Where is the coolant going?

[ahmad89]

Yesterday i was at school and it was raining hard, I saw my temp gauge shoot up to H and smoke was coming from the front right headlight, i parked my car and went to class. When i came back it was fine and i checked the radiator and it was low. i have to go to class now i will post more info when i get home.

[Pico]

both of your radiator hoses are on the right/passenger side of the car. maybe you have a leak in one if the hoses..

[MessyHonda]

when it stop raining....turn on the car and let the pressure build up. then you will be able to see where the leak or smoke is coming from.

[Blkblurr]

Could also be a bad radiator cap. Sometimes a bad cap will leak after the pressure builds or sometimes they will surge and let off lots of steam then nothing appears to be wrong. A sticky thermostat can cause the cap to blow like that as well.

[ahmad89]

i have a new thermostat and gasket for it its been sitting in my room until there was a problem with it, im sure its not the cap cause its been replaced awhile ago like a month after i got the car or so. Before i leave again today im going to check under the car to see if its leaking. If theres nothing leaking then could it be from a bad head gasket? Also today before i left school i checked the radiator it was lower then when i last filled it up but it was still good.
EDIT: I just got back nothing leaking and its very very hot outside, my car starts to overheat when im stopped at a light, earlier i was at a light that just turned red and i noticed the temp gauge creeping up slowly to H and i was nervous. When it turned green and i started going it went back to the middle, so i kept trying not to stop for long and made it home. What would cause this? Keep in mind i have the big fan working but the smaller fan doesnt work.

[ahmad89]

I talked with russiankid and he says my thermostat might be stuck, luckly i have a brand new one and a gasket in my room so i'll look into changing that this weekend. It probably hasnt been changed since the car left the factory. I read the manual and it says to just take off the housing and its right there.

[coope]

be carefull not to break a bolt when taking it off its easy to do

[ahmad89]

be carefull not to break a bolt when taking it off its easy to do
I will thx, How much coolant will spill out when i take off the hose? Im going to put towels under the area all over so it wont corrode on anything.

[russiankid]

be carefull not to break a bolt when taking it off its easy to do
Agreed. I broke mine, and i had to replace the whole thermostat housing because there was no way to get the bolt out.

[Civic Accord Honda]

dont over tighting i did on my old car and broke the top part of the thermostat housing Epoxey fixed that tho =D

[russiankid]

dont over tighting i did on my old car and broke the top part of the thermostat housing Epoxey fixed that tho =D
That is what torque wrenches are for. It is suppose to be 9ft lbs.

[coope]

i broke mine taking it off

[ahmad89]

well it happened as you guys said, i was taking off the top bolt and it was less than halfway off and it broke, theres just the last piece of the screw left in there, but i got the cover and the other bolt off and a lot of coolant came out. So i need some help on how to take out the last piece of the screw. My bro tried to put on a nut and tighten then loosen it and maybe it would catch onto the screw and take it out with it. Now the nut will just turn when i turn it with the socket wrench. Im waiting for the DW-40 to dry then try to take it off. Any ideas?
EDIT: Me and my bro are buying new bolts and coolant tomorrow, we got the nut off the broken screw and we need to get the screw out without damaging the threads inside too much.. Please help.

[88Accord-DX]

That thermostat bolt is in a tight spot, I don't know if you have a 90 degree drill, but if you do. Hit the bolt dead center with a punch, then drill the center of it with 1/8 drill bit. Then use an E-Z out to back it out. (it has reverse threads that grab onto the bolt as you turn it to the left)
Also, a 1/8" reverse drill bit will work too, but I like to try E-Z outs so I don't mess up the threads. You might end up pulling the thermostat housing off to use a regular drill while drilling a 1/8 hole for the E-Z out. Last but not least, if the bolt don't give. You can drill it out & tap new threads in the housing.

[ahmad89]

Can you show me this drill bit your talking about so i can get a good idea of what to look for? I was thinking the same thing to use a drill bit and drill in the middle of the bolt and then remove it. A 1/8 drill bit would work?

[ahmad89]

UPDATE: i bought a 1/16 drill bit, screw extractor, and replacement bolts. Im eating currently and want to know what i should do use the screw extractor or the drill bit first? im thinking to use the screw extractor first since that would make the most sense.

