quick advice

[Bigmaxxin]

hey guys its been a while since i posted here, but it seems it has come time again for some assistance. last summer i put a new tranny in my car, all was well until the summer started. it is a 89 lxi coupe, and i live in california where the temps have been reaching the 80's and 90's, now the car drove fine all winter, but when it heated up the car started to over heat. i suspect the thermostat since all the rad hoses, and the water pump are all new. anyway let me tell you what happened so i can tell if this is the problem. i was driving it on the freeway, when the temp gauge pegged at H, and the car started smoking, i popped the hood and the radiator was smoking, and a white powder had collected near the cap, and some fluid was boiling out of the overflow tank, the fans were on at the time, and i was cruising at about 70mph on a day that was 80 degrees. is the thermostat to blame, or do i have a bigger problem?

[EricW]

I would replace the thermostat since it cheap and easy and flush the cooling system after you replace the thermostat, if it hasn't been flushed in a while.

[Blkblurr]

I would replace the thermostat since it cheap and easy and flush the cooling system after you replace the thermostat, if it hasn't been flushed in a while.

Yep, that's what I would do. Also check your radiator cap or replace it if it is original. It may be leaking.

[AccordEpicenter]

i overheated last week due to a bad hose that leaked all over... and my stat is fuct. My 95 was overheating and the radiator was bad... Do the stat first though, then check for leaks and or a bad rad

[88Accord-DX]

After you change the thermostat, flush the system, look at hoses & cap. Make sure you bleed out all the air in the cooling system. There is a bleed bolt sort of below the dizzy.

*edit* Ok, I looked around on this board for a pic & here (http://members.fortunecity.com/accordex87/cooling_system_bleeding.htm) is pic of bleeder screw & the how to on it.

[Bigmaxxin]

hey thanks guys ill try that, the coolant system was flushed not too long ago id say about 1k so ill just check it and see if its still okay, but yeah this weekend i will be changing the thermostat so i will keep you guys posted!

[Bigmaxxin]

ok hey sorry about the delay. let me get you up to speed on what the situation is. i replaced the t-stat and it stayed cool for much longer then usual, but after about 10-15 minutes the temp climbed, and then the coolant started boiling out of the overflow tank. now everything except for the radiator, overflow tank, and all the misc sensors associated with the cooling system have been replaced. i am out of patience. now i took the radiator out, first of all i had just changed the coolant and it came out brown/reddish now does that mean there is some mingling of coolant and atf in there? i am eager to just fix the problem and buy a new radiator, is there anything else i should replace while doing this, id rather spend the money now not to have to deal with it later. i appreaciate the help.

[DanG86LX]

No coolant goes to AT, at least on my car.. I know cause i had tranny off the car and opened up.

[AccordEpicenter]

swap the radiator and run the car idling, stick a garden hose in the upper radiator hose and let the bottom one dump on the ground. I bet you have alot of rust and crap building up in there, it should be green coolant

[Cant Stop]

i have a similar problem also make sure the hole on the t-stat is on top and not bottom, my system is severely rusted and blows lots of rusty brown water, and since we are on this topic
anyone know if the water to carb preheater can be bypassed?, i will check the archives if someone says yes, i have the carbed 89 accord