my 91 keeps overheating

[frankskee]

I Replaced The Stat Had A Hose Blow. It Straight To Hot Just Idling!!??? Could It Be That I Need New Gaskets????

[smartjay28]

did u bleed the cooling system? it could just be theres an air in the system. when the ECT sensor, hits the air, its rises. thats because the air is hotten then the liquid.

can u explain a lil more clearer?
like when does it happend,
does it go down
etc

[bobwinton]

I am curious about the resolution of this issue. I have a '92 Legend which overheats almost to the red line, but then drops back down, sometimes only if I shut off the engine for a minute or so. I had the thermostat replaced, but the problem continues to occur. My mechanic says this means I need new head gaskets - which virtually totals an otherwise smoothly operating vehicle. I was intrigued with the "bleeding the cooling system" idea. How does one do that? Would not the replacement of the thermostat basically accomplish that? I appreciate any widom on this issue.

Bob Winton

[Legend714]

Bob,

I feel you!!! I've been having heating issues myself!!! I had my radiator, radiator cap, thermostat, and hose replaced to no avail. I just picked my car up from the shop the other day and they couldn't find what was wrong with it... They replaced the thermostat again (no charge) and that was that. But when I drove it home (night time), the car over heated again!!! I stopped my car and opend the hood to see the coolant bubbling from the reserve container... I don't think it's the head gaskette that's causing the overheating, cause if it was, you'd see white goop in your engine oil (which I don't have)... I'm bringing my car back to my machanic to see what the deal is and will keep you posted with what they find... My Legend has over 200K miles on it and it still drives great... My friends are all surprised how well it's held up all these years.... Anyway, I hope to solve this issue!!!! If anyone knows about this problem, please fill us in!!! Thanks!

[bobwinton]

I did a bunch of on-line searching, most of which led to the head gasket conclusion. My mechanic has worked on my cars for 15 years, is totally honest, and though he is not error free, told me that I had a 50-50 chance of the thermostat being the problem before he replaced the thermostat. He said that he has seen this problem with many 91-95 Legends, and though he acknowledged he did not have a good explanation, said replacing the head gasket is the only thing that works. One on line post I read said that the leak raise CO2 levels in the fluid and gas bubbles formed and somehow this caused the problem. Another one proposed replacing the cooling fan switch or its controller, but that does not apply to my car as the fan comes on. My car when it gets too hot can be temporarily fixed simply by stopping and turning off the engine for as little as 5-10 seconds and then retarting it. The heat gage settles back down very quickly - for a little while, may be 3-5 miles, before it does it again. I have enough minor body damage to make me reluctant to go forward with a $2,200 reoair, so I am donating to a charity and getting another used Acura, but this time a TL.

Bob

[crazycrazycrazy]

Same thing happening to my legend, overheating sux, but here's something strange, my heat doesn't work!!! Only if i gas it til high RPM then my heat will come on for 5-6 seconds then go cold again, dunno why.... anyone know why??
i'm going to change the radiator this thursday, if anyone knows the problem please tell me!!!! Im so sick of driving an Auto, I wanna drive my Legend again...

[bulldog4606]

If you change the radiator hose or thermostat then you have to bleed the system. I have had that happen to me too. If your car runs hot almost to the red line and then goes back down that means that there is air in there. If your heater is not working but your car is overheating it is because the thermostat is not open yet to let the water into the engine. Once the thermostat opens then the heater will work. To bleed it all you have to do is loosen the bleeder bolt that is ontop of the thermostat housing until you only see fluid comming out and no bubbles. Do not just open the cap and keep adding water in there because the engine will get hot and the water in the radiator will start to shoot out. If it starts to shoot out then close the cap right away. If your car is overheating and then goes back down, once it goes down you can take a rag and then open the radiator cap to fill it up and that way you will not have to bleed the system cause the thermostat will be open by then and the water is circulating. I hope this may answer some problems that you guys might have. This is a very common problem with the legend so please do not go and change your head gaskets unless you see water in the oil. The easies way to fix this problem is this, but please be careful. If your car overheats and then goes down then do the following. Once it starts to overheat keep driving it till it goes down and have your heater on. While it is overheating the heater will not work because the thermostat is not open yet (this is normal, it happened to me so I know). Once you can feel the heat then that means the thermostat is open. Get to someplace and stop but do not turn off the engine. Have some antifreeze handy and a thick towel handy in your trunk cause you will need them. Use the towel to turn the radiator cap loose, but do not lift it up just turn it loose so that the pressure goes down. Once the pressure is gone you can take it off or else if you take it off too quick you will get BURNED. Once the cap is off add new antifreeze in there until it is full and keep the cap off so that the air escapes from the system. You will see the water circulate in there if you look down into the cap and hence the thermostat is now open you are making sure that there is no air inside your engine either and that will be all that you have to do. Make sure you also add water into the reservoir and have a good working radiator cap, cause the radiator cap is very important too. Sounds complicated but very easy. Let me know how you guys doo.

