Two problems or one?

[WuDuP]

I have a couple of problems with my '93 Intergra B18 engine and manual trans. Car has 428,000 km's on it.

1) Engine overheats when I use the A/C on a warm day. I notice the temp gauge will go above the normal indication point either will driving or parked. If I turn the A/C off, engine temp gauge returns to normal. I have had this problem for some time and just didn't use A/C.

2) Engine runs cold in winter. I first noticed it this past winter where the temp gauge would not get to normal and the amount of heat from the heater was low. The engine would eventually warm up after a long time (at least 30 mins of city driving.)

3) The engine stalls and will not restart when engine is hot, no engine warning light comes on. This has happened to me 3 times so far. The engine started after less than 5 minutes. The second time I had it towed to the shop, once at the shop the car started about and hour and a half after stalling. Third time engine started after 15 minutes.

Now for some info. As for replacement parts I replaced the water pump and timing belt 1 year ago with minimal mileage on it since then. The fans come on and off normally. It does not use any coolant. I replaced the fuel pump relay as per a mechanic as I was having a tough time starting the car when I refuelled the car and only drove the car a couple of clicks to the gas station, engine not yet warm. Everything else on the car is pretty much original. I have not diagnosed the stalling in any way as it is hard to repeat. Don't know if it is fuel or ignition. But a cool down always gets me going, so far.

Any ideas? Is the stalling related to the cooling problem?

[fobearbc]

i had that same problem with the a/c and heat on my S-10 a few years back, ended up being a bad thermo-stat. was like $12 and 15 min to fix. The starting problem sounds a little wierd, does it turn over when you go to start it? you might have a wiring issue.

[Schister66]

Try replacing the thermostat. It'll cost like $10, but that'll probably solve the problem

[WuDuP]

Originally Posted by Schister66

Try replacing the thermostat. It'll cost like $10, but that'll probably solve the problem

I was thinking to try the thermostat but was quoted at the dealer for $140 CAD ($50 just for the part!) to do it and so wanted to get an opinion before going ahead.

Do you think it could be heat causing the stall and then no start problem? (BTW it turns over just fine, just no firing.) I did try something the last time it stalled was to turn the heat on and the fan on high. I thought that might help cool the engine down if it was a heat issue. I did have plenty of really hot air for awhile, but of course with no coolant flowing, it did not last. It then started quicker than the time before and was a warmer day to boot. But that may have been dumb luck as well.

[shyfty50]

definatly the thermostat, I had the same problem - buy the part and do it yourself unless you wanna get raped by the dealership

[Schister66]

There might be an ignition problem (spark advance/retard)....that would cause your car to overheat too. IDK maybe that's part of the problem

[fobearbc]

thermostat is a really easy job, and the dealer is ripping you off, at autozone the thermostat for a 93 integra ls is between $8 and $12. plus the cost of a gallon af anti freeze and you have a $20 fix. You also might want to get a haynes or chilton manual, also about $12 and then you have the instructions.....And i talked with my mechanic friennd, a too hot engine can cause starting problems

[WuDuP]

Originally Posted by shyfty50

definatly the thermostat, I had the same problem - buy the part and do it yourself unless you wanna get raped by the dealership

shyfty50, did you have the heating/cooling problem and the stalling problem together or just the cooling problem? I don't want to spend much fixing this car and if it is two seperate problems I will probably just leave it and sell the car as is.

Thanks everyone for your input.