Engine Overheat

[Fluke]

I was driving home last night when I suddenly noticed my temp gauge was beyond the high red level. I drove up to my house about 500m, stopped the car and turned off the engine.

I could hear hissing from under the bonnet but there was no steaming or anything like that.

This morning I checked the radiator and there the level of coolant was low.
I started the engine and it ran cool when idling but as soon as i pressed the accelerator it started to heat up. There was no strange noises or anything.

Do you guys think I might've done some damage to the engine? :(

Thanks a lot for any help ;):)

[Bludger]

there must be something causing this overheating.....

possible causes
- thermostat
- low coolant
- BHG (blown head gasket)
- Blocked radiator
- etc....

fill the radiator up with coolant and then drive it around locally, see if it still heats up

tell us your results and if it still heats up, we'll give you more advice

lol

[Elwood]

level of coolant was low

Fill it up and have another go :)

[IZY-10]

i vote for a thermostat problem

[Bludger]

i vote for a thermostat problemvery uneducated guess at most

our 85 cressida keeps on overheating, we changed everything

only thing left to do is head gasket

you don't know what the problem is until you go through the process of trial and error

[Dane]

Take off oil cap and check for 'milky' oil, if you have a blown head gasket coolant will most likely mix with your oil and turn it milky.

[NSPYRE]

wen u open the engine bay, do u get a strong scent of coolant?

[Fluke]

very uneducated guess at most

our 85 cressida keeps on overheating, we changed everything

only thing left to do is head gasket

you don't know what the problem is until you go through the process of trial and error

Yer ill give it a run tonight after adding some coolant.

How much are these respective problems likely to set me back.

Head Gasket would be a fair bit I suspect.

Cheers for the help anyway, ill update later tonite. :thumbsup:

[Fluke]

wen u open the engine bay, do u get a strong scent of coolant?

nar i didn't smell anything this morning, when i opened it up.

[Limbo]

fill it back up with proper coolant and change the radiator cap

[EuroDude]

i vote for a thermostat problem

x2^3 common problem


try jarring the thermostat open with a big paperclip, reinstall it, and see if it still overheats. Make sure the paperclip is secure, you dont want it wandering through the engine/radiator lol. buy a new one from a honda dealer and replace it asap if found faulty, otherwise the engine wont run at an ideal temperature, and take ages warming up and cause excess wear if you drive it when cold.

[Bludger]

x2^3 common problem


try jarring the thermostat open with a big paperclip, reinstall it, and see if it still overheats. Make sure the paperclip is secure, you dont want it wandering through the engine/radiator lol. buy a new one from a honda dealer and replace it asap if found faulty, otherwise the engine wont run at an ideal temperature, and take ages warming up and cause excess wear if you drive it when cold.no need, just submerge the thermostat under boiling water to see if it operates normally or not.

this should easier

[Bludger]

fill it back up with proper coolant and change the radiator captheres no need to waste money on a new cap if its already fine

[dc2dc2dc2]

lol radiator cap
should be fine 99% of time
those things last like 20 years

u sure ur radiator isn't leaking?
i remember my one cracked
pour coolant in...came out bottom with slow drip
pwned
took me 2 hours to get home.

[Bludger]

lol radiator cap
should be fine 99% of time
those things last like 20 years

u sure ur radiator isn't leaking?
i remember my one cracked
pour coolant in...came out bottom with slow drip
pwned
took me 2 hours to get home.radiator doesn't have to be cracked to loose coolant.

you can lose coolant when your car overheats, coolant will flow out of the overflow bottle. but the cause of the overheating might be something else all together....

this is my case in my toyota

[dc2dc2dc2]

well im just saying what happend to me :)
i didnt say u were wrong anh hai.

[Bludger]

never said you're wrong, just stating facts

[Fluke]

lol radiator cap
should be fine 99% of time
those things last like 20 years

u sure ur radiator isn't leaking?
i remember my one cracked
pour coolant in...came out bottom with slow drip
pwned
took me 2 hours to get home.

yer ill have to check that too. thats probably a best case scenario. more money down the drain :thumbdwn:

[EuroDude]

no need, just submerge the thermostat under boiling water to see if it operates normally or not.

this should easier

True, if you have hot water available. But if you are stuck on the street, jamming something into the thermostat is good as a temporary fix.

[Dane]

True, if you have hot water available. But if you are stuck on the street, jamming something into the thermostat is good as a temporary fix.

Man you are ghetto as mechanic!! :thumbsup:

[EuroDude]

Man you are ghetto as mechanic!! :thumbsup:

Actually I watched the NRMA ghetto mech do this with my Civic and it worked very well. I was able to drive to honda and get a replacement thermostat ftw

Yeah its dodgy, but it works and saves you money and towing hassles.

[Bludger]

True, if you have hot water available. But if you are stuck on the street, jamming something into the thermostat is good as a temporary fix.if you were stuck on the street, it would be pretty hard to get the thermostat out too

[NSPYRE]

if you were stuck on the street, it would be pretty hard to get the thermostat out too

rofl!!!

[Fluke]

there must be something causing this overheating.....

- thermostat
- low coolant
- BHG (blown head gasket)
- Blocked radiator
- etc....



