Reallyquietman

Today I drove my S for a bit, then I left it on for about 3 minutes and heard a boiling sound. I turned the engine off, popped the hood and the antifreeze inside the reservoir was boiling. I removed the reservoir and it was pretty damn hot. I filled it up with water for the time being since it was really hot and waited about 30 minutes before I drove again. On the way home I kept an eye on the hood to see if there was any steam but saw nothing, I also kept an eye on the temperature gauge and didn't see it rise either.

I got home and my reservoir was low (almost empty; i had filled it to the "full" mark), and I took the radiator cap off and it too was somewhat low. I refilled both the radiator directly with antifreeze, and the reservoir. I then turned on the S for a few minutes (maybe 4 or so) and turned it back off. I see no leaks at the moment (its dark out) but when I took the radiator cap off it was already steaming; and the reservoir was not. I also touched the main radiator hose and it was hot after only a few minutes of being turned on and left alone to idle.


I did some quick general research and some people indicate that it could be the thermostat, the radiator cap, or a bad headgasket... My S is 00, and has about 54,500 miles. I check the engine cap for a "milky" substance incase it's the headgasket but didn't see anything, nor did it smell sweet. ALso checked the reservoir and it doesn't seem to be milky either. And I checked the dipstick and oil level seems good.

Does anybody know exactlty what the problem is? anyone ever had a similar problem? I know I should start cheap and do the cap and thermostat first, but I'd like to know if anybody thinks it could be something else...

I also looked at the radiator, it doesn't seem to have any punctures of any sort.

Thanks for the help!

NFRs2000NYC

What is your temp gauge reading inside the car when the fluid was boiling?

Croc

if this would be thermostat - hot coolant wouldn't be goint to the reservoir.
if this would be radiator cap - hot coolant wouldn't be goint to the reservoir.

my estimation is gasket or/and warped head.

do reverese presure test and you will know.

dirtykoala

My jeep did this and I had someone look at it, they said it may have been the water pump or radiator. I traded the jeep in before taking care of it though.

Another guy with a jeep had this happen and he replaced the thermostat, radiator, and water pump. He said the problem went away and he was happy that he upgraded everything

Saki GT

I'd bet on the water pump, and look for any leakage near it. If coolant is backing up and going into the reservoir, it might not be getting back into the engine sufficiently to cool it, so it could ruin the engine.

With a 11 year old car, I would replace the thermostat and water pump and see if that helps. If you think its the head gasket, you can do a pressure test to see if its blown or not.

Reallyquietman

at the time, I realized it was steaming, I ran and turned off the car; I didn't see the gauge. Then I popped the hood to make sure nothing was on fire. When I was driving home, the engine temp was marking 3 squares.

I guess since its not the thermostat or the cap, no point on starting there... I'll look into the waterpump, and make sure there are no leaks.

dirtykoala

oem water pump is only $106 from online Honda parts distributors

jh4db536

My integra did the exact same thing. Had a low temp thermostat, new waterpump and radiator. I was running mostly distilled and water wetter at first and it did it a lot. I switched to regular 50/50 mix antifreeze and it went away. I think the cooling system needs to be bled has a nipple somewhere like brakes. The boiling occurs because of air bubbles causing hot spots and steam build up in the system...I think. My temp gauge always looked fine.

One sure thing is to use your heater. That will give u an idea of how hot the water really is. If the heater doesn't work you're in deep ish...means you lost a lot of water and yu shouldn't be driving it

Reallyquietman

Thanks for all your guys' input.

Reallyquietman

So far, I have been unable to locate the exact problem. However, I've been trying to see if the fan will activate and it doesn't seem to turn on at anytime. Does anyone who has an ap1 (not sure if Ap2 is the same) know about how long it takes before the fan actually turns on at idle?