Sonscivic,

'96- ex
w/stag turbo
stock radiator
boost 7lbs

Heats up on freeway, not around town.

Replace head gasket....

Ran ok for about 2 weeks. Than started to over heat again. Been told the head gasket is blown again....

Running out of $$$

Looking for a two row radiator that is not plastic.....Any suggestions?

bruce

 

the Fluidyne ones are pretty sweet. ive got the two row plastic one in mine though, and i like it. it cools way better than the single row stocker. it sounds like you need to lower the boost a little bit. also, once you get the radiator, get a high pressure cap and a low temp thermo, like the one from Spoon. but you have to match your thermo with a low temp fan switch too. maybe even put in a bottle of water wetter or something. that should keep the heat under control.

 

do you have an intercooler?

 

good point. that could help solve the problem without turning the boost down. and get the head resurfaced. try to get as little taken off as possible, but if the surface isnt quite flat, then you will keep blowing gaskets as fast as you can put them in, no mater how cool you keep the engine. and get a set of ARP headstuds. then you can reuse them, you should NEVER reuse headBOLTS, they are made to stretch slightly when properly torqued, so they should not be reused once torqued.

 

While it is true that headbolts stretch when tightened, a common misconception is that they are stretched lengthwise. The truth is, they are actually twisted. Also, Honda head bolts are not torqued enough to justify replacing them every time you have the head off. That is just taking it a step too far (no offense meant at all to anyone). That may be the kind of thing people are taught in tech school, but I can tell you from experience that in real-world applications it is completely unnecessary. Feel free to disagree, but I'm speaking from experience.

 

The factory head gasket was never meant to be turbocharged. When you replaced the head gasket, did you replace it with an aftermarket performance one or just an OEM replacement one. This could be the problem. 7lbs of boost - the factory one SHOULD hold, but you never can tell. When I replaced mine I also replaced the head bolts, but I replaced them with Performance Studs that are made to work forever.

 

i still think the mating surfaces are messed up, probably just a slight warpage in the head, get it resurfaced and see if that fixs it.