[ahmad89]

UPDATE: The drill bit broke off when my bro was drilling in and we drilled in kinda deep, we got the bit out and tried the screw extractor. That went horribly wrong, when we drilled it in or tried to the tip of the extractor just shrunk like we just sliced off the end of it. Maybe it was too big im going to find the paper or packaging thing and see what size but me and my bro noticed that when i took off the top screw no coolant came out but when i took off the bottom screw that was when coolant leaked out so we think if we just screw the bottom part then it would be alright but i dont feel confident about this. I was thinking of putting another nut on the stuck bolt and applying super or crazy glue or some strong adhesive and letting it dry and then trying to unscrew it and hopefuly take the broken screw with it.
P.S. please help with more ideas, thanks

[russiankid]

UPDATE: The drill bit broke off when my bro was drilling in and we drilled in kinda deep, we got the bit out and tried the screw extractor. That went horribly wrong, when we drilled it in or tried to the tip of the extractor just shrunk like we just sliced off the end of it. Maybe it was too big im going to find the paper or packaging thing and see what size but me and my bro noticed that when i took off the top screw no coolant came out but when i took off the bottom screw that was when coolant leaked out so we think if we just screw the bottom part then it would be alright but i dont feel confident about this. I was thinking of putting another nut on the stuck bolt and applying super or crazy glue or some strong adhesive and letting it dry and then trying to unscrew it and hopefuly take the broken screw with it.
P.S. please help with more ideas, thanks
When you undid the top screw, no coolant came out because the bottom was still tight. Coolant doesn't flow upwards, it goes downwards. Putting it back on with only one screw will cause leaks when the engine is running.

[ahmad89]

so i need both screws on there? im thinking if i put some kind of belt tightener like the one with the screw on it and tighten it and the belt gets tighter would that work? i have small ones.

[88Accord-DX]

You use the drill bit first & appropriate size bolt/screw extractor for that particular bit. If you can get it out, you next best thing would be to drill the rest of the bolt out & either re-tap or heli-coil new threads. Don't break off the scew extractor in there, their made of harden steal & it'll be a bitch to get it out.

[ahmad89]

the screw extractor didnt break it like melted or was shaved down when we tried to drill it in.

[coope]

why does that happen even if u spray it first it happen

[ahmad89]

Well we put the new thermostat and gasket in and just screwed the bottom screw and it theres a realy small slit at the top and we checked it, ran the engine watched it for any leaks, drove it around and it was fine. This morning i was driving to school and when i was about to park in my space the temperature gauge was creeping up to H it was above normal temperature and when i was about to turn off my car it was still below H but slowly getting up there. What else would cause my car to overheat?

Weird thing was when i took off the old thermostat a lot of coolant leaked out but when we refilled the radiator we put less than half a gallon of water then it went down a lil bit and add a lil bit of coolant. Im thinking we flush the radiator and do a balanced mix. Would that help my car overheating?

[Blkblurr]

Did you bleed the air out of the system with the bleed screw?

[LX-incredible]

Your problem sounds like it could be with the fans.

That thermostat won't stay sealed for long with only one bolt. If there is still a stud there, put a nut on it, and have someone weld it to the nut. This has never failed me because the heat from the welding helps loosen the stud. Make sure that you protect your hoses and stuff from spatter.

[ahmad89]

After school i always check the radiator and look for leaks at the thermostat housing and so far havnt seen any leaks or coolant anywhere. The stud isnt far out enough to put a nut on it when i put the housing on. Is there any kind of glue or something i could use to keep the top part completely sealed? I also need to check to see if the fan is working or not. Also would only having the big fan make my car overheat? i dont think it would because i have been driving with only that fan and not the smaller fan and havnt had a problem until now.im thinking of replacing both fans and seeing if that works but im still stumped on why it keeps overheating and it only happens in the morning when i get to the school parking lot but after school its even hotter like 90 degrees or so and it stays in the middle and i driver farther than i do after school than the morning. Could yall help me pinpoint this overheating issue?

[ahmad89]

EDIT i might get a thermostat housing from vanilla sky givin me a good deal :) i will update you all if i get it and install it. Thank you very much for all your help.

[Blkblurr]

Clogged radiator could be the problem but that does not explain the loss of coolant. Could be two separate problems as well. Waterpump not working well could be it. Did you check to make sure the thermostat is installed correctly and not backwards? Do lyou have antifreeze mixed with water? If not you may not see the leak. It may just dry up. Best time to look for the leak is right after you get done driving it for at least 15 minutes. You will normally hear a hissing sound or see steam.

[ahmad89]

I havnt heard any hissing sounds or seen any steam and i do mix it with coolant and water, also i do have the thermostat on right the the point part is pointing out from the hosing and the part that extends in and out is inside the housing. Im going to flush the radiator when i change the housing.

[russiankid]

I havnt heard any hissing sounds or seen any steam and i do mix it with coolant and water, also i do have the thermostat on right the the point part is pointing out from the hosing and the part that extends in and out is inside the housing. Im going to flush the radiator when i change the housing.
Make sure that the little vent pin is pointing up.

[ahmad89]

well i cant check now i'll check friday.

[MessyHonda]

well i cant check now i'll check friday.


that is in like 4 days........:thumbdn:

[ahmad89]

well i dont wanna spill all the coolant again plus its getting dark.
P.S. and now its raining