[92aclegend]

I ran into this same issue recently with my 92 Legend. I replaced the thermostat, purged the air from the system, check all hoses, check water pump, then started to suspect the head gasket. This is a typical problem with the 91-95 legends. The simplest way to determine if its a head gasket is to do the following.
When the head gasket blows, heated CO2 leaks into the cooling system, which in turn overheats the engine. Coolant also leaks into the block and is evaporated out via the tail pipe. You will notice a white sweet smelling steam comming from the ass end of your Legend.
It's very expensive to have the head gasket replaced, due to the hours of work and the fact the head should be resurfaced.

My fix was to use K&W permanent metallic block seal. It's only 10 bucks and it works. I've got a friend that works in a shop, he has used this stuff on several cars. It works about 80% of the time. It really depends on the amount of damage done to the block. If you have any large cracks then you're screwed, but if it is just a gasket issue then all is good.

Good luck,
Jim

[kelrx8-civicbeater]

i also had the same problems,cold air out vents,sudden needle rise,shut car off for a few seconds and all is okay for a couple of miles
and quick fix
but not for cold weather is to bleed the system.regularly about once a week(from trapped air bubbles in the system which form)
but in the end i have had to change the headgasket when it was time to sell the car.
good luck all

[shit_bag]

Hey smartjay,
I noticed in your list of super extensive high-tech mods done to your lifted legend one of your "mods" is a "dephi" xm radio... Is that like a knock-off of Delphi, or is your user name sarcasm?

[JBL44]

I had the same problem 92 Legend, Spend major $$$$ New Rad, Them stat, water pump and sensors. at the end I changed to a newer engine much cheaper than fixing the head castket. One mechanic (dealership) changed a sensor that was under the dash board and the sensor that is at the bottom of the rad. As well they can do a pressure test on the casket to see if they leak (at the dealership)

[bwheatley]

Howdy guys.
I just went through the same thing with my 1991 Legend.
I changed the cheap stuff first...thermo, rad hoses, waterpump, new radiator fans.
The whole time in the back of my head i was thinking head gasket. First time i brought it into the mechanic he ran a hydrocarbon test on it and said it didn't look like the head gasket was warped. BUT after fixing everything else myself (not with mechanic) i brought it back in and he saw that i wasn't getting proper compression and that the headgasket was warped even though he wasn't picking anything up on his hydrocarbon test. So just as he was about to rebuild the engine he found a 1991 engine that was very clean with only 60k miles! And since that switch its been a new car. It was a typeII motor too so i get a few extra horses and the car has been doing beautifully

[blkjedi954]

Acura mechanic said to bleed using the bleeder hose only if you empty out the coolant from the system totally, otherwise, let engine cool, remove the rad cap and start the engine, let it warm up for about 15 to 20 min top off the fluids as the air bubbles should show themselves when the coolant circulates and then replace the cap. Air in the system could be caused by a leaky hose, which as he explained could be more than 10 different hoses

[harvn5611]

I own a 1993 Legend LS and this era of Legends had the same problem. The temp indicator goes up, then falls; this is the result of warped heads. Changing the gaskets will not resolve the problem. Once repaired, it takes another 100,000 miles or a little less before it happens again.

[Paddy_21]

No one has mentioned checking the radiator fan. While purging the air from system I found out it worked better if the heat was cranked up. Not sure if this was mentioned but it's important because it ensures the thermistat is open to let coolant flow. After I had a steady stream of fluid coming out I checked the temp. It was still getting hot. So I checked the fans next. They weren't on. I turned on the AC... Still didn't come on. I shut the car down and very carefully spun the fan blades (even with the car off the fans can come on). They spun so now I have to jumper them to the battery and see if they work. Haven't made it past this part but to those looking for more I suggest a Haynes book... I'm following it right along, it's pretty useful. If you don't have one pick it up for about 15 bucks.

PS- I also checked Ebay for a price on a used Engine -> 700 for Type I 1000 for Type II... Food for thought.