94 Vti-R running cool (not in a good way)

G'day guys.

Im new to these boards. I bought a 1994 Vti-R Integra about 2-3weeks ago and everything is fine except that the temperature gauage seems to spend most of its time down the cold end.

If im driving slowly through traffic it gradually heats up and the needle sits about half way (which is where i thought it was suposed to be) but once i start going a faster for longer stretches the temperature goes back down.

I warm the car up before i use it, and the auto choke is working normally. Im just wondering if its a problem with the Thermostat or if Vti-R's just run cooler in general?

any info would be most appriciated.

Cheers!

i have the same problem, in my 94 vtir teg aswell
i fink it mite b the thermostat playing up (i fink thats wat its called)

if its anywhere between 1/4 to 1/3 that should be alright???

my old teg, used to be really tempermental to the temperature outside. if freewaying and cruising at night on a cool night, it would go nice and cool. on a hot day.. it owud heat up bout halfway.

my current teg... seems to jsut sit round 3/8s just off centre.

Check the temp outside. It's winter!! (well second say of spring)! so it's cold. When you are travelling at a speed (say 80 in 5th) you are doing about 3000RPM which isn't that much. You have heaps of cold air coming into the engine bay at that speed cooling the whole lot down.

If the thermostat was playing up , the needle wouldn't ever reach halfway.

I have a DC2R (2000 model) and the temp on it sits a about 3/8's as well... But I do the Hume Hwy (Canberra to Syd) run once a month normally and the temp will get down to under 1/4 I'd say...

Like Savant said, Its winter outside, dont take it as much... (just be thankful its not sitting on the OTHER side of that 1/2 way marker ;) )

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Savant

Check the temp outside. It's winter!! (well second say of spring)! so it's cold. When you are travelling at a speed (say 80 in 5th) you are doing about 3000RPM which isn't that much. You have heaps of cold air coming into the engine bay at that speed cooling the whole lot down.

If the thermostat was playing up , the needle wouldn't ever reach halfway.

---

what savant said :P

when you stop and start the engine heats up becasue the radiator isnt getting air blown into it to cool the water/engine etc...
when you drive long stretches and faster nore air flow cools the engine'



my temp guage never really gets over a 1/3 even in traffic its mostly down at zero :P

The temp gauge should be below halfway most of the time. If the engine is getting excessively hot when you are in traffic, just check to make sure your thermo fan is working properly.

when warm...mine sits at 3/8 of the way....
anything below 1/8 ...VTEC wont kick in....
well in my R anyways =)..

Cheers for the replies guys.

Everything you've said makes sense. i.e travel faster more air gets in, cools down the engine etc (i did think of tha :) )

What concerns me is the sometimes lack of power ... when the needle is about half way after a bit of city driving the car seems to pull alot harder. When its "cool" it just doesnt seem as powerful, its as if the V-tec does nothing...

I could be completely tripping, and im glad to hear that they do generally run fairly cool. Its just every other car ive had/driven just goes to about halfway and stays there.... i guess it'll just take some getting used to.

Stabo,

Just last night i replaced my Thermostat. And guess what? now my temp is constant at about 40%. Doesnt move up or down when warmed up. The thermostat's job is to keep it at constant temperature which is the VTiR's recommended operating temp. I also have a 1995 VTiR integra. Had this problem for about a month. I only just bought it a month ago also. Trust me, replce the thermostat and it will go back to normal. It shouldnt move, maybe 1mm either way and thats it. Took me about 30 min to replace...but 1 and a half hours to take one bolt off the thermostat housing...i dont have proper tools...

g3vtir,

cheers mate, thats exactly what i needed to hear, lol

I'll look into replacing it as soon as possible (hopefully tomorrow)
btw how much did it cost to buy a new one?

Thanks again!

Stabo,

I bought it from a Japanese Auto parts for $24...Auto One sells it for $24 also, Repco is about $26. You can also buy the gasket for it or just re-use the old one if it is still in a good condition. I know its better to buy new gaskets. I think its only about $5 anyways.