Could you guys tell me how much each of these kinds of repairs would cost. cos im gonna head down to the mechanic tomorrow n i wanna know what to expect.
thanks heaps again

[Bludger]

My amounts are only guestimates,

- thermostat = $10-$20 + labour
- water pump = $70 -$150 + labour
- BHG, no idea
- pressure clean a radiator - $80 - $120 + labour

did you check coolant?

how did you go?

[EuroDude]

if you were stuck on the street, it would be pretty hard to get the thermostat out too

haha true true. unless you keep a variable spanner or wrench set handy in the car

[NSPYRE]

My amounts are only guestimates,

- thermostat = $10-$20 + labour
- water pump = $70 -$150 + labour
- BHG, no idea
- pressure clean a radiator - $80 - $120 + labour

did you check coolant?

how did you go?


wow! are u serious?! where u getting ur prices from? i bought a honda thermostat for $47 and water pump for $274.

blown head gasket.. u'll need VRS kit, around $280 and labour which is around $200 depending where u go. blown head gasket is ur worst case scenario. run a compression test and if need be a leak-down test and post up ur results for all four cylinders

[Bludger]

wow! are u serious?! where u getting ur prices from? i bought a honda thermostat for $47 and water pump for $274.

blown head gasket.. u'll need VRS kit, around $280 and labour which is around $200 depending where u go. blown head gasket is ur worst case scenario. run a compression test and if need be a leak-down test and post up ur results for all four cylindersI did say guestimates.....

as i've never replaced these items on a Honda, my guestimate prices were for an 85 Cressida:)

[SeverAMV]

could also be a head that isnt flat. that normally takes a while to blow a head gasket, and you wont see the symptoms straight away.

if your motor's a d series, and you're gonna tear it apart and replace everything, head to www.onecamonly.com. you can get a high compression rebuild, which includes water pump, metal head gasket, all new seals, etc. for around 300-ish, and it comes with high compression pistons as well in case you wanna upgrade.

but if your motor's not a d... nevermind...

[Limbo]

wow! are u serious?! where u getting ur prices from? i bought a honda thermostat for $47 and water pump for $274.

blown head gasket.. u'll need VRS kit, around $280 and labour which is around $200 depending where u go. blown head gasket is ur worst case scenario. run a compression test and if need be a leak-down test and post up ur results for all four cylinders

budget anywhere between $800 to $1000.
Its not cheap to replace as you need to prep the head and block to make sure they are smooth as otherwise you'll end up with the same prob

[NSPYRE]

budget anywhere between $800 to $1000.
Its not cheap to replace as you need to prep the head and block to make sure they are smooth as otherwise you'll end up with the same prob

oh yea, i completely forgot about machining costs...

[Fluke]

ok so i filled the radiator up with water and took it to the mechanic today. the engine ran on cold indicator for the whole trip (approximately 5 to 10 mins).

now im awaiting the verdict from the mechanic. by the way the radiator was completely empty.

[Bludger]

ok so i filled the radiator up with water and took it to the mechanic today. the engine ran on cold indicator for the whole trip (approximately 5 to 10 mins).

now im awaiting the verdict from the mechanic. by the way the radiator was completely empty.have to figure out how it got empty

1 - slight overheat and overflowed out of the reservoir
2 - leaking radiator
3 - head gasket problem

[Fluke]

have to figure out how it got empty

1 - slight overheat and overflowed out of the reservoir
2 - leaking radiator
3 - head gasket problem

would a leak be fairly obvious? as in leaking onto the floor while filling up the radiator?
anyway, i guess ill find out today. thanks for all your input guys :thumbsup:

[Fluke]

right the mechanic jus called - leak in one of the pipes. fixed.

any ideas on how much itll cost?

[Bludger]

what pipe?

there are 10,000 pipes

lol

[dc2dc2dc2]

10 min and still on cold?
change ur thermastat man.

[NSPYRE]

my car stays cold after 10 mins on really cold days but i got a perfectly functioning thermostat.

just curious, how could u not smell the coolant if there was a leak in one of the pipes?

[Bludger]

my car stays cold after 10 mins on really cold days but i got a perfectly functioning thermostat.

just curious, how could u not smell the coolant if there was a leak in one of the pipes?what does coolant smell like?

[NSPYRE]

umm.. how are u supposed to describe a smell? its like asking wat dencorub smells like. everyone knows wat it smells like but its hard to explain.. coolant has that distinct smell too. in 2 of my cases; 1 being the top tank leaking and the other having it leak through one of the hoses, i could definately smell it wen i opened the engine bay.

[bungsai]

what pipe?

there are 10,000 pipes

lol

B pipe.

[shibbii]

had that happen to me the other week.car temp gauge was right up at the red line section.didnt notice anything til there was smoke comin out the bonnnet and wheel arches! left it at my nannas place and went back next day.there was nothing in the radiator and all the coolant in that little bottle was gone aswell.found a leak in the top radiator hose -_-" shit myself and still hope that i didnt do any damage to the engine.

[cvicek]

It happen to me as well, i was on highway, driving ,and the water temp jump straight to redline, to start off, i thought it was my cluster playing up. but when i got home, open the bonnet, colant everywhere under the bonnet. but i did not get smoke coming up from the engine bay

I found out that the collant pipe to the reserved tank burst. got that replace. the car still driving fine, but not sure whether any internal damage that i don't know off...

any one have any suggestion on what should be check?