1996 Civic ex overheating
#1
07-23-2016, 08:29 PM
1996 Civic ex overheating
96 Civic ex 1.6L auto trans. 177k miles. Two separate fans, the A/C fan works with A/C on, the radiator fan will not come on. Fan is good, jumped the switch, fan runs. I just replace head gasket, thermostat, coolant temp sensor, coolant fan switch (water pump a year ago)
Temp gauge goes up to hot, hasn't gone all the way yet but pretty close when at a stop. After I start driving, the needle drops back down to the normal range. What gives?
Temp gauge goes up to hot, hasn't gone all the way yet but pretty close when at a stop. After I start driving, the needle drops back down to the normal range. What gives?
#3
07-25-2016, 09:15 AM
1996 civic overheating
Questions
1) silly question but you never know, did you put coolent in it?
2) if so are you leaking coolant?
- if you are locate the leak.
3) it sounds like when you accelerate that is when the system can get enough pressure to cycle through. My thoughts are that you have a leak and it looses pressure when you are idling.
1) silly question but you never know, did you put coolent in it?
2) if so are you leaking coolant?
- if you are locate the leak.
3) it sounds like when you accelerate that is when the system can get enough pressure to cycle through. My thoughts are that you have a leak and it looses pressure when you are idling.
#4
07-25-2016, 03:35 PM
If you are jumping (aka bypassing the fan switch) and the fan works, but the fan doesn't work when plugged into the switch, you may be looking at your problem there.
Last edited by cvcrcr99; 07-26-2016 at 03:25 PM.
#5
07-26-2016, 10:10 AM
Yes it has cooant, No coolant leaks/loss anymore after head gasket.
The coolant temp switch is also new...
The guage looked good today even though I only drove it about 7 miles. Maybe there was some air trapped in the system.? I will have to take it out for a cruise and put some miles on it and see what happens.
Thanks for the reply!
The coolant temp switch is also new...
The guage looked good today even though I only drove it about 7 miles. Maybe there was some air trapped in the system.? I will have to take it out for a cruise and put some miles on it and see what happens.
Thanks for the reply!
#6
07-26-2016, 03:07 PM
Yes, air trapped in the system would definitely make it spike for a few seconds but 7 miles might not be sufficient time to tell if it is pressurized. Run it for a bit and then check for leaks. Good luck in hoping that it's fine now!!!
Last edited by Jaredarchuleta5; 07-26-2016 at 03:17 PM.
#7
07-28-2016, 11:47 AM
There are a couple of things that come to mind. Please do not be insulted with these questions, as not everyone knows procedures. There is absolutely no offense meant. Honestly.
When you say 'just replaced headgasket', does that mean a week, month, year, two years? The reason I ask is that I had a headgasket replacement that I did only last a year. After much research I found out that there was a new part number that Honda recommended over the original gasket. The Honda dealership where I bought the part gave me the old gasket. The new one was a superior metallized type. It has now held after a few years and some really hot Texas summer driving.
When you did replace the headgasket, did you check the block and the head to ensure that the mating surfaces were within the flatness specifications outlined in the service manual? If not, the gasket has a far greater likelihood of early failure, or, worst case, not sealing at all or not any better than the gasket that was taken out and replaced.
Did you both loosen and tighten the head down in the required sequence to ensure that no warpage resulted from R&R? Was your torque wrench of decent quality and calibrated?
Did you clean your head bolts, or replace them? Dirty bolts can give a reading as 'seated' and torqued to spec when they are instead seizing and galling in the block.
Again, I'm not suggesting in any way that you are an inadequate mechanic, how in the heck would I even know you well enough to imply such a thing any way? Right? I'm just asking because from what you've written, even the intermittent nature of the problem, it sounds su****iously like what I went through with the headgasket on my 1994 Civic. If you do a search under my name you can read about the part number snafu. I, too, thought it was bleeding the air out, or the fan wasn't acting right, or the timing was too far advanced, or, or, or. It was none of those things. It was the headgasket......twice. sigh. Don't give up, you'll get this thing. Watch closely the reservoir tank- it holds clues. If it bubbles over you can be pretty sure you have exhaust gasses pushing the fluid out a little at a time.
Please keep us informed of your progress and your findings. I wish you luck.
Ed Fisher
Dallas
When you say 'just replaced headgasket', does that mean a week, month, year, two years? The reason I ask is that I had a headgasket replacement that I did only last a year. After much research I found out that there was a new part number that Honda recommended over the original gasket. The Honda dealership where I bought the part gave me the old gasket. The new one was a superior metallized type. It has now held after a few years and some really hot Texas summer driving.
When you did replace the headgasket, did you check the block and the head to ensure that the mating surfaces were within the flatness specifications outlined in the service manual? If not, the gasket has a far greater likelihood of early failure, or, worst case, not sealing at all or not any better than the gasket that was taken out and replaced.
Did you both loosen and tighten the head down in the required sequence to ensure that no warpage resulted from R&R? Was your torque wrench of decent quality and calibrated?