Yeah apparently when the thermostat goes bad and its always on cold, the car is always in warm up mode, which means its running rich, and also Vtec would sometimes not engage.

Hey Stabo, it is posible that your thermostat is a bit sticky in the open state, this will cause the temp to drop as you cruise, your temp should be stable and not fluctuate in this weather. its normal for you car to be underpowered if the engine is to cold as Vtec will not kick in as some one mentioned above. I recommend a genuine thermostat and replace the oring, use genuine coolant as well. if you are going to do it your self, you must crack open the cooling system bleed nipple when filling it up with coolant as you dont want any air pockets in you engine.

ECU man,

Cheers for the info, i might just get it done by a mechanic instead of doing it myself. I dont really want to take any risks. I doubt it'll cost all the much :/

Thanks to all who have replied, i'll let you know how it pans out.

yep, its the thermostat, i had exactly the same problem on my old 94 vtir just after I bought it, it is a common problem. Honda fixed it for me.

im glad i read this thread, im having the same problem.

except i think its worse in my case!.. the temperature has never gone above a quarter.. and when cruizing at 100km/ph, it actually drops under the cold line.. and vtec will not engage.

new thermostat here i come

haha looks like it really is a fairly common problem.

Perhaps its worth mentioning it in one of the sticky technical threads?

It's better that you got onto these problems before the peak of summer, because with faulty thermostats there is always the flip side of the coin for being excessively cold...

mmm looks like i'm not alone here.

g3vtir - did you do the job yoruself? sounds like you did. Would it be too troublesome or require some expertise??

linkorr,

Yeah i did it myself...overall it should only take about 30min...but you gotta wait till your engine is cold.

Na no expertise needed. Here is what you should do.

1. take intake pipe off
2. follow the lower radiator hose to where it connects, thats the thermostat housing.
3. remove the sensor and ground wire attached to the housing.
4. There are two bolts to remove. Now the top one is easy to get, but the bottom one is hard. This took me about 1.5 hours to get out. I tried everything to get it out. I didnt have proper tools so it was hard. You need something that bends. Like a socket wrench with a bend on it coz the started motor gets in the way.
5. After you remove the two bolts, take the housing off, then pull out the thermostat. Put the new one back in. Dont forget to replce the gasket.
6. Put everything back in and replace the coolant lost in the process.

Does that kinda explain what i did?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by g3vtir

Stabo,

Just last night i replaced my Thermostat. And guess what? now my temp is constant at about 40%. Doesnt move up or down when warmed up. The thermostat's job is to keep it at constant temperature which is the VTiR's recommended operating temp. I also have a 1995 VTiR integra. Had this problem for about a month. I only just bought it a month ago also. Trust me, replce the thermostat and it will go back to normal. It shouldnt move, maybe 1mm either way and thats it. Took me about 30 min to replace...but 1 and a half hours to take one bolt off the thermostat housing...i dont have proper tools...

---

correct, your thermostat is stuck permanently open position, its a common problem on tegs, (happened to me) replace it and revel in the glory of having a temp gauge that sits 1/3 of the way on the gauge

a bit late, but i had exactly the same problem as well, 1/4 temp in solw areas, but on the freeway down to as low as it could go.

Thermostat replaced by Honda = all good.

haha there is gonna be an Australia wide shortage of Honda Thermostats ;)

Just got mined fixed too, the mechanic said it was "bent and mangled" hahaha.

so yeh now the temp sits at about 40% and the car runs AWESOME! Its like a whole different car. (just took it from a little thrash in the hills)

Thanks to everyone who replied!
~Stabo

Stabo,

So you got it done today as we were talking about it? Gee eager beaver.. hehe

it feels better now aye that you know its all good!!!

haha yeh man, when it comes to the car i dont mess around ;)

And yes it feels so much better, i only wish i did it sooner. I cringe at the thought of me revving it out when it was "cold"

