Overheating problem! Need help!

[caniborrow50cnts]

93 civic lx 1.5L engine
Likes to overheat and started doing this suddenly.
I am not sure if the radiator fan isnt turning on or not but i went ahead and wired it to the battery to make sure that wasnt the problem. The fan still turns on, but the temp still went straight to H. I haven't been using the A/C so it isnt like that is overworking the engine. After about 10 minutes of driving, the coolant starts boiling. I dont see any belts or anything else missing. Is the water pump most likely to blame or is there other components that would cause this to happen?

[sdshow]

dude, thermostat! prob stuck closed, a very common problem

[6dmnbag]

I had a similar problem in my truck i had a long time ago. It turned out i had a blown head gasket and small amouts of water was leaking out of my engine. I replace the gasket and the truck ran fine.

[caniborrow50cnts]

no water is leaking out except all the steam out of the radiator cap. I have no clue where the thermostat is in my car either. Sounds like a good enough reason to buy a manual for my car. I hope that it is only the thermostat. I already checked the price of fan switches, water pumps, and relays but fixing the thermostat sounds a lot cheaper than replacing the pump, though I probably would still have to buy a gasket for it.

[6dmnbag]

The thermostat would probably be near the upper radiator hose, but dont take my word for it.

[sdshow]

the thermostat is in the head, where the upper rad hose is attached. if you are in to playin with shit, remove it and put in a pan of water on the stove, boil the water with a thermometer, and see if it opens at 180 degrees, if not chuck it and get a new one. And do this only with the consent of the female, if one is involved, cause you will have hell to pay trying to explain yourself,lol

[superbluecivicsi]

Originally Posted by sdshow

the thermostat is in the head, where the upper rad hose is attached. if you are in to playin with shit, remove it and put in a pan of water on the stove, boil the water with a thermometer, and see if it opens at 180 degrees, if not chuck it and get a new one. And do this only with the consent of the female, if one is involved, cause you will have hell to pay trying to explain yourself,lol

An easier way is:

Warm the engine up until it gets hot. If the engine is hot and the upper radiator hose is still cool, then its your thermostat. If the upper radiator hose is hot, then the thermostat is fine.

Next check every single area that coolant may pass through and check it for leaks including the structure of the radiator itself.

If all this fails, then hope it is not anything too expensive

[Silverbolt]

Yes, do what SuperBlueCivicSi said. Thats how you check your thermostat. If its not that, check for leaks. Another common problem is a faulty "fan switch". Its a metal piece that screws directly into your motor... located towards the back of the motor... kinda behind your distibutor cap.... and it has a plastic plug, plugged into the top of it. Honda retails it for about $45. You can buy a Mugen one for $50... but you'll have to get a Mugen Thermostat for $85 for it to work as it was designed to. The Mugen setup turns your fan on at 80, instead of 93 degrees.

[caniborrow50cnts]

hmm, I am quite baffled. I ran the car just as supercivic suggested. The upper hose got hot, but the radiator was still cool. Then I popped off the radiator cap, then all the hot water came pouring out, then the radiator got hot and the fan turned on. Afterwards the temp started rising quickly though.
I let it cool to take off the top hose and then ran it again and no water came out, unless I reved the engine.
I then took off the two bolts for the radiator hose (where it connects to the head). I believe the thermostat is that thing to the left though, hopefully, but it just sticks out a little.
Anyone have any ideas or should I seek professional help?

[caniborrow50cnts]

After a through investigation, I discovered that the thermostat is in the housing connected to the host for the bottom of the radiator. But, I also discovered that the top of the radiator is very brittle and is breaking easily. Found a new one though for $100. I still believe the thermostat is the problem so I went ahead and boiled it and it looked the same before and after. I'm just going to buy a new one so I dont have to deal with it later. Other than that, I hope this will fix it.

[Silverbolt]

hmmm, keep us updated

[caniborrow50cnts]

no more problems after replacing the thermostat

[Silverbolt]

Good to hear!

[Bluegem]

where is the thermostat located?

[Greenblurr93]

old thread.. not a good idea to bring back old threads... and just follow the feed hose from your radiator to your water neck, the thermostat is under there.