over heating

[AZaccord]

when i drive the car dosnt over heat when i stop it over heats so i saw a tiny leek on the radatior so could that be the problem or can it be some thing els?.

[blackcb7]

probably your fans are not coming on

[NAiL05]

1. Check your fluid level
2. Pressure test to find leak
3. As mentioned check fans.

[AZaccord]

the fan is working just fine the fluet level is okay

[MangoMechaniX]

the fan is working just fine the fluet level is okay

Then the guess is that the radiator core is no longer efficient in transferring heat to the air. Probably the cooling fins are falling apart. Take a look under the fan and shrouds, and behind the A/C.

[quickangel93]

check for the following things cus this happened to me:

Check for radiator leakage - if it does, thats the problem, if no next thing
Check for bad, coroded temp sensors - if yea clean and try again, if not next thing
Check for thermostat problems, like if the coolant starts to flow to the rad at about 220 degrees, if yes - must be bad/old cooling or waterpump or something else, if no coolant flows than thermostat problem.

the first thing i would do is check for leakage in rad, and also pull out the thermostat, located behind the motor where the lower coolant hose connects, and put it in a pan with water. take that pan and put it on a stove and heat, if the spring compresses at 220 degrees, good thermostat, if not bad thermostat.

[NAiL05]

Yea person above me beat me to it check your t-stat. Pressure testing it will help out a lot with finding your leaks and such. Your T-stat might not be openin all the way or its just stuck in the closed position.

[deckeda]

Wait a sec --- you can get a pretty good idea if the thermostat is opening before taking it out.

Start the car and let it idle. When it gets hot enough (and before the radiator fan kicks in) the TOP radiator hose will get hot. Grab it --- it should be sorta too hot to hold onto. If it doesn't get really hot but the fan kicks in and temps soar --- the thermostat isn't opening. At that point skip the kitchen and stovetop test and just get a new one.

And make certain to purge air from the system after putting it back together.

BTW --- even if everything is working OK, it's normal for the fans to kick in, eventually (takes like 15-30 minutes almost while idling in the driveway) --- just not before that top hose gets hot.

[NAiL05]

You need to hold both hoses dont forget to mention and both have to be equally stiff and hot. If the top one is softer then yea your t stat aint openin. Dont keep your hands on the hoses though its hot and yea.

[owequitit]

Partially working T-stats are the most likely cause of this issue.

It may be opening enough to allow the car to cool while moving, but not while sitting. It most likely got stuck part way open.

Touching the hoses this time of year isn't an effective method because everything under the hood is too hot to touch after the car has been running for just a few minutes.

This is your most likely culprit. Unfortunately, I know how hot it stays in Tucson, which makes it impossible to check and see if it is fully closed on a cold start, because in the summer there is no such thing as a cold start around here.

The second most likely possibility is a faulty temperature sensor for the temp gauge.

I would assume worst case scenario and assume that the gauge is correct. It is far more likely that the T-stat would go bad anyway.

As far as the radiator goes, if it is holding pressure, it is most likely just fine.

They have a lot of excess cooling capacity. I have seen them so corroded that a coolant change caused it to fail, but the car never got hot.

I had a hairline leak in mine once, and it never had an issue. I finally replaced it because I was tempting fate, but the performance of the cooling system was never in question.

**edit** Make sure you have a 50/50 coolant mixture, and your radiator cap is holding the correct pressure. Most likely if your cap was bad you would know it.

As far as the coolant mixture, anything above 50/50 this time of year can cause hot running, as too much coolant reduces the effectiveness of the water.

On the other hand, much below a 50/50 mixture, and the water can start to vaporize in the temps down there and cause overheating.

[Ralphie]

Yea my t-stat went bad but i knew it because as soon as i drove for like 5 mins my t needle was redlining. I just bought a new one and swapped em and good like new. Deff dont forget to purge air out. Im going to drain my system here in a few days and refill it.

Edit- oh yea my tstat was like fried closed lol but it was never changed i dont think or at least not as long as i had it so for 10 years +/- is pretty good....fuggin Hondas!

[owequitit]

Wow! I posted that at 1:30 this morning.

I meant to specify that all of that was based on the coolant level being good!

[AZaccord]

every thing els is working the radaitor core isnt any good so now i am eding up geting a new one as well