But its all good now, I finally feel like a Vti-R owner :)

That is exactly how i felt. I thought to myself "damn i've been driving it and gunning it with a cold engine, i hope i didnt do any damage", but now i feel very relieved that i have fixed it. It feels complete again

All you Vtir teg owner who have had his problem must stop to apriciate the quality of your honda, yes your 10 yr old thermostat shat itself but it has in a way that it dindt overheat your engine. 90% of honda thermostats iv ever seen seize or become faulty have done so in the open state thus allowing coolant to flow, most other manufacture and non genuine thermostate seize in the closed state which = no coolant flow and an overheating engine which = posible engine damage. thats why I love genuine Honda thermostats, there worth every penny IMO.

haha dont get us wrong ECU man, we're not complaining. We just felt bad about thrashing the car when it was cold ;)

Im glad it ran too cold rather than too hot, because you're right it would have been ALOT worse.

Nah Dude, Im not saying you guys are complaining, Im just trying to make yall apriciate your honda even more than you allready do :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by g3vtir

linkorr,

Yeah i did it myself...overall it should only take about 30min...but you gotta wait till your engine is cold.

Na no expertise needed. Here is what you should do.

1. take intake pipe off
2. follow the lower radiator hose to where it connects, thats the thermostat housing.
3. remove the sensor and ground wire attached to the housing.
4. There are two bolts to remove. Now the top one is easy to get, but the bottom one is hard. This took me about 1.5 hours to get out. I tried everything to get it out. I didnt have proper tools so it was hard. You need something that bends. Like a socket wrench with a bend on it coz the started motor gets in the way.
5. After you remove the two bolts, take the housing off, then pull out the thermostat. Put the new one back in. Dont forget to replce the gasket.
6. Put everything back in and replace the coolant lost in the process.

Does that kinda explain what i did?

---

thanks g3vtir.. will see what i can get from auto one. hopefully i don't mess it up.. it sounds fairly simple.. ;) I got a honda manual and found the same steps too ;)

good on all you guys who fixed your problems.. :D:D:D

Looks like this is a common problem. When I was at Hanny's last weekend there was another DC2 which had the exact same problem :)

its a common thing yes...for not being replaced for say more than 5-10 years or so lol...thank God for honda's that dont break even under these extreme cases :D:D:D

BTW my lil si is doin the same thing....and a thermo change is on the dial...

haha ECU Man , no worries there thats why i chose a Honda/VTEC over a turbo car id be forever repairing ;)

Its good to see lots of peoples cars got fixed because of thread, cheers to ozhonda and all who contributed!

hey ive got a dc2r, and i just got it about 2 weeks ago, my engine temp is sitting around the 40% mark, just below the middle. should i worry about it? or is that normal?? because i believe few people have this problem?? the car drives good but just for assurance. someone said that is normal in the 1st page of this thread so im just double checking.
thanks :)

Yeah sitting at about 40% is normal. its when it doesnt reach 40% or exceeds 40% when you gotta start to worry

Yep, I agree, about 3/8ths, just under halfway, on my DC2R.. It is very consistent on that reading too.. Cheers..

yeah i was wonderin the same thing but i just thought it was normal

thanks for answerin my q's and i didn't even have to ask


Becs

are the thermos avaliable from repco etc original honda ones?
do you guys know how much labour would cost to get it replaced?

you can't get oem honda ones from repco, they sell their own brand one which will work just fine and is much cheaper.

many people will say the honda one is better, which it probably is, but i doubt you will have your car another 10 years from the time you change your thermostat.

i don't know how much labour it will cost to get it replaced but it is very easy to do yourself. there are a few DIY articles floating around on the internet on how to replace it.

has anyones themostat failed on them?

non-oem one?

if so did it fail in the same way the honda one does?

whats the longs any1's had the replace ment for?

i think when the do your fuel pump... the don't use original ones... and they change ur thermo too...

so maybe some1's had this done agez ago

ok went repco and it was 35 for the thermo & 19 for the gasket..
autobarn was 19 and they didn't have any in stock... and the gasket wasn't listed so they didn't have any even tho the guy said it goes for about 3 bux.

