Honda Accord overheating problem.

[zyxelenator]

So the story is that I met wonderfull girl not so long ago, which is also certified mechanic. Not sure,which certificates exactly, but it doesn't matter, she loves to work on the cars and does it right. So i'm sure the things were done right,that she told me about. The trouble is her own car. She got her accord coupe from her mom. And she has overheating troubles and can't catch what is causing it. Car is 94-97, don't remember exact year,just telling from a brief look. I also haven't take a look under her hood yet. I mean car's hood

I was her passager couple days ago and immidiatly noticed that her car idles rough and vibrates and has engine light.
She stated, that car overheats after long drive, and looks like when it's more hot outside. She said she checked and changed thermostat, it had troubles. It helped a little. Then she changed out radiator and most hoses. And it was fine till spring, and it got hot yesterday again... Radiator has filled right,bleede, there is no coolant loss or any leaks. No smoke,not a head gasket.
She haven't chance to spot her obd2 port yet, but I beliave I know where it is, and will use my scanner to check codes. I did a little search, and beliave it's clogged cat. Not all hot gases freely escape from pipe, and cooling system can't take this with additional heat from outside temp. Clogged cats and faulty O2 sesors can cause rough idle and CEL light for sure. Worst case I guess water pump issues... What do you think guys? I beliave car has around 85k miles.

 

[zyxelenator]

I'm not sure but I think she told, that she did all the belts and water pump change too. I will double check that, to make sure.

 

[FL_Rob]

What about a timing belts jumping a tooth? If it has a belt that is...

 

[Trav]

It has a CEL so the code(s) will be helpful.
There are just too many possibilities to start guessing.

 

[JimPghPA]

Just a guess, but something else to check, take a hose to both sides of the air-conditioning condenser (in front of radiator) to be sure it is not clogged with leaves and dirt, and restricting air flow. Check that the fan(s) are running when the engine is hot.

The radiator was replaced, but was the engine ever given a good cooling system flush? With that many years on it, there is a good chance that the coolant passages inside of the engine will have significant build-up if it has never been flushed.

 

[zyxelenator]

fans do run. I beliave she said that she tryed flushing first, before changing entire radiator.

 

[Nukeman7]

The same thing happened to my friend's 1996 Accord. Turned out that the temperature sensor fan switch was not functioning correctly. The bi-metallic strip would bind up and not turn on occasionally. A replacement fan temp. switch easily solved the problem and it has been fine for the past 2 years.

 

[VK56VD]

Completely off topic but thumbs up to the vehicle in your sig. V6 5-Speed Manual Camry's are few and far in between.

 

[crazyoildude]

get the code and that should answer a few questions.... It does sound like it can be a head gasket if it happens when she is driving around 50mph..............if it only happens when she is in traffic it could be the electric fans not working

 

[zyxelenator]

Will try to catch her, she works a lot including nights. And check the codes and the rest.
To Spartus: Tnx, one of the reasons I got it. Wish it would be supercharged also... Trying to treat it good. There is separate thread about that car, in oil additives forum. Named ARX in Camry V6

 

[zyxelenator]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
get the code and that should answer a few questions.... It does sound like it can be a head gasket if it happens when she is driving around 50mph..............if it only happens when she is in traffic it could be the electric fans not working
she haven't notice specific occasion for it yet. But seems it happens on hot days. Was fine all winter, and now it's lot of rains and kinda chilly,where we live. But yesterday was close to 88 degrees, so it trigered overheat.

 

[JimPghPA]

One time I heard of someone removing the iner spring from a hose for the radiator. The hose would colapse from the suction of the water pump.

 

[JimPghPA]

Some vehicles have 2 speed fans. If it were stuck on low and required high it would overheat.

 

[MarkM66]

Does the recovery tank over fill?

 

[RH+G]

Is her fans running at full speed when overheating?

 

[Nukeman7]

This (5th) generation of the Accord has two single speed fans. The larger fan runs at moderate temperatures and high temps. The smaller auxiliary fan kicks in when the A/C compressor is on or when the coolant gets really hot and triggers the high temp limit in the fan temp. switch. The easiest way to conclusively determine whether it is a fan airflow issue vice a coolant flow issue is by splicing in a simple on/off switch to bypass the fan temp switch. When it begins to overheat, just manually switch on both fans and see if it solves the problem. If it drops the temp to normal, the temp switch or circuit is the culprit. However, I would just replace the $20 sensor instead of going to the trouble of wiring in a switch.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/D...1_32043_0_91473

 

[Chris142]

Those engines blow headgaskets if even remotly warmer than normal temps. Do a chemicle test before anything else.