Honda civic check engine and over heating problem

[dan]

Hi, I have a Honda civic(1.7) 2004 ex sedan and I’ve been experiencing a over heating problem.After running 40-50Km temperature indicator rise up. It’s more evident when car is running up hill, It over heats even leaving the car in parking mode on a slightly angle floor mode for 10-12 minutes.

Also I’m getting a check engine sign, secondary o2 sensor is the faulty part.

what should i do? is there a connection between faulty O2 sensor and the over heating issue ?

thanks
Kp

Topic

[Jose]

Hey KP does your car still over heat? over heating can also indicate a head gasket gone bad.
But if your car is no longer over heating, you can still have a blown head gasket and coolant maybe leaking into the cylinder(s) causing a misfire read out and check engine light. remove your spark plugs and stick a long piece of metal or long piece of something and check if it come back wet. Remember that you were driving around with an over heating engine. check to see if you are having white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe, even after warm up. sometimes you can smell the coolant in the air. I am telling you this because it happened to me on my 2005 Nissan Sentra. After I replace the water pump, My car was no longer overheating but i was getting miss fires and coolant in the cylinders. After sometime the car would no longer start because the cylinders where droning in coolant. So do a leak down test or the chemical test that checks for hydro carbons in you cooling system to check for a blown head gasket. One more thing, anti-freeze in your exhaust system can ruin your O2 sensors and catalytic converter.

[Gumpy Guss]

Speaking of leaking head gaskets, here is something that worked out, but don’t try this yourself, unless you’re desperate. A while ago my wife’s beloved VW Rabbit started bubbling the coolant and overheating. The car was mostly rust, and never had had good brakes, but it was so much fun to drive! Doing a whole head job was way more than what the car was worth, so options were limited. As a last resort, I guessed that tightening the head bolts another 15% would either do nothing or fix the prob or break off a bolt. Turned out it fixed the problem. That and a can of Bondo patched the rust at the body corners and made the car usable for another 2 years, until a front spring broke and I sold the car real cheap to another VW nut.

[dan]

yeh i will check the spark plugs for coolant leak. but if i have a blown head gasket i wont be able to run my car like this.. right guys?coz i have been this car like this for almost 2-3 years now, usually i can drive 30-40 Kms without any problem. if it is the head gasket situation should get worsen day by day; Pls correct me if I’m wrong.
Thanks
Kp

[Jose]

you can run the risk of warping the head. I also have a 93 Honda Civic that head gasket was blown. that car would start to over heat after 45 minutes of city driving. I drove it like that for a year till I finally I had the time to replace the head gasket and whole other things. I replace all the water hoses, water pump, thermostat,timing belt, the other belts, pvc valve, valve adjustment, resurface the head at machine shop, replaced all gaskets from intake manifold, TB and Air control valve, clean the crap out of the TB and IM, replace spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributer cap and rotor. After all that work, car idles nice. no problem ever since. And that was about two years ago.

[EricTheCarGuy]

You can check for a head gasket problem using the info in this video.

Honda’s should have NGK or Nippon Denso plugs only. Use other plugs, and you’re asking for trouble. I still think you should check for an exhaust restriction because that can cause performance problems and an overheat condition. It’s an easy test with a $25 tool.

[Author]

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