Also called up Josh Sady Car parts and the honda oem thermo & gasket is $56

Can anyone tell me if its necessary to drain the cooling system before changing the thermostat ... or can I get by with doing it full and topping up afterwards?

Cheers
Mike

you dont need to drain the entire coolant, make sure you top it up with the same coolant and bleed the cooling system.
but make sure you change the coolant if its thrashed or been in there for more than 20000 kms

Hi guys
newbie poster here.

I just recently got myself a 96 integra, and i think i'm having the same problem with my thermostat.
There's probably a number of you who got it fixed at a mechanic. Can anyone tell me how much they got it done for? Parts + labour?

If you got it from a yard it should be covered under the statutory warranty i would think (at least mine was, unless its very different in NSW from WA).

Does anyone know the Part numbers From honda

And ppl that got it done at Honda how much alltogether ???
thanks

i got quoted $200-$250 from Honda... i only called Trivett and Ricky D's and that's what they quoted me.
Hanny's said they'd do it for $60

yeah my DC2 sits on 1\4 and never moves at long as its not ova heating i guess

Just to make sure. How do u tell if there is a problem with the car???

if you dont fix it will it be a problem?

yes
coz if the thermostat for some reson closes and stays closed then your engine will overheat, then posibly damaging your engine ( head or head gasket)

and if it remains open, then your engine will never reach operating temp and will run cold...

i just got a vtir a few days ago, when im sitting idle at a traffic light or driving around in peak traffic the temp gauge hangs around 1/2 way, but when i drive aroudn at 60kph or so for a lil while it goes all the way back down to zero... is this the same problem or is it that its just damn cold here in sydney???

same problem i reckon, from memory mine did sort of the same thing when i was stopped.

hey guys, that would be the same problem - i used to have all those symtoms, but just got the termo replaced and the car is heating up as it should!!
thank god i read this thread!!

yeah took my car down to hannys and they replaced it for me ... car feels so much better with vtec :)

ok, i went to repco today to buy a thermostat
1st problem: there are 2 types of thermostats, 'off-angle' and 'straight'
2nd problem: it cost me 34 for the thermo and 18 for the gasket. i thought it was only suppose to cost 30max...

go get a genuine thermostat and problem 1 will go away
then problem 2 will be more worse, but you will get better life out of the oem thermostat

fitted and good as new.

I have the same problem. If I park the car and turn it off, the temp pretty quickly gets up to about 1/3 (about 10 mins). When I start it again and drive around, it slowly goes down back to the cold marker.

I've noticed something interesting. It feels like the VTEC only kicks in at about 6800rpm? Should it come in at about 5000? I might try driving my car, stopping and letting it warm up, then see if the VTEC kicks in properly.

I'll get the thermostat changed asap.

Update:

Just got my thermostat changed along with the sender for the temp guage.
Thermostat was sticking and temp guage was sending wrong signal.

It'll all fixed now and driving wonderfully. I kept a log of petrol useage, so now I'll check if the economy is better. I'll give you guys an update on that soon.

most times the spring in the thermostat gives up and keep the thermostat open bascially the thermostat works on the principal of heat to encourage the spring to force the thermostat open when hot , problem is i have seen a couple that get stuck on the closed side and it only takes so long befor colant cannot flow and you effectivly boil your motor and start boom, fun is all over, just change it happened to me before (stuck open) took 20 mins to change and now everything runs deffiently fine

My new 95 DC2 I just bought I also thought was running a little cold. Rarely moved off the Cold initial line. So when I took it to my mechanic to do the usual used car purchase of changing all fluids, I got him to put a new Honda OEM Thermostat and Gasket for it.

Now she sits nicely at 40% which seems alot more realistic.

