B16a EG Overheating problem.

[tcout]

i bought this EG Coupe last wednesday on craigslist for $3550! Its a 1993 Honda Civic EX. It has a B16a JDM engine. The engine runs great. No knocks or ticks. No smoke. No leaks. A complete B16a conversion was purchased from h-motors online with tranny for $3500. The Metallic Blue Paint Job was $3000. I have a receipt for everything the previous owner had done to it. Some Mods such as Dual core Radiator and coolant lines are only 2 weeks old. The previous owner had to sell this car because he was layed off from his job 2 years ago. His house went into forclosure. There is one problem tho, it overheats. But other than that this is an excellent base to work from. This is also my first project car that me, a buddy (RX-7), and my dad ('66 Chevelle SS) will work on. So I'm new when it comes to honda tuning. I have spent countless hour researching b-series, d-series, and k series engines while searching for this gem. Let me state that i def plan on changing the taillights. I would also like to get some 16" rims, and a different front bumper, one thats cleaner. So any feedback will be much appreciated. Performance Mods include: AEM cold air intake Dual Core Radiator Cat Back Exhaust I also have a P30 ECU installed and it comes with a chipped P28 ecu as well. Stage 2 Racing clutch Limited Slip Differential Slotted and Crossed Drilled Rotors AC Removed Exterior/interior Mods Euro Style Taillights Halo Projector Headlights Front Bumper Side Skirts 17" rims Metallic Blue Paint Job Entire Bottom of car and wheel wells are rust proofed in black Steel Plates welded in Above Back tires to prevent rust Radiator Fan is wired to an on/off switch on dash Door Speakers + Rear Speakers are Rockford Fosgate. The thing is overheating tho. It has a brand new (2 weeks old) Dual Core radiator with new radiator hoses. It has a new thermostat. There is no gasket around the thermostat tho, the guy i bought it from didnt have one at the time. It makes a slight hissing sound, i believe thats where its coming from. I did not notice any oil in coolant or vice vera. tried 3 times to bleed the coolant lines, had to stop after 20 min each time due to overheating. This is overheating problem happens at idle. the idle is around 700 rpms. did not notice any sweet smelling smoke or fluids. no milky color under oil cap. The top coolant hose is considerably hotter than the bottom. I am thinking either in need of thermostat gasket, or faulty thermostat, waterpump, or maybe a slight leak in the head gasket. These are my best guesses. I hope nothing major is wrong. The engine itself runs like a champ tho. Any ideas????? I was also wondering if i should use the p28 chipped ECU. The P30 is currently installed. And some research i have done tells me that i might see some minor gains but without heavy mods and taking somewhere to get it tuned it wont make alot of difference. I plan on adding some headers and removing the catalytic converter (If Possible with ECU) along with a new intake manifold. As far as running with no catalytic converter, i live in michigan and there is not really any emissions testing. But this will not be completed for 6-8 months until i gather the funds. I was just curious if i should still put that in instead of the p30 non chipped ecu and just run off the basemap. would i see any noticed gains besides worse gas milage?

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[mk378]

An obvious question: does the radiator fan work? For testing, you can jump the thermal switch on the thermostat housing to force the fan to run all the time.

Also don't remove your converter, besides killing the planet you will get that ricer "bee in a can" sound, and negligible if any increase in performance.

[gwl]

Try replacing the thermostat, I can't believe the previous owner didn't have a gasket. Don't gaskets come with a new thermostat? Do you have bubbles in the coolant reservoir(exhaust gases) when its overheating?

[tcout]

Yes the radiator fan is brand new and is wired to a switch right in the dash so it stays on. Def good to know on the converter. i didnt know if it added a decent amount of power or not. like i said im a new to honda tuning. def dont want bee in a can sound. right now it has a nice low rumble. yes replacing the thermostat is one of the first things i am going to do. the guy i bought it from was an idiot in a sense because he had alot of money and not alot of knowlegde. he paid somebody 75 bucks per headlight to install aftermarket ones. get the picture. lol. he paid for every part on there and installation and labor fees as well.

[Brick]

Can't really help you with your problem dude. However I'd most definally keep the cat. You will be critizied so much on this thread if your not running a cat. So don't say that and don't claim to street race and you should be good. As for the looks department, definally loose the front bumper for an OEM one. Next get some OEM sideskirts and different wheels. Lastly get OEM tailights. Basically de-rice the entire thing. Not too crazy about the blue paint, but it looks good. The only thing the previous owner did right was do the engine swap. But he sure did do a real good job of ricing it up for ya. Welcome and hope you get your problem solved fast.

[josephdstone]

I think the blue looks good, they should have just painted over the side moulding. The tail lights should go as well, something like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/92-93...=p4506.c0.m245

[Lewy2k]

My thermostat didn't come with one but I bought one. If the bottom hose isn't getting hot then that might mean your thermostat isn't working properly or the gasket is causing it to not work properly. Either buy a new one with a gasket to start, because they are cheap or test your thermostat by putting it in really hot water and see if it opens up. If you test it and it works get the gasket.

[tcout]

as far as it being riced out. i have the oem from bumper also painted in the same color as the car. i also have the oem tailights to. ya i def need to clean it up. ya thermostat is the first thing im going to try. previous owner gave me 2, he said one was old and one was new. but i dunno. id rather just buy a new one myself. should i run premium gas or is unleaded fine. previous owner told me to run nothin but premium. well id say for my first honda/project car ever, this was a good choice.

[tcout]

oh by the way. that big guy is the previous owner and so is that liscense plate.

[mk378]

Not sure if it's possible here but on some cars you can put the thermostat in backwards, and it won't work that way. The sensing bulb (big copper piece in the center) goes on the engine side, not toward the radiator. Also the little "jiggle pin" vent needs to be on top.