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I have a 1994 Honda Prelude with a H23A1 engine, and she overheats. The engine has 210k miles on it and I never knew anything of the history, but she always had this problem, driving for about 15 min she would stay at normal operating temperature, soon after that the temp starts to climb especially at idle and low speeds, The water pump started to leak coolant from the weep hole so I replaced that as well as the timing belt. I changed the thermostat with a aftermarket and OEM one with same symptoms, I have the OEM thermo in my car atm. I own a spill free funnel so I’ve bled the system everytime I opened the cooling system. Hints, there is some sort of stop leak the previous owner put in the radiator. It looks like glitter, I’ve flushed the block and radiator with water 3 times and the stop leak is still in there. While using the spill free funnel I filled it with coolant till half way, then I squeezed the top rad hose and debris came out from the radiator like dirt or something. Don’t seem to notice this debris elsewhere. On top of the radiator where the plastic tank meets the aluminum core has dried white stuff on it. Replaced the cap 3 times and when I turn it it never locks into place. At idle with the hood open the temp stays at normal, as soon as I close the hood the temp will climb, No debris in front of the rad or condenser. The temp will go up a bar then back down to normal then back up then down and repeat. Compression is 180 across. Is this a sign of a clogged radiator?
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[quote=”AudioFunk” post=102969]If there is a small leak in one of the hoses can that let air in? And I will bleed it again.[/quote]
Depending on where it is it could. As the engine cools the coolant creates a vacuum. This normally causes coolant to move from the jug to the radiator. You are defeating that with leaky hoses.
I noticed the past owners cut the front bumper and put a metal mesh on it and stuck the license plate right in the middle, so I thought to myself maybe it’s blocking airflow, so I took it off and took her for a spin, I drove for a very long time and it stayed at normal temp, way longer than before where it would overheat around the same time every time, It still overheated but it lasted wayyy longer now, but it got real hot on the gauge like usual, turned her off and opened the hood and I noticed the radiator fan was still on when the car was off, I haven’t seen it so that in a year lol, waited like 3 min turned her on and stayed at normal fans came on etc, close hood get in car and take off and as soon as I pick up speed it overheats, it went up a bar, then went down to normal eventually, decided to go another block and she overheated again and then finds its way to normal again, so I’m gonna put the heat shield back on and bleed my coolant again and see what happens.
Yes, small leaks can leak coolant which then creates an air pocket in the system. As mentioned in the article I posted for you, airflow restrictions can cause issues. Good find on that one. Now I guess you need to fix the leaks and purge the air to see what kind of shape you’re in now.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Look where the plate was, I think It’s supposed to sit higher right? [IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/2i8gf2f.jpg[/IMG]
[quote=”AudioFunk” post=103203]Look where the plate was, I think It’s supposed to sit higher right? [/quote]
Yes definitely. You are blocking way too much airflow to the radiator with a large plate mounted down there. No way I would ever mount a plate like that on that car. It is meant to be up on the front of the bumper facia under the Honda logo. If you can get a smaller slimline plate for the front bumper all the better.
I think its gotten to the stage where you should purchase or borrow a cooling system pressure tester kit and pressure test your system. Bring the pressure up to the rating on your radiator cap and visually check for any leaks and also check to see the pressure on the gauge. Check if it moves or not. If it drops but you can’t find any visual leaks you probably have an internal leak weather it be a bad head gasket, a cracked head or even a bad block.
Still sounds like the classic symptoms of air in the cooling system.
“I also forgot to add I don’t get heat at idle but as soon as I pick up speed I get decent heat”
Textbook air in the cooling system issue.
I bled the air again and I noticed no bubbles as it was warming up, but once it got close to temp I saw a good amount of bubbles come up then stop, I also forgot to put the temp to hot, I put it on hot and small bubbles started to come out of my funnel, then I took off the funnel and coolant just started to overflow, no extreme bubbles, engine was revving at like 2k, no overheat, put the cap on and the car idles smoother, accelerates smoother without that hesitation or misfire, and I now have heat at idle. Taking out my license plate helped a lot too. Now it’s time to wait.
Back. 2 weeks ago I got a block tester. I tested it after a 20 min drive driving kinda hard in 90 degree weather with the AC on. The color did not change. Then I went and put a new sending unit on, still runs hot, it only overheats a bar now and will stay there, and then come down to normal. I checked the hose temp when it was reading a bar above normal and when I opened the hood the fan was on and the top hose was at like 200 degrees and bottom was at 185-188. It would overheat if im at idle or going 30-40 it doesn’t matter. I’m gonna bleed the air tomorrow cause I put the thermostat back in yesterday so I’m gonna see if the level dropped and bleed it once more. I mean what gives? Rad, water pump, sender, thermostat, and still runs hot. Can it be a passage thats clogged possibly?
You should never run an engine without a thermostat. I also recommend OE thermostats for Honda’s. Make sure you follow the bleeding procedure when you service the cooling system, especially on that vehicle. Failure to do so will result in the same issues you’ve been having.
Good luck and keep us posted.
I put in a OEM one, and I bled the air on Wednesday,I checked the level the next day and it dropped, I bled it again and added more coolant as needed, so far so good.
Hey thanks Eric, It seemed air was still trapped in my system and I needed to bleed the air 2 times! I bled it once then took it for a drive, then the next day my coolant level dropped, added more and re bled the air and so far so good (:
It’s been awhile, but the problem is gone for good, the headgasket was leaking under load, whenever I was cruising or at idle, the temp would rise to H very quickly, and down quickly, and repeat. I decided to do the headgasket myself, with help on the side. Took us 5 days, but ensured everything was put back correctly and torqued down correctly. The car no longer overheats. A cheap headgasket was used by the PO. I don’t know what was going on, but it seemed the headgasket leaked some oil?
[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/v64qp3.jpg[/IMG]
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