Can't comment on whether the car 'feels completely' different though :) Maybe mine wasnt in bad condition as some others on here. I did it more for peace of mind.

Chalk another one up for the stuck open thermostat. I replaced the one in my DC4 today and now the temp is far more consistent at just over 1/3.

Thermostat + gasket cost me $55 from Col Crawford Honda in Sydney.

Mmmmmm......after reading this thread now i gotta go spend more money and go get my Thermostat raplaced aswell.....God bless this forum but ignorance would have been cheaper!!!


I'll let you all know how the replacement went...cost and result.....intending to do it on my own today!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by munter

Thermostat + gasket cost me $55 from Col Crawford Honda in Sydney.

---

Yep. Another $20-$30 for fitting by a typical mechanic.

Good see my thread has helped so many ppl :)

98 teg vtir.......use to run at cold line on highway and only ever went to normal temp (1/3) when was idling or after a strapping.
$55 bucks later (Honda in Wollongong) and 45min spent fitting (on my own- pretty easy) and it was a new thermostat. Just came back from a 1hr test drive and temp stayed constant no matter how i was driving it.
All is working great now!! Thanks to this thread that is.....

Ive got the same problem too... i thought i was getting good air-flow thats why it stays at the Cold
just called up Nordic Honda in SA for a genuine thermostat $63.50 comes witht he rubber gasket thing
thanks guys need to replace mine

so if i'm driving on the highway on a pretty cold night, is it normal that the temp guage goes down? or is the thermostat def stuck open?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jon_51

so if i'm driving on the highway on a pretty cold night, is it normal that the temp guage goes down? or is the thermostat def stuck open?

---

If ur dial goes anywhere near the cold line, no matter how cold it is, ur guage is definitly stuck. In the cold it will go down slightly but not as far down as the cold line.

yeah i think i should replace mine. Havent been worrying about it. I knew it was broken, but thourght "what damage will it cause"...

so will it cause any damage if its not fixed??
Apart from the car idleing a bit higher is there any reason to get it fixed?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jon_51

so if i'm driving on the highway on a pretty cold night, is it normal that the temp guage goes down? or is the thermostat def stuck open?

---

If it goes down on the highway and comes back up when you stop your car and idle, then your thermostat is stuck open.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Felix

yeah i think i should replace mine. Havent been worrying about it. I knew it was broken, but thourght "what damage will it cause"...

so will it cause any damage if its not fixed??
Apart from the car idleing a bit higher is there any reason to get it fixed?

---

Warm engine oil is better when you are revving your car. Warm oil flows better than cold oil.

if thermo is registering low, then oil will be warm..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Felix

if thermo is registering low, then oil will be warm..

---

If the thermostat has failed and the coolant temperature gauge is working fine, then it shows that your coolant temperature is low. Low coolant temperature that is circulating through the radiator, will remove heat from the engine block, lowering the temperature of the block and the engine oil.

i have the same problem with my 98 vti-r, the mechanic changed my thermostat with a genuine honda one, but it still does the exact same thing could it be a different problem?, i went back to the mechanic and he told me i might need a different type of thermostat, one that opens only a small bit at boiling point, he told me. is this a good idea?

anyone know??

could it be my temperature sensor or anything else??

Check the temperature sensor if you have already installed a new Honda thermostat.

hahah same thing happens to mine but the fan works all fine etc so its a bad thing? when its on cold mode ?

I'm glad I ended up reading this thread. The first time I saw it I just overlooked it.

Today, I went to Astoria Honda to get a new Thermostat for $54.95 (including the gasket). The Service centre quoted $149 and 2 hours with my car to replace it...apparently it needed to fully cool down. Screw that!

I took it to my local mechanic (a good one) and he said he'd do it for $20 in 20 minutes. True to his word, 20 minutes later I drove away with my car feeling totally smoother.

woot!

I was just wondering would this faulty thermostat influence the bad fuel economy? Because my '98 model dc2 has the same faulty thermostat problem and I still haven't got around to gain my fuel economy up.