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I haven’t started my 1987 Honda Accord LX in about two months, and I know its very bad to let an old car sit for long periods of time without being used. Since the last time I had turned it on, I have completed both front brakes (thanks to the help from the board assisting me on the slide pin/bolt not sliding properly which was corrected), changed the oil and oil filter, changed the manual transmission fluid, replaced the PCV filter, the oxygen sensor, and the small secondary fuel filter in the engine bay (not the main one near the fuel tank).
I had to start the car more specifically in order to pump up the front left tire which was a little deflated, so I plugged in my small air compressor, hooked it up to the tire, and started the car. The car took about twenty seconds to start up and I hit the pedal to give it some extra gas to start. Once it started it smoked a little from under the hood, and I figured this was some oil burning off from the recent fluid changes. The car was running really rough and there was a pretty constant popping coming out of the muffler, but it eventually settled down a little. I’m sure there are a few issues that a more experienced mechanic would discover from seeing/hearing this thing run, but I have essentially no experience and there’s no check engine light, so it’s going to take a while before I’m able to check everything over time and try to make it run smoother. The RPM was also pretty high during the whole time it ran, so I’m pretty sure there’s some vacuum leaks I’ll have to tackle someday.
So, now to the point. I filled up the tire and made a cardinal mistake of not checking the dash while an old car is running for the first time in awhile. Apparently it was overheating and I had no idea. After about ten minutes I went into the house for 1-2 minutes to grab a tire gauge to make sure it was at 26 PSI.
I come out of the house and I’m greeted with a massive cloud of smoke and steam with the radiator cap hissing. I run through the cloud and turned off the ignition, likely just in time before serious damage occurred (I hope).
When I turned the car off, the engine stayed running at low power, or just took a few extra seconds to stop slowly (one way or the other) and it jitter-ed quiet a bit.
I have upper and lower radiator hoses already on hand, and just ordered four new OEM hose clamps from Honda. I assume this happened due to a coolant leak somewhere, and it lost fluid over the two months of not running. I did see water leaking from the car when I put it on the jack, but I’m positive it had no coolant as I put some on my fingers to smell and it was clear liquid without smell. It was coming from the ends of the bumpers, so I figured it was just rain water (it was always after a rain storm).
Given my lengthy description, what would you guys do first? Just replace the radiator hoses, flush the system of remaining fluid and air pockets, re-fill it, and monitor the temps next time I start it? Or is it worth it to go the UV dye route? I just would like an experienced opinion.
If you read all of this, thanks so much as I appreciate it tremendously. I just wanted to be thorough rather than leaving out an important detail.
Edit: I guess it could also be the cooling fan failing too right? I hope the time frame of ten minutes will tell the experienced mechanic which it’s more likely to be.
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First check the oil making sure it is OK. Since you suspect a coolant leak, before you do anyting else, fill the radiator and engine with water an purge any air out of the system. Run the engine and observe whether the engine overheats or leaks.
You can have one of several types of leak:
1. Waterpump
2. Radiator or Heater hose.
3. Head gasket.
4. Cracked coolant resevoir.If find an external leak, repair it. If you don’t find an external leak remove the spark plugs and check for a difference between them. If one is exposed to steam it will be cleaner.
Overheating can also be caused by a stuck thermostat or non working cooling fan. If the cooling fans run and it still gets hot, remove the thermostat and test it in boiling water. It should be open at 100 deg C. 212 F.
An update and a question.
I decided to replace the thermostat and thermostat gasket since the system was low on fluid already (therefore didn’t need draining), thermostat’s are pretty cheap, and there’s a lot of visible corrosion at the radiator cap.
There were three options from Honda for a 1987 Honda LX Manual 5 Speed Thermostat:
- 19300-PB2-817 THERMOSTAT UNIT (88) (NIPPON THERMOSTAT
- 19300-PB2-024 THERMOSTAT UNIT (82) (FUJI SEIKO)
- 19300-PB2-004 THERMOSTAT UNIT
I didn’t know which one to get, so I went with the first one, the 88 degree Nippon unit. It turns out it is similar but not EXACTLY the same to the existing thermostat I took out. I installed it anyway since there was only about 20 minutes of daylight left and I’m not driving the car anytime soon.
Of course after I ordered, I checked the manual (why didn’t I check this before ordering?) and I believe it shows 82 degrees as ideal even though it also has 88 degrees in the table, but I’m not sure why the table is formatted as it is.
Does anyone know whether or not this thermostat will work OK, or should I buy the 82 degree one?
Below are some pictures.
Thank you for any help as always.
Based on Eric’s video, I attempted to pressure test the radiator using this kit: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003V9L05G/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00
I’ve tested the connections five times, followed the instructions word-for-word, made sure the adapter was as snug as possible, confirmed the hand pump works by building up the pressure with my finger on the end of the tubing, and no matter what I’ve tried I simply can’t get the pressure to build when the adapter is connected to the radiator. It doesn’t even move a tiny bit.
This tells me there’s zero pressure in a supposedly sealed system. What would the more experienced tech do next based on this result?
Thanks.
For you to read zero.There would need to be a sizable hole.
I would suggest that something is wrong with the tester or
adapter. The coolant is full correct? Try to get a tool loaner
at an auto part store and try it again.I forgot to mention, I already thought it was the adapter itself so I’m on my second kit with the same results.
I’ve had issues with aftermarket radiators not accommodating normal adapters in the past. If you have an aftermarket radiator it’s likely to be the cause of it not sealing properly. The only thing to do is to install the radiator cap and run the engine then look for leaks in that situation unfortunately. As for the thermostat, go OE if you can. Engine temperature is EVERYTHING to the fuel injection system so stick with what the engineers mandated in the first place.
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