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I’ve got a 2000 Honda Accord 3.0 L VTEC with 385,000 miles. In the past couple years I’ve had some issues with it overheating. In that time, I’ve replaced the thermostat and fans (about 2 yrs ago) and radiator (about 8 months ago). These repairs fixed the problem, but here recently I’ve noticed that, when I’m driving, it starts to run a little bit hotter than normal (needle about halfway between C and H, sometimes a little closer to H than C, then the needle goes back to normal, then back up again, and back down, over and over. It seems that the fans are kicking in and bringing the temperature back down, and as soon as they go off, that’s when the temperature goes back up.
This car, like every Honda I’ve ever owned (5 Accords: 1986, 1987, 1993, 1999, and 2000), runs at about 1/3 of the way between C and H and stays there all the time, so anything different than that catches my attention. If the thermostat, fans, radiator, and coolant level is good, what could be the problem? Also, it tends to only do this up and down temperature deal if I’m driving it. It stays normal when setting still. Running hotter on the highway and cooler when setting still seems the opposite of the norm. Any ideas?
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Thanks for that info! THat’s certainly something I would have never thought of. Is there a chance that my water pump could be going out?
When was the last time you did a timing belt & water pump job? IIRC recommended service is every 80-100k miles. Also if you DO a timing belt job swap out the thermostat while you’re doing it with a HONDA OEM t-stat and change the radiator cap as well for Honda OEM. (Both items are wear/maintenance items with ~3-5 yr change interval)
I’m not sure when that was last done. I can’t find the repair ticket, but it seems like it was about 5 years ago, and very likely over 100,000 miles. I can’t afford the $1000 to have it done again and that’s why I’m asking all these questions in case its something I’m going to have to do myself. The thermostat I installed a couple years ago is OEM. The radiator cap is also, but its not new. When I replaced the radiator, I bought a used OEM one from a junk yard and am using that cap that was with it.
[quote=”Jermband” post=196127]I’m not sure when that was last done. I can’t find the repair ticket, but it seems like it was about 5 years ago, and very likely over 100,000 miles. I can’t afford the $1000 to have it done again and that’s why I’m asking all these questions in case its something I’m going to have to do myself. The thermostat I installed a couple years ago is OEM. The radiator cap is also, but its not new. When I replaced the radiator, I bought a used OEM one from a junk yard and am using that cap that was with it.[/quote]
ETCG has a VManual available for purchase on the F-series timing belt job….much less than $1000. You can rent a coolant pressure & cap tester from any auto parts store and check to see if it is leaking that way, or just buy the VManual and do the timing belt & water pump as long overdue preventative maintenance, should you go that route buy an ASIN timing belt kit from RockAuto that includes a new water pump and all required gaskets. Finally make sure there is no air pocket in the cooling system, ETCG has several videos on how to bleed them out properly.
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