REMOVING VACUUM LINES DISCUSSION

[accordlxi2.0]

yea, so what i might have to do, is flush it, refill it, and opne the bleeder thingy.
because it the same way, and it's cold outside today!!!!

[danronian]

I don't know if you did this already, I read through the post, but if you didn't I'll say it.
If you put any goop stuff in it, just flush the whole thing out.
Then since you might have a t-stat prob, change that just to rule that out.
(B/c if it is overheating the fluid could come out the overflow.)
Then add your 50/50ish mix.
Let the car fully warm, then loosen the bleed screw until you see a solid stream with no bubbles flowing out of it.
(You don't need to take off the distributor for any of this, and yes I did this on my efi 3g. I did it with the car warm and on, and it sprayed quite a bit and burned, so watch out and cover yourself.)
Then drive the car normally (not beating it) to see if it is cured of the problem. Your temp gauge should also be very consistent (go up to around half and stay there, it shouldn't fluctuate much at all, since you said it did that is why I think your t-stat is on its way out)
If it still leaks then check for cracked hoses, leaky radiator, head gasket, oil mixed in, etc...(if you think it might be a blown head gasket, check for bubbles in rad. with car on and warmed up, and also check fluid for freexing point, if it has the freezing point of water or less, the headgasket might be leaking combustion into coolant.)

[carotman]

If you didn't bleed the air out of the system, it explains teh problem. The water pump is a centrifugal pump. If it doesn't get liquid, it will spin freely and won't be able to push the coolant like it's supposed to, causing overheating without the fan comming on (the coolant in the bottom of the rad will still be cold)

[MrBen]

I'm almost certain you didn't bleed the system. You have to use the bleeder screw to get all the air out. I made the mistake of not bleeding it once and found my temp guage almost to the red. I bled it and it was fine.

Tip- don't bleed it when you're pissed off and not thinking and have extremely hot coolant spray all over you from the bleed screw

[accordlxi2.0]

okay guys thanks alot.
well my dad had told me to do the same, to let it warm up and so forth.
i did. then loosened the screw ,and antifreeze ,then air ,then more anti freeze squirted out, and it went down alot from the rad.
i added some more with water this time.
and it's perfect, it does'nt change at all, when i drive hard, when i do drive hard the fans come on.
but when just slow driving they don't come on.
but it's normal both of the hoses are under pressure (which seems like a good thing, because it never felt like that, and you could see the water circulate, which never did)

as for the goop stuff i did'nt add anything, but i got it out, and i don't think it's leaking.

i have to take off the distributor, because i have a lx, and i put the efi distributor on, because the old one was going bad, (it was red, all over and kinda made some noises).

but there's no fluntuaction, no hi idle till "it feels" for coolant, no overheating.
and did i say that the car responds better and stuff.
i mean before when the gauge was in between the C and the warm area, the car would sometimes stumble, till it fully warms up.
now it does'nt do that.

i have to admit though, i was really pissed at the car and myself....but the 3geez homeys helped me out and thanks.
and now to have a beer....a root beer that is.

[carotman]

well at least it's beer.

Since you're not canadian I guess this can work as an excuse

[accordlxi2.0]

lol.. funny man.

i used to drink but ....(long story)

okay what is the right level, for where the coolant shopuld be, at the neck of the radiator??

well it's at honda spec's again, even better.
why cause it's usally a tad under the 1/2 mark, but it's way normal.
i put her to the test, going past the redline and everything.
and the gauge stayed the same.

[accordlxi2.0]

umm... i think my problems back again.
well it was a bit hot so i had slid the temp to the cold area, then i was in traffic and it raised up some over the 1/2 mark.
i don't get it, when i had the temp to hot, it would be fine, plus i would'nt even have to have on the air.

plus when it's at the normal level, the fans turn on, and the fans turned on this time too till it went back down to the normal level.

plus the POS smell like a gm engine now.........

wtf! is there still air in the system....

[smufguy]

accordlxi2.0: This is what you need to do man. First check how much coolant you have in ur radiator when the engine is cold. You should have coolant up to the neck as usual. If not, check to see if u find any visual leaks in the engine bay and if not, check the heater core (inside the car) if u have any leaks or drips.

