radiator, related issues?

i have a 95 prelude, about 110K

1) i don't see the A/C condenser fan running even if i turn
on the A/C. last time i change the timing belt, i asked
that they change the water pump as well, but the mechanic told me the
water pump was fine and they didn't change it.
anyway, what could be the problem here?

2) after warming up the engine to normal operating temperature (middle of
the temperature range?), i don't see the radiator fan turn on. is this
normal? does it turn on only when the engine gets too hot? this morning,
after driving about 3-4 miles, with the engine off, i touched the radiator
hoses. the upper one was much hotter than the lower one which was barely
warm. is there something wrong with the thermostat? oh yeah, there is some
minor leaking at the top of the radiator. before i replace the radiator, i
would like to know what are the real problems.

thanks for your comments.

btw, i just make a cross country trip 2000+ miles, and the engine
temperature never showed it was over heated.

"I319" > wrote
> i have a 95 prelude, about 110K

snip--I don't have air conditioning and so am not acquainted with the quirks of
the condenser fan. However, read on... :-)

> 2) after warming up the engine to normal operating temperature (middle of
> the temperature range?), i don't see the radiator fan turn on. is this
> normal? does it turn on only when the engine gets too hot?

This past summer I finally got my 1991 Civic's radiator fan to come on from a
cold start. IIRC, the owner's manual or some other service manual warns it will
take a long time. It took about 35 minutes at an ambient temperature of 79
degrees F. The fan came on a second time within about ten minutes.

> this morning,
> after driving about 3-4 miles, with the engine off, i touched the radiator
> hoses. the upper one was much hotter than the lower one which was barely
> warm.

Well, there should be some temperature difference. I think you felt left over
stored heat in the top hose.

> is there something wrong with the thermostat? oh yeah, there is some
> minor leaking at the top of the radiator.

?

> before i replace the radiator, i
> would like to know what are the real problems.
>
> thanks for your comments.
>
> btw, i just make a cross country trip 2000+ miles, and the engine
> temperature never showed it was over heated.

I always suggest a water pump on any car that
A: Has the water pump driven off the timing belt.
B: has to have the timing belt removed for access to the pump.

This ensures you don't have a water pump fail and take out your t-belt and
kill your car. Seen it happen. I question a shop that doesn't do what the
customer asks.


--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Auto Technician




"I319" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
>i have a 95 prelude, about 110K
>
> 1) i don't see the A/C condenser fan running even if i turn
> on the A/C. last time i change the timing belt, i asked
> that they change the water pump as well, but the mechanic told me the
> water pump was fine and they didn't change it.
> anyway, what could be the problem here?
>
> 2) after warming up the engine to normal operating temperature (middle of
> the temperature range?), i don't see the radiator fan turn on. is this
> normal? does it turn on only when the engine gets too hot? this morning,
> after driving about 3-4 miles, with the engine off, i touched the radiator
> hoses. the upper one was much hotter than the lower one which was barely
> warm. is there something wrong with the thermostat? oh yeah, there is some
> minor leaking at the top of the radiator. before i replace the radiator,
> i
> would like to know what are the real problems.
>
> thanks for your comments.
>
> btw, i just make a cross country trip 2000+ miles, and the engine
> temperature never showed it was over heated.
>

yeah..i didn't know better. i should have insisted
to have the water pump replaced also. i am regretting
it now.

thanks for your comments.
well...about your "?" i was thinking maybe the thermostat got stuck or
something...which causes the large temperature
difference??

anyway, i think i will replace the leaky radiator and the thermostat as
well. i hope this doesn't take long since
i will be taking another long trip soon. anything i should
watch out for in this procedure?

about the condenser fan, i will avoid using the A/C and
take care of this problem after the trip.

"I319" > wrote
> thanks for your comments.
> well...about your "?"

Sorry, my "?" was supposed to be an inquiry about what exactly this minor
leaking at the top of the radiator was.

Did you mean the radiator is cracked in some way?

> i was thinking maybe the thermostat got stuck or
> something...which causes the large temperature
> difference??

After 110k miles, I'd say you got your money's worth out of that thermostat.

Thermostats can deteriorate in performance without completely failing. Couldn't
hurt to replace it.

> anyway, i think i will replace the leaky radiator and the thermostat as
> well. i hope this doesn't take long since
> i will be taking another long trip soon. anything i should
> watch out for in this procedure?

Autozone.com has free repair guides for at least the thermostat and probably the
radiator replacement, too. Lotsa folks ask questions about the nuts and bolts of
radiator replacement here, so it doesn't seem like an unusual DIY job. Haven't
done one myself.

About the thermostat:
I did a poor purge of air on my 91 Civic this past year when I replaced the
thermostat. It caused the EAC valve to not get adequate cooling. One of the
coolant lines to the EAC valve was empty! So the valve was overheating and my
RPM was kinda irregular at idle. In the purge part of the procedure for
replacing the coolant, I should have waited until the radiator fan came on
twice. It takes 35 minutes or more on some Hondas for the engine idle
temperature to get high enough! And this is in summer temperatures. Anyway, I
repurged, and all was fine.

> about the condenser fan, i will avoid using the A/C and
> take care of this problem after the trip.

Sorry for the delay. I missed your post on Oct. 5.