Coolant overflow tank filling, temp fluctuating

Hi All,

Just bought my first 5th Gen Lude last week and so far it seems to run alright bar a few issues I noticed the other day:

1. I was driving on a relatively hot day (>35 degrees C) and whenever I stopped somewhere and turned off the car, I could hear a noise coming from under the bonnet. I checked under the hood and noticed that the coolant overflow tank was full to the brim.

2. While driving I noticed that the temp gauge seemed to alternate between a bit below half way, and just a bit over half (not in the red).

3. Looking at the top hose I noticed that where it meets the engine there is some brown, thick crust around the lip. To me this looks a bit like it might be "chemi-weld" which has set.

4. Looking at the engine it looks like there is some oil (both baked on, grimey oil and regular viscous oil) on the drivers side of the block about half way down. I can't be too sure if this is coming from between the head and the block or not though (I'll try and take some pics when I can). Also I can see a glob of blue sealant that has oozed over the side of the rocker cover (indicating that someone would have taken it off at some stage), so it may be possible that there was oil leaking from around there that has dripped down.

5. I haven't driven a 5th gen before so don't know if this is normal, but sometimes it feels like certain gears don't have as much power as they should at certain revs i.e. in other cars where at a certain speed I could comfortably use third to accelerate properly, I need to use second. This could just be different gear ratios to what I'm used to and be perfectly normal but I'm not sure?

My theory: at some point the radiator has gone as the current one looks a lot newer than factory. Someone has probably driven on it whilst overheated causing the head gasket to go. As a cheap fix, someone has thrown some chemi-weld in the system to seal up the head gasket to keep the car running. I'm worried that perhaps I've purchased damaged goods.. who knows how much damage has been done and if the head has warped! I'd be happy if there were another potential explanation for this as I've just had a B4 Liberty that I spent about 4-5k on to fix a spun bearing and other issues :'(

If anyone has any ideas or theories then I'd love to hear them! (Even if the news is harsh).

Thanks!

keep checking radiator levels when cold and put a new thermostat for sure

what color is your oil

Thanks for the responses guys.

I'll keep an eye on the coolant levels. I topped it up the other day as it was a bit low (must have been like that before I picked it up). As for the oil, I haven't properly wiped the stick to check the levels but I have just pulled out the stick to look at the colour. It seems to be normal oil colour to me and doesn't look "milky".

Also, it may be worth mentioning that I tried the "bubble test" i.e. getting it to operating temp then carefully removing the radiator cap - I couldn't see any bubbles coming up in the coolant at all. From what I can tell there was no oil in the coolant either.

Would it be a good idea to have my local mechanic run a compression test? If something has been chemi-welded (which wont last forever) I'd prefer to have it properly and permanently fixed than end up stranded at the worst possible time/place :)

need pix to assist. if the temp jumps you might have air in it

also make sure that straw in the coolant overflow tank is actually connected lol

Yep, the tube is definitely attached (the coolant does end up getting back into the cooling system). I'll take some pics tonight of the oily parts of the engine and the crusted part of the top hose. Thanks again for your help all!

Replace you thermostat, and flush coolant. The 5th g I got for my Mrs does not fluctuate in temperature ever. Take it to radiator place. Could be hg, a leak or water pump...rad pressure test is only way to be sure.

Thanks for the suggestion :)

I called my local mechanic and he said it sounds like the thermostat. He's gonna take a look at it, probably give it a flush and replace the thermostat. Hoping it all goes well and there isn't anything else underpinning the problem!

With the oil, clean up the engine bay and monitor where it could be coming from. Preludes do have a high tendency to leak so just keep an eye on the engine bay for any signs where leaks are coming from.

Thanks again for the input guys, really appreciate it!

So turns out the radiator was 40% blocked, and after a flush, new thermostat and cap seems to be running perfectly (even on a couple of 40+ degree days).

Good to hear met

did you end up fixing the other issues with your gearing?

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Originally Posted by RenzokukenJ

did you end up fixing the other issues with your gearing?

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did you end up fixing your face?

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Originally Posted by cbauto

did you end up fixing your face?

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did you end up posting dik pics?

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Originally Posted by RenzokukenJ

did you end up posting dik pics?

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just w8 m8

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Originally Posted by cbauto

just w8 m8

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i saw at brisbane meet already dw met

In the end I'm not sure if the gears were really an issue, think it might have just been me getting used to the car. Something still doesn't feel 100% about the gears but I can't put my finger on what it is. I might drain and refill the tranny fluid and see if that makes a difference.

As for the oil leak, it started dripping quite a bit so I took it to the mechanic again (after they'd cleaned it up). They reckon it was the vtec solenoid gasket. They resealed it and said it stopped dripping afterwards (from what they told me). Weird, I could swear it looked like it was dripping where the seal between the block and the transmission housing is.. Oh well, ill keep checking the oil regularly and checking for drips underneath.