Once u have done the above and everything is fine. Do the following.

I hope this will solve all ur problems. Drain your whole system again and flush it good and drain. Pull all the sensors our and inspect them. since ur efi, u should have three on the thermostat and one on the bottom of the radiator as usual. See how they look and if u even see any slight calination or rust deposit on it. Take some fine grain sand paper and clear that stuff off and put it back in. Change the thermostat if you have not and then do the same to the sensor on the bottom of the radiator. Once they are all done, Fill it with half gallon of pure coolant and then the rest with 50/50 coolant since there will be some water left from the flushing. then see what happens. If the problem still persists, then try having the fans running constantly.

This should fix ur problem completely since there is nothing more to it, period.

[accordlxi2.0]

you efi guys like teasing me don't ya......
i'm not efi yet, i just have a efi dizzy and gauge.
i did go out just then, and it was'nt at the neck so that must be the problem... and once i put it on the cold side the coolant does'nt circulate properly as it would when i have it on heat.

as for the t-stat is probably fucked because of what happened or when the previous owner put that gunk shit in it.

but my coolant is green but i'll give it a flush, and i'll have it on hi pressure from my water hose since i've heard that it so hard to flush our radiators.........


hey smuf or anyone i forgot to mention, that it was idle up and down.....
just as it was doing before the coolant had air in it........
could it be i did'nt bleed it all throught??

[smufguy]

accordlxi2.0: bleeding is not hard trust me. All u need to do is just open up the air bleed valve on the thermostat and fill up the coolant via the filler neck on the radiator, once the coolant starts to pour out freely. close it with ur hand and squeeze the upper rad hose once in a while to get the air out. make sure u have enough coolant in the resevoir too. Since our cars work off vaccum to pull coolant, it will compensate for the missing coolant by sucking it from the resevoir as u know.

Also, how is ur carb doing? It also could be that ur carb is giving u idle probs too. CHeck to see if u got any leaks in the pcv valve or areas around it or check the vaccuum lines.

If u can, save up for a efi swap dude. U will thank yourself over and over agian.

[accordlxi2.0]

hey, homey you must've forgot i had an efi, and gave it away.......i could kick muy self in the ass for doing that....
but yea once i start working again i'm gonna finish up buying the parts.
i just need about 7 more things then i'm done.

as for the carbi cleaned it, i found vacuum leaks and fixed the problem.
i have it set up to where the throttle controller and idle boost only compensates for the ilde.
because for some reason when i had the throttle stop in the idle would get higher at times.
now what it does when i start it( don't have to push the gas at all!).
it'll rev to 1,500rpms for a few seconds.. go down to 200rpms like it gonna shut off then that's when the idle boost kicks in.

i mean the "ecu" in this car works ...hell everything works.

i mean the original owner kept up with matainance with the car.
i got a hole lot of reciepts showing what he ( could be she but not with some of the parts on this car is) had done to it.

so that's how it should be done; i mean bleeding out the system.
well that should fix the problem....but i'ma go ahead and get started on this.
btw, i did'nt fill up the reservior cause i thought it still had my coolant in there......
maybe thats one of the reason also.......
thank god this is a ford

[accordlxi2.0]

all right, i go out there, and the level is at well just a bit above the holes in the radiator....
flushed it again it was clear.
so i fill it up, and even fill the reservior up.
drive it, had the heater on while it was warming up.
and even bled the system......
so the temp was normal and the fans were kicking on as it should.
so i then drive my normal driving.
i turned off the heater (but the slider was still in the H area)

get on the highway going about 90, it was fine..
get off going back home, coming to a stop and the gauge reaches above the 1/2 mark.
i pull over and look under and shit is spilling out.
i open the hood and my overflow tank is overflowing!!!!!!
so this is where my coolant is going, and i've finally caught it.

i'm really confused on this, i have been reading posts from here about the t-stat.
and it opens up fine because :
engine cold top hose cold, bottom hose cold.
the gauge reaches "normal" temp; top hose cool and bottom hose luke warm.
then a minute later while temp is still "normal". top and bottom hoses are warm.

now the cap i looked at while i had it off, their was a piece of the rubber missing.
would this cause the temp to be this way.

i know i don't have a blown head gasket.
because the car run fine, no white smoke or sweet smelling antifreeze, and itr does'nt mix with the oil.

the water pump is fine because thier's no play it does'nt make any sounds, plus while i had the engine running as it got hotter the more the water was filling up.

so it's down to the cap?????.....

