2003 honda civic overheating at idle?
I have a 2003 honda civic lx with 229k miles on it. Last year i noticed that it started overheating at idle but cools down again when i start moving. So i replaced the radiator, timing belt, water pump, and valve cover gasket(because it was leaking oil). This seemed to solve the problem for the whole year until a month ago i noticed it started doing the same thing again. It seems to go away when i top it off with coolant then about a couple days later it starts doing the same thing til i top it off with coolant again. There are no visible leaks. So far this is what i've done to diagnose the problem with no avail.
1) pressure tested the head gasket, everything seems fine
2) radiator holds pressure when i had a pressure test performed on it
3) engine oil doesn't look milky
4) no white smoke coming out of my exhaust
5) no visible oil leaks. Overflow resevior is full
I had a trusted mechanic suggest it could be a blown head gasket.
If you're having to replace the radiator fluid and keep topping it off, you most certainly have a leak somewhere. The radiator is a closed system, similar to your air conditioner. It is usually cycled under pressure and very minimal coolant should be lost during its evaporator cycles.
When you replaced the radiator, did you replace the pump or pump assembly? Many times the water pump can crack which will lose coolant. I would also suggest you run a dye test to check to see where fluid may possibly be being lost.
On the worst case scenario, if the engine bay is becoming so hot that it's eating coolant, I would most certainly agree with the other mechanic and that your head gaskets are in need of replacement. It may also be the intake gasket.
If your mechanic is trusted, have him test drive the vehicle with an engine bay temp reader. Is it throwing any OBD codes?
When it heats at idle, but cools when moving, that suggests that the electric fan is not working.
The loss of coolant is another problem. The coolant has to be going somewhere, either leaking out on the ground, or out the exhaust.
Replace the radiator cap and thermostat. Bleed the coolant.
Start the car, let it idle. Radiator fan should engage under 5 minutes. Turn AC on. AC fan should engage.
If the fans are good, rev the car and watch for white smoke.
Check for leaks with the thermostat removed and the heater valve open.
Did you replace the thermostat recently?
You must make sure the electric fan is working but it could be a bad block. Honda had a lot of problems with porous engine blocks around that era. Do some research into this and a product called irontite.
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