defective, or in danger. It is not necessarily cause for panic.

Now if the temp reaches that point, the fan comes on, and the temp continues to climb; or coolant starts spewing; or the temp is way above the thermostat's temp at cruise; or there are other deviations from the normal behavior described above, then something is broken. Otherwise, it's doing what it's supposed to.

 

When I say hot I mean right up to the redline of the gauge. man,thanks for the info, I just dont ever remember the temp gauge climbing that high. But I thank you for your input. I put a new radiator cap on as well. Will it help if I put in a lower temp thermostat maybe, I have a stock 195 in there.

 

What is it really doing?

 

It just seems to me that the car never ran at this temp before. I will run it for a few days and let you now. Thnx for the input though.

 

Just a thought but have you taken off or knocked off the air deflector under the front of your car??
PM

 

The air dam will only affect highway driving. When does the car overheat? At idle, highway or both.
Since it is probably snowing where you are, it is here, putting in a lower stat won't help. For one the car shouldn't run much hotter than the stat temp. And when you have a cooling problem a lower stat won't help that much.

 

It runs hotter in city driving but seems ok on the highway.

 

Howdy,

Lets start at the top. 3rd Gens run hot, it's a fact of life. Based on what you wrote here you've replaced alot of items that can cause a boil-over. If it's getting hot in city driving, Is the fan turning on? You can have 26 super turbo fans that move 1 gazillion cfm of air but if they don't turn on they aren't going to do a thing. Does your car have one or two fans? At any rate, unless a hose somewhere is collapsed, I'd say the fan isn't turning on now and was before if it just recently started running hot when going slow or idling. Check that first