[accordlxi2.0]

okay, now i let it cool off...
went out the level was the same....till i did what smuf had suggested... sqeeze the hose.. i sqeezed the bottom hose, and when i did, the coolant went down, the more i sqeezed it the more it went down, but at a certain level.
so then once it went low i would then open the bleeder valve, let the coolant rise up, then do the same thing over again...
well it helped somewhat because the gauge reads 1/2 way.


i still think its the radiator cap....

[accordlxi2.0]

i belive i found the problem, i went to go get some gas.
and the temp was at a halfway mark, even over revved the pos.
then kept driving.
i got to the station popped the hood, and looked under and nothing leaking...
so i go in pay, then come out to pump, and thiers some coolant on the floor. looked in the bay and what do ya know the reservior is overfilling AGAIN.
the temp was a bit normal, and the bitch still over flows, unless i have on the heat, so it's the cap.
so i get a cap and a t-stat....
this car is pissing me off.

[smufguy]

both the parts, thermostat and the cap are not expensive at all. I wish u changed the thermostat when u had the flush cause it would have been easy. Yeah the caps can be a culprit all the time. You are obviously overheating to a point where it overflows so something is not going down right. How is ur radiator? Is it new or is it rusted? ( i remember u saying u dont have any rust or discoloration in the coolant so i guess no rust). The only reason u will ever fill the overflow tank is when the coolant is not being cooled continueously.

Do what i said earlier, have the fans running constantly. drive it like a bitch and see what happens, It could be that the fans are clicking in because of the secondary thermosensor. (I dont quite remember if the carb thermostat housing has the secondary cause the efis do). Ur not cooling ur hot coolant quick enough. Its either that or ur car is running too lean and basically overheating the head. What is ur fuel consumption in the city?

[accordlxi2.0]

well thanks to a20a1 lil' mod. i'm running rich, but then i have to look at it...
the efi distributor is advanced basically all the way.....
so that would make the system run lean, i suppose.....
then recently i have been using 89 octane instead of 93......
that maybe the problem right there also.

the radiator is somewhat new ( it was replaced i belive a year ago).
but after that i see like 3 slips from shops having the rad. flushed.
then i flushed it 2 times within a week.
but i had to go out again yesterday, i had the heat on low or the second setting to low.
nothing the car gave me no problems.
i know the cap is one of em' because the rubber seal at the top has a somewhat deep indentation, and the bottom part has peices of rubber missing.
as for the t-stat i'm gonna grab one.

and when i go to the junk yard i'm gonna grab a lx-i temp sensor in the thermostat sensor, then put that in place where the thermosensor for the secondary goes (since it does work).
and see what happens from there.
but i'm gonna over ride the main sensor, let the fans run continously....
but i noticed when the fan kicks on, the gauge goes down ..quick to.
and just figure the gauge sensor is mounted in the back of the manafold....
which to me is indicating that the t-stat is open basically all the time, which is probably burning it out????????........

but thanks smuf, i'll keep yall posted up on this.

[smufguy]

You will be detonating under 37psi of fuel pressure and 89 octane and full ignition adv. Change the timing back or bump up the fuel pressure. I was detonating with 38psi and full ignition adv. Now im running 42psi and full ign adv with no detonation. I still get about 24 mpg in a city.