Did you clean your head bolts, or replace them? Dirty bolts can give a reading as 'seated' and torqued to spec when they are instead seizing and galling in the block.
Again, I'm not suggesting in any way that you are an inadequate mechanic, how in the heck would I even know you well enough to imply such a thing any way? Right? I'm just asking because from what you've written, even the intermittent nature of the problem, it sounds su****iously like what I went through with the headgasket on my 1994 Civic. If you do a search under my name you can read about the part number snafu. I, too, thought it was bleeding the air out, or the fan wasn't acting right, or the timing was too far advanced, or, or, or. It was none of those things. It was the headgasket......twice. sigh. Don't give up, you'll get this thing. Watch closely the reservoir tank- it holds clues. If it bubbles over you can be pretty sure you have exhaust gasses pushing the fluid out a little at a time.
Please keep us informed of your progress and your findings. I wish you luck.
Ed Fisher
Dallas
#8
07-29-2016, 02:15 PM
No offense taken. I did the head gasket about a month ago. It has the metal gasket, checked head and block for warpage using straight edge and feeler guage, I used new head bolts that came in the gasket "kit", Torqued the bolts down in 3 different ft/lb amounts in the order recommended as researched. I used a new torque wrench, quality is subjective (Harbor Freight) some people love them some don't.
This car is not my daily driver, so I haven't driven it much since the head gasket.
Something that people are saying should happen when I bleed/burp the cooling system is puzzling, you might know the answer. People are asking me if the fan came on twice...why and when would the fan come on twice when it is not hot?
People on here are also telling me 20 minutes was not long enough to bleed the system. So, I will try it again longer....how long should I let it run? (with the heater on full blast)
Thank you for your advice.
This car is not my daily driver, so I haven't driven it much since the head gasket.
Something that people are saying should happen when I bleed/burp the cooling system is puzzling, you might know the answer. People are asking me if the fan came on twice...why and when would the fan come on twice when it is not hot?
People on here are also telling me 20 minutes was not long enough to bleed the system. So, I will try it again longer....how long should I let it run? (with the heater on full blast)
Thank you for your advice.
#10
08-01-2016, 03:37 AM
Bleeding/burping the coolant
Kyle
Thanks for answering and clarifying. As far as bleeding the system goes, I've had my car in a nose-raised position, for long periods of time before the fan has ever come on, as in 30 minutes or so. What I've done, and it may or may not be a sanctioned way of bleeding, is to take the radiator cap off and blip the throttle some so that I can see good 'flow' going past as a result of the water pump spooling a little faster. My thinking has been that the flow should be indicative of the entire system. I've done this method after the car has come to full operating temp and the fan has cycled at least once. As an aside, when the headgasket was compromised the burping never stopped during throttle blip/fast rpms. In my case the exhaust stroke btwn #2 and #3 was allowing just a little gas into the system due to the breach.
You've covered all of your bases and have certainly done the job correctly. Now I have to wonder about the head having a small crack in it somewhere. Did your vehicle get pretty hot when your last headgasket went? I'm really hoping that it is just an insufficient bleed, it is just that in my experience that hopeful thinking just didn't pan out. You didn't per chance take your head to a machine shop for magna-fluxing while you had it out did you? That's just a long shot as not many do that step. Mine came back okay both times, even though the car got into the red zone of the temp range before I caught it on both occasions. Not for long, but still in the red zone.
I hope I answered the burping question adequately. Really you can just raise the front end, start the car, and go make a sandwich and have lunch while the car idles away. It takes a really long time for the fans to cycle..
Ed
Dallas
Thanks for answering and clarifying. As far as bleeding the system goes, I've had my car in a nose-raised position, for long periods of time before the fan has ever come on, as in 30 minutes or so. What I've done, and it may or may not be a sanctioned way of bleeding, is to take the radiator cap off and blip the throttle some so that I can see good 'flow' going past as a result of the water pump spooling a little faster. My thinking has been that the flow should be indicative of the entire system. I've done this method after the car has come to full operating temp and the fan has cycled at least once. As an aside, when the headgasket was compromised the burping never stopped during throttle blip/fast rpms. In my case the exhaust stroke btwn #2 and #3 was allowing just a little gas into the system due to the breach.
You've covered all of your bases and have certainly done the job correctly. Now I have to wonder about the head having a small crack in it somewhere. Did your vehicle get pretty hot when your last headgasket went? I'm really hoping that it is just an insufficient bleed, it is just that in my experience that hopeful thinking just didn't pan out. You didn't per chance take your head to a machine shop for magna-fluxing while you had it out did you? That's just a long shot as not many do that step. Mine came back okay both times, even though the car got into the red zone of the temp range before I caught it on both occasions. Not for long, but still in the red zone.
I hope I answered the burping question adequately. Really you can just raise the front end, start the car, and go make a sandwich and have lunch while the car idles away. It takes a really long time for the fans to cycle..
Ed
Dallas