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#1
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1998 Hatch overheat.
After a flat out run from Kingston to Toronto (250km), I had the car
idling in the driveway for several minuits to check things over (Can't be too careful with a beater that's got 280,000km and still running with all the original components under the hood). To my surprise, after idling in the driving for several minuets, the engine temperature gage starting rising. Which was very surprising, cause that was the first time I've ever seen the temp gage move from it's 1/3 mark. I checked under the hood and the reservoir was at the max level. The radiator and in/out house were all warm to the touch (warm enough for me to grab hold of them without burning...which is surprising since the car was going over 100mph back from Kingston). It only took me less then a min to do all the checking cause I was in a bit of panic. I went back into the car, the heater was turned off and all the way into the cold position. I moved the leaver all the way into the hot position and blasted the heat. Very hot air started coming out the heater and the temperature gage dropped back into its normal 1/3 position. It's been several days since that episode and I haven't encountered anymore weird problem with my cooling system. My guess is, after driving the vehicle hard it cooled off rapidly after exiting the highway and idling in the driveway, somehow air was introduced in the cooling system, there was some kind of blockage and when I turned on the heater, the blockage cleared up. If so, I won't worry about it. But, I'd like to here if you Guru's got any suggestion for preventative maintenance. Pars |
#2
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> After a flat out run from Kingston to Toronto (250km), I had the car > idling in the driveway for several minuits to check things over (Can't > be too careful with a beater that's got 280,000km and still running > with all the original components under the hood). To my surprise, after > idling in the driving for several minuets, the engine temperature gage > starting rising. Which was very surprising, cause that was the first > time I've ever seen the temp gage move from it's 1/3 mark. I checked > under the hood and the reservoir was at the max level. The radiator and > in/out house were all warm to the touch (warm enough for me to grab > hold of them without burning...which is surprising since the car was > going over 100mph back from Kingston). It only took me less then a min > to do all the checking cause I was in a bit of panic. I went back into > the car, the heater was turned off and all the way into the cold > position. I moved the leaver all the way into the hot position and > blasted the heat. Very hot air started coming out the heater and the > temperature gage dropped back into its normal 1/3 position. It's been > several days since that episode and I haven't encountered anymore weird > problem with my cooling system. > > My guess is, after driving the vehicle hard it cooled off rapidly after > exiting the highway and idling in the driveway, somehow air was > introduced in the cooling system, there was some kind of blockage and > when I turned on the heater, the blockage cleared up. If so, I won't > worry about it. But, I'd like to here if you Guru's got any > suggestion for preventative maintenance. > > Pars > have you changed the thermostat? and is the rad clogged with insects? |
#3
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1998 Hatch overheat.
The thermostat is still orginal. But I'm kinda leery about replacing
it. I've had past situations where the new thermostat didn't work. I wouldn't want to throw out a perfectly good one (that's proven itself) for a defective one. The radiator has seen 280,000km and the fins are beatup to hell and almost flat across the board. Even thow, the engine bay is huge for such a small engine (very airy), so even a bad rad is probably still ok. But, I'll have to keep an eye on it when the weather starts to get realy hot. |
#4
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> The thermostat is still orginal. But I'm kinda leery about replacing > it. I've had past situations where the new thermostat didn't work. I > wouldn't want to throw out a perfectly good one (that's proven itself) > for a defective one. if you buy oem, there's really very little chance of that. > The radiator has seen 280,000km and the fins are > beatup to hell and almost flat across the board. that makes it a good candidate! especially in this situation where it's working ok whole driving, but overheating while stationary. > Even thow, the engine > bay is huge for such a small engine (very airy), so even a bad rad is > probably still ok. bay size has nothing to do with it. there's just no way the surface of the block can dissipate sufficient heat to keep the motor cool. think about how many times the surface area of a finned motorcycle cylinder compares to that of an unfinned cylinder. the ratio is something like 100:1. > But, I'll have to keep an eye on it when the weather > starts to get realy hot. sure, but an ounce of prevention [thermostat, clean rad, maybe rad cap] is a damned sight cheaper than a few thousand dollars of cure! |
#5
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1998 Hatch overheat.
The radiator is clean, but most of the fins are flatten from stone
chip. Which will require a new rad core. That's a little too pricy at this time. I'm willing to wait it out a bit, especially if it seems as if the rad is doing it's part. |
#6
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> The radiator is clean, but most of the fins are flatten from stone > chip. Which will require a new rad core. That's a little > too pricy at this time. I'm willing to wait it out a bit, especially if > it seems as if the rad is doing it's part. > understood. but if you have a little time on your hands, you can often do a reasonable job of straightening them up with a small nail or something similar. and it might be a good idea to look into the protective expanded metal grille mod! i need to do that this summer when i have a bit more time. fwiw, this: http://63.89.49.212/ipb/wizard.jsp?p...pe=A utomatic unless it's a pricing error, is very affordable! |
#7
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> The radiator is clean, but most of the fins are flatten from stone > chip. Which will require a new rad core. you can buy a "comb" to straighten the fins out. ive seen em at autozone/pep boys/ etc. |
#8
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1998 Hatch overheat.
"pars" > wrote in
oups.com: > The thermostat is still orginal. Thermostat is a prime culprit. Replace it with OEM. They ought to be changed every 5 years or so anyway. > But I'm kinda leery about replacing > it. I've had past situations where the new thermostat didn't work. I > wouldn't want to throw out a perfectly good one (that's proven itself) > for a defective one. It costs all of $20. > The radiator has seen 280,000km and the fins are > beatup to hell and almost flat across the board. But not rotten? That's odd. Up here they corrode into dust. -- TeGGeR® The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ |
#9
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1998 Hatch overheat.
OK. I can handle $20 dollars. I'll get my mechanic to change the
thermostat the next time I take the car in for an oil change. It only took me 7.5 years to accumilate 280K and no noticeable corrosion on the rad. |
#10
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1998 Hatch overheat.
pars wrote:
> > After a flat out run from Kingston to Toronto (250km), I had the car > idling in the driveway for several minuits to check things over (Can't > be too careful with a beater that's got 280,000km and still running > with all the original components under the hood). To my surprise, after > idling in the driving for several minuets, the engine temperature gage > starting rising. Which was very surprising, cause that was the first > time I've ever seen the temp gage move from it's 1/3 mark. I checked > under the hood and the reservoir was at the max level. The radiator and > in/out house were all warm to the touch (warm enough for me to grab > hold of them without burning...which is surprising since the car was > going over 100mph back from Kingston). It only took me less then a min > to do all the checking cause I was in a bit of panic. I went back into > the car, the heater was turned off and all the way into the cold > position. I moved the leaver all the way into the hot position and > blasted the heat. Very hot air started coming out the heater and the > temperature gage dropped back into its normal 1/3 position. It's been > several days since that episode and I haven't encountered anymore weird > problem with my cooling system. > > My guess is, after driving the vehicle hard it cooled off rapidly after > exiting the highway and idling in the driveway, somehow air was > introduced in the cooling system, there was some kind of blockage and > when I turned on the heater, the blockage cleared up. If so, I won't > worry about it. But, I'd like to here if you Guru's got any > suggestion for preventative maintenance. > > Pars ------------------------------- I don't see you saying that the rad fan(s) were running. They should have been. When it cools there should be NO AIR under the rad cap. I think you'll find some. Rad cap not pressurizing properly / air in system. 'Curly' |
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