civic started running hot tonight.....

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hey guys, back again with another prob from my clunker..lol..anyway, here is what happened to me tonight. drove about a mile from the house to fill up on gas, then drove another mile to pick up some fast food, i probably waited in line 3-5 mins i would say, and when i left i noticed the hot-cold gauge was 2/3 of the way up, it usually stays 1/3 of the way up, so i knew something wasn't right. checked the coolant reservoir and it had plenty, and the oil level was ok! what could be making the car run hot like this all of the sudden? (98 civic, 213k)
 
easy! what's your water pump condition? When was the last time you have it replaced? Is it OEM equivalent (GMB is my fave but make sure it's not slipping and or no plastic broken vanes in your pump) when was the last time you have your upper+lower rad hose replaced? Have you ever use chemical cleaner to flush and drain your cooling system? When was the last time you have your T-stat replaced (OEM Honda, not some aftermarket crrrap)? Have you have your rad core checked for clogs/blockages?

Once you have all these checked/verified/serviced and you replaced the coolant with something fresh, you should be fine.

Q.
 
hey chris, be patient with me because i dont know [censored] about a car, anyway, just stepped out and cranked it up for about 10 secs and neither fan was running at all while the car was idling..
 
what kind of fan is it. is it electrical or serpentine controlled?

also replace your therm is probably where I would start.
 
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Originally Posted By: defektes
what kind of fan is it. is it electrical or serpentine controlled?

It's a Civic so it has 2 electric fans assuming that it has AC.

The fan on the passenger side is the radiator fan. It should come on about 210F. There is a fan relay for it, this might bo near the fan or in the relay box. And a coolant temp sensor near the stat that senses the temperature and turns the fan on and off.

Let it run untill it's 2/3 or so on the guage and see if that fan is on.
 
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when out and let the car idle for about 10 mins and it didn't run hot, so i took it around the block, when i got back and let it idle again, the needle slowly went to 1/2 way up and the passenger side fan did come on !
 
I'd start with the Tstat and work from there. JMO
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto...PUMP-THERMOSTAT

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cooling fan may not be working correctly..Next time this happens put on the air conditioner and see if that cools it down (the a/c turns on the other fan... Could also be a thermostat going bad..if it happens on the highway it probably is not the cooling fan because the air blowing through the radiator would cool it off.. There are other things like a head gasket or a crack.. After you start your car let it warm up and when it starts getting hotter than normal the fan should kick on if it don't that is the problem
 
Originally Posted By: kenwin30
what is it gonna cost to replace the thermostat?


Maybe 80-100 for labor plus the part - that's city pricing around here. Depends where it's situated though, could be less on the Honda because bam it's right there in your face, or it could be more if longer than an hr. In other words call around and get the lowest price.
 
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