hey, i have a 1995 honda civic DX, i just bought it. it has 170,000 miles(i only paid 900 for it) and the car runs GREAT; gets up to speed quick and uses very little gas. my problem is that everyonce in a while it overheats. it overheats if i turn on the heat in the car(it has to be running for about 30 minutes), or if i run it hard. the engine is a 1.6L I-4 engine, and the engine doesnt seem to be too affected by the over heating, but just recently it overheated so bad it stalled. it seems that if i keep the A/C on it is fine, and if i check the fluids constantly it is fine. the main question i have is what is wrong, the radiator fluids need filled every week, and the thermostat stays just above the center of the guage when i drive it. i had a mechanic say that it is either the water pump or the thermostat; the other thing i noticed is that there is no leaks from the radiator if it is left running in my driveway, only if im driving it.
please help me.
chris
I would be worried about a possible head gasket problem. I would also check to be sure the radiator fan is working when it should.
i recently had the head gasket changed and the radiator works fine
If your mechanic says it is either the thermostat or the water pump, why not replace the thermostat and the water pump? The first item is inexpensive and replacement is simple enough for the owner to do as a DIY job. See what that does for you.
i might have fixed it, im waiting to see the results. i was checking out the car because there was cooling fluid around the radiator and i was examining the car while running. while looking at it i noticed littles bits of fluid leaked around the cap. the molding on the radiator that held the cap sealed was worn and chewed up. the car would over heat whenever there was a small amount of fluid missing so what i did was get a rubber ring and put it on the cap so that it would seal better. when the part gets here i am going to put in a new radiator but so far all today it hasnt given me any trouble, car doesnt over heat and it hasnt leaked fluid so…hopefully taken care of.
mechanic didnt even look at it. he just said thats what he thinks
If you don’t know when the timing belt was changed last you should get that done along with replacing the water pump. Honda recommends replacement every 90,000 miles. Assuming the previous owner did it at the recommended interval yours will be due in less than a year if you use the car as much as an average driver. if the belt breaks it could cost you more to fix the engine than you paid for the car. This won’t necessarily fix your overheat problem but it is maintenance worth budgeting for if you plan on keeping the car for any length of time.