need help on 91 se-r!

[91accordseattle]

i have a 91 se-r and i am having problems with it loosing water of the radiator because it comes out thru the engine coolant container next to the radiator. the question i have is why does does it come out thru there? is it suppossed to come out trhu there or is it something wrong with the car? or does it just throw it out because its too hot and what can i do to fix it.

any help would be appreciated.

thanks in advance.

[fugiot]

Do you mean it's falling out of a hole in the reservoir? Or is it coming out of the top?

[91accordseattle]

it is coming out thru the top.

[fugiot]

Well, first, make sure you aren't filling that reservoir to the top to begin with. The reservoir should only be filled about a 1/4 of the way. There's a "Full" mark down there. Is the car overheating? What does your temp gauge say?

[91accordseattle]

the temp gauge stays at the middle so i dont think it is overheating but it might. i replaced the thermostat today but ran to another problem where the car turns off and wont rev higher than 3000rpm and i dont know what i did wrong because right when i put the thermostat on and tried to turn on the car the trouble started to happen.

[fugiot]

Wow, now you've stumped me. Definitely doesn't sound like a temp problem anymore. Is the engine shaking or anything when you try to rev it up?

[91accordseattle]

yes it shakes a lot and turns of when i dont step on the accelerator.

[fugiot]

Ooookay. Well, you are definitely misfiring. It's gonna be hard for me to figure out if it's fuel related or electrical without knowing as much as you do about your own car. I'm gonna take a guess here and say it's probably(worst-case) one or more fuel injectors. Don't know how long you've had the car, but don't EVER use a fuel system cleaner on an SR20. It'll eat up your injectors and cause them to spray in a manner they're not supposed to. But hopefully you just need a tune-up. Make sure that you have a good distibutor and plug wires. And don't use Bosch spark plugs. Go get some NGK's. Denso's will do if you can't find NGK's.

[91accordseattle]

I just got the car a few months back and have never used injector cleaner. the car ran great before i changed the thermostat except for the problem with the water out of the reservoir

[fugiot]

Dang, it's either a coincidence or you must've bumped something on accident. I really have no idea.

[91accordseattle]

i finally found out what the problem, it is a censor that was loose that is in the air filter box, i hooked the censor back up and it fired back up no problem and i felt some great relief. i really like to thank you fugiot for all the help you have given me and for always responding so quick to the posts.

[91accordseattle]

one thing i forgot, when i opened the thermostat housing there was no thermostat in there could this of been the problem with the overheating? i guess the previous owner ran it without one.

[fugiot]

Oh my GOd! Yes, that would definitely be a problem. Let me know how it goes with the new one in there.

[91accordseattle]

when oil is comming out of the valve cover and is all on the motor does that mean i need a new head gasket? and also when smoke (evaporation) is comming out thru there is it the same thing?

[fugiot]

yes, and try to use a slightly thicker oil. Or use conventional Valvoline if you're using a synthetic. But no, not head gasket, just a valve cover gasket. and the little circle ones around your plugs too.