Over Heating? - Honda Prelude Forum

JJLuDe · 02-13-2004, 07:10 PM

Ok so for some reason, i have never ever experienced over heating problem in my 4th gen vtec. Few days ago i did a oil change (Red Line 10w30) with oil filter. Also i put in a rsr exhaust and Greddy Header. Usually, i only get to see 2 bars at most but now sometimes when i drive on highway or in city for over an hour, it turns to 3 bars. anyone help?

If coolant is the problem, someone has put tons of coolant in my coolant tank. I didnt know it was supposed to be all the way to the top. and when it gets over heated, and open my hood, come coolant has been splurting out.

anyone's help is greatly appreciated. thanks

xMrM02x · 02-13-2004, 07:16 PM

same here man, do you have a JDM H22A in? I think its my crappy header tho..sooo much heat comes out of that and i have no heat shield. Im thking about wiring my AC fan to a switch since i never use the AC. Hopefully that will help for me.

JJLuDe · 02-13-2004, 07:21 PM

nah i dont got the jdm motor. heat shield causing overheat? damn that super sucks! does it really affect it?

how about the coolant. is it supposed to be to the top?

Preyluder · 02-13-2004, 08:15 PM

No, it's not. The main reason why they have that line telling you where "max is, is because of heat expansion. It has to have room to expand (the coolant). Try siphoning some it out, and see if that helps anything. btw, you say 3 bars. Does that mean it's right n the middle of the gauge? That's normal, for my car anyway.

JJLuDe · 02-13-2004, 09:47 PM

oh sorry for misunderstandment. It goes to 4 bars. 1 past the middle. i will try taking some coolant out., thanks

4thGenReady2Go · 02-13-2004, 11:38 PM

i don't really consider that first tiny bar as a normal bar, but that's been clarified anyway. Yeah, definitely get rid of that coolant, I don't know why some people "top off" their coolant, if it's not leaking, and not burning, none needs to be added. The radiator (with the help of the cap) will release fluid into that bottle, and call on it later, it goes and comes, but the changing levels don't indicate a surplus or shortage of fluid (granted there's the proper amount of coolant in the car to begin with). Anyway, get rid of enough to get you down between the high and low lines, it could be the problem, but i'm not too familiar with the cooling system, my only guess is that there's no room for hot coolant to be set aside or no room in the radiator for that hot coolant in the reservoir to be moved to, so the coolant heats up but because the whole system is overfilled, no transportation and cooling of the hot coolant is taking place.

nickprelude · 02-14-2004, 12:51 AM

i wouldn't think the overfilled jug would be the entire problem. there is a relief tube that would let the coolant out if it gets too full or pressurized. i would get a coolant "tester". it sounds like someone might have put full coolant in there instead of mixing it with water. 100% coolant is not good unless you drive in the north pole. the "tester" i am referring to can be picked up from wal-mart. you stick the tester in the coolant jug, squeeze the air out of the tester, then let it suck in coolant. it will then read the freezing and boiling point. if it maxs out the tester then you have too much coolant and not enough water. it also sounds like your main fan might not work. i would check those things out. if you like for me to give more details let me know.

4thGenReady2Go · 02-14-2004, 11:07 AM

yeah, I forgot that one, definitely check the fan. I guess I thought that if the mix was too much coolant compared to water, it'd take longer to heat the coolant up, because the coolant has a higher boiling point than water. But I'm sure 100% coolant doesn't flow as easily through the system, so that could be a problem. Let us know how things are coming.

JJLuDe · 02-14-2004, 11:07 AM

how can i find out if the main fan is working? when i turn off the car when it is over heated, the passenger side fan does work. i can hear it.

Preyluder · 02-14-2004, 05:07 PM

I doubt your fans are malfunctioning. If they were, you'd have a way more severe overheating problem than what you've described, plus you say they still work, so it can't be that. Have you tried taking some of the coolant out yet to see if that fixes the problems? I took a semester in college JUST for the cooling system in automobiles and it still boggles my mind. It's soooo complex, it's not even funny. If excessive coolant, dirty coolant, or coolant with a poor eutectic point due to no water mixed in are not the culprits of the problem, then there could only be about, ohh, 30 other possibilities!

JJLuDe · 02-15-2004, 12:41 AM

yeah thanks for all the solutions i have to try. Unfortunately, i havnt had the time to take out the collant just yet. Tommorow iw ill be cleaning my car inside and out and if i feel good, ill also wax. Tkae the collant out then try to not make it so full. plus i will probably take some pics of my car with new rims and rsr exhaust. thanks

Preyluder · 02-15-2004, 08:15 AM

Cool. Can't wait to see the pics and hear the updates.

xMrM02x · 02-15-2004, 12:42 PM

my coolant was filed to the top aswell. I guess could be the problems for mines! I'll let u know what happens when i let some out

Preyluder · 02-15-2004, 02:00 PM

Is it ironic two guys are having overheating problems and both of their coolant levels were too full? Hmmm, we'll see.

JJLuDe · 02-15-2004, 02:25 PM

Hello everyone. I have just took out alot of coolant out of the tank. I also washed/dry/Claybar/wax my car. I will be posting pics of my New rims and RSR Exmag exhaust. Check out the members rides!!

I will find out if i ma over heating once again when i drive on freeway later today. thanks

JJLuDe · 02-15-2004, 09:57 PM

Ok so i drove for awhile and the bar for the heat is still goin up while the fan works. It's also still on when the car turns off. I try turning on the heater when it goes past the half way mark and sooner or later it goes down while i drive. And it goes back up when im at idle. Is this problem also becaue i got greddy headers?

I took out some of the coolant and this is still happening. any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks

nickprelude · 02-15-2004, 10:39 PM

there is two fans, i think both of them are supposed to come on. if only one of your fans work, that could cause the overheating problem. the header has nothing to do with it. i have had a header with no heatshield for years. you either have one bad fan, a faulty thermostat, or too high of a ratio of coolant to water (not enough water). try checking your coolants boiling point, the more antifreeze you have the higher temperature your car runs at. maybe your radiator has got a partial block in it. its not the coolant level (unless its too low) if your not losing any coolant then its not a leak, try hotwiring the fan to see if they both work. also check the coolant with a tester.

4thGenReady2Go · 02-15-2004, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Preyluder
Is it ironic two guys are having overheating problems and both of their coolant levels were too full? Hmmm, we'll see.

not ironic, but definitely coincidental.

xMrM02x · 02-16-2004, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nickprelude
there is two fans, i think both of them are supposed to come on. if only one of your fans work, that could cause the overheating problem. the header has nothing to do with it. i have had a header with no heatshield for years. you either have one bad fan, a faulty thermostat, or too high of a ratio of coolant to water (not enough water). try checking your coolants boiling point, the more antifreeze you have the higher temperature your car runs at. maybe your radiator has got a partial block in it. its not the coolant level (unless its too low) if your not losing any coolant then its not a leak, try hotwiring the fan to see if they both work. also check the coolant with a tester.

only one fan comes on for me. I thought the other fan only comes on when the A/C is on? Well even if I turn the A/C on the other fan still does not come on.

Preyluder · 02-16-2004, 08:20 AM

I doubt it's your thermostat. A sure fire way of knowing if you have a faulty thermo. is if your engine doesn't reach miminum operating temperature, and we know it's not having a problem there. The A/C fan (the second one being talked about) is only supposed to come on with the a/c. The primary fan is the one that kicks on at idle, and when the car turns off, etc. I'd recommend now checking to see what the boiling/freezing point of your coolant is. When was the last time you had a coolant flush? Another thing that can recommend is taking a look at your heater core, to see if the two hoses are functioning fine.