[accordlxi2.0]

well i can't retard the timing because the dizzy is efi, and the thermostat housing is carb.
so it's in advanced all the time.
but i did go back to useing 93 and about 20 minites later the idle was more smoother, and responsive.

well i had gotten a cap and used what was left for gas cause i was low...
so the car was low on coolant for some reason it did'nt go back into the rad.
anyway, i was like screw it! i'll just use water, ran her put in water but it was'nt much though, it was low to where you can see the hole thingys inside the radiator.
thats how much, but i know i have to bleed it too.
but she was running all day, the fans came on and when they did they would stay on for about 45 seconds to a minute.
then stay off for about 1 or 2 minutes.
this was when i'm at idle or at a stop.
but while i'm driving they rarely came on.
and i drove or idled the car for about.. 5 hours with no heater on ( it was 65 out today)
even overrevved her up to 8 grand... i know that was bad though i was curious.
but the gauge was near normal specs, but i know it needed to be bleed then that should be fine.

thanks again, but the octane did'nt really make a temp difference, and in order to get the temp lower is bleeding it and adding a little more water....


btw, how would i bump up the fuel pressure?? raising the float screw ?????

[smufguy]

u can advance the dist its just like the carb dist. U can only increase the fuel pressure via a adj fuel pressure regulator.

Im glad ur car gets better and i hope ur using nothing but distilled water man. DO NOT USE REGULAR TAP WATER. good luck tho.

[accordlxi2.0]

umm i can't thiere's a bolt that gets in the way, on a carb thermostat housing.
i still have'nt gotten around to bled her, i know she's getting pissed too........
well i have to get up early to take care of her and get some more gas.

i know this sounds stupid but i was thinking about selling her and getting a lx-i....
i dunno.....

[accordlxi2.0]

this is weird, homey...
okay i went to start my car and my oil light was blinking, i turned her off ( still know that she's pissed that have'nt bled her; which i will today!!!!) while she was warmed up.
so i went to get some castro gtx 5w-30 oil put some in and the temp went down some..hmm.
then go get some more gas this time i use citgo.
for some reason it went down just a little bit more.
and she was more responsive.

i felt bad, that i let her oil get so low... but i checked it the other day..
anyway once i bleed her, i'm sure she'll run cooler...
thanks guys.....

[smufguy]

lol, most of the time in this thread you talk to yourself. Its pretty amusing to watch you do that. hehehe, im just messing with you bro. Im glad ur getting it done. Try to run mobil 1 Synthetic blend. I gave up on Castrol because that shit broke down too quick. Its cheap none the less, but spending four extra bux is something i chose to do. Its much better now and also try to get Engine restore every or every other oil change. it helps a lot.

ps: next time limit urself to 6K okay? Dont rev ur car to 8K where its not supposed to be. Its not fun. no wonder she hates u from time to time.

[accordlxi2.0]

lol.....
yea i noticed that.

as for revving i really don't like it...
but then sometimes it's.....
shit anyway yea when i take off from wot she shifts right at 6k or before it hits the red line..
it makes no power up there and it's very noticeable.
damn now i fell as though i should'nt had gotten castro.
she's up for another oil change around 133,xxx miles and it's some what away.
since i'm going back to work i can do the oil change myself and cheaper (but with synthetic oil).

[accordlxi2.0]

fuck man i'm either beyond pissed and confused get this...
a few days ago i went to bp, and used 93 like you suggested but that was temp. cause my tank was low..
then i go back to bp and use 89..
it was fine.
so yesterday i went to citgo and put in 89.
it ran so much better but 1/2 way home the bitch overheated, unless i had the heat on did'nt matter what speed.

now today i went a few places the gauge was a little above 1/2 and the overflow tank overflowed TWICE.
then i figured shit maybe i need to bleed her again.
i did that.
the same thing.
so i rigged a switch up.
so it made it's way up to H then the fans kick on.
they stayed on till the gauge was "normal" temp.
then i turned my switch on and the gauge stayed 1/2 all the time.

so it was either the gas or the t-stat.
because what also got me is while warming up, the bottom hose get's warmewr before the top hose.
i know the pump is fine because i can see the water circulating..and it circulates GOOD.

then once the t-stat "opens"
only top of the top hose is hot...
then slowly the rest of the hose gets hot....
this is pissing me off..

??????????????