Is my car screwed?

I was told last week by my mechanic that my 94 Accord EX (4-cyl.) has a
lower radiator hose that has a slow leak. I've been topping off the radiator
every morning while waiting for payday to have it fixed. Meanwhile, last
night my husband used my car. This morning I forgot to check the radiator,
took off in it and noticed the A/C was on (!!!!!), the heater wouldn't work
and about 1 mile up the road the needle started climbing. I pulled off the
road that second. Since he'd also left his truck keys in my car, he couldn't
bring me any water so I had no choice but to turn off the motor, let it cool
down and carefully limp home without it going into the red. (It came close,
but didn't.)

I'm wondering, even after filling the radiator, why won't my heater work?
Also, God only knows how long he drove it last night overheated....
:-( How do I find out if my block's cracked, head's warped, or some other
godawful thing? It will be at the mechanic's next week, but meanwhile is
there any way to tell if something's seriously screwed?

If it's really bad it will let you know soon. If it is not so bad, it
could drive for quite a while before anything bad happens. No real way
to tell, without pulling off pieces of the engine and inspecting. No
point.

It sounds like the thermostat or heater valve is now stuck and won't
allow the heater to work.

By the way, if there is no coolant in the area of the sensor, you're
temp gauge doesn't read accurately. It "could" have gotten a lot
hotter than you're thinking.

I pegged my Integra at the hot end of the gauge though, due to a water
pump leak, and didn't hurt the engine. It went for another 85,000
miles before trade-in.

Good luck.

You might be overheating now because an air bubble might be present in
the system somehwere because it was allowed to run low.
The heater will then also not work properly because the coolant
basically doesn't ciculate.

Try this: refill it, start the car but leave the radiator cap off. Let
it run for 15 minutes or so, keeping your eye on the temperature
because you don't want it to overheat. When you see the coolant level
drop, add more.
You may note some burbing from the radiator - this is when some of the
air comes out and your signal to add more coolant.
Be careful refilling from the radiator not getting burned.

You may have not done any damage - if it acts normally, it is probably
just fine.

Remco

Dee wrote:
> I was told last week by my mechanic that my 94 Accord EX (4-cyl.) has a
> lower radiator hose that has a slow leak. I've been topping off the radiator
> every morning while waiting for payday to have it fixed. Meanwhile, last
> night my husband used my car. This morning I forgot to check the radiator,
> took off in it and noticed the A/C was on (!!!!!), the heater wouldn't work
> and about 1 mile up the road the needle started climbing. I pulled off the
> road that second. Since he'd also left his truck keys in my car, he couldn't
> bring me any water so I had no choice but to turn off the motor, let it cool
> down and carefully limp home without it going into the red. (It came close,
> but didn't.)
>
> I'm wondering, even after filling the radiator, why won't my heater work?
> Also, God only knows how long he drove it last night overheated....
> :-( How do I find out if my block's cracked, head's warped, or some other
> godawful thing? It will be at the mechanic's next week, but meanwhile is
> there any way to tell if something's seriously screwed?
>
> -------------------

First off, use antifreeze diluted with distilled (or at least R.O.
water). Don't put tap water (a.k.a. Hondacide) in your rad. Keep the
reservoir fairly full as well as the rad. Air that burps out will be
replaced by the stuff in the reservoir overnight, assuming the leak
isn't too bad, and the rad cap is working correctly. The reservoir is
your friend.

'Curly'

Remco wrote:
> You might be overheating now because an air bubble might be present
in
> the system somehwere because it was allowed to run low.
> The heater will then also not work properly because the coolant
> basically doesn't ciculate.


Good point. Check your car manual for an "air bleed" procedure. You
may need to open a small valve and let out air until some coolant
starts escaping.

Just another reason why it pays to maintain your car properly and fix things
as they need repair.


"Dee" > wrote in message
news
>I was told last week by my mechanic that my 94 Accord EX (4-cyl.) has a
> lower radiator hose that has a slow leak. I've been topping off the
> radiator
> every morning while waiting for payday to have it fixed. Meanwhile, last
> night my husband used my car. This morning I forgot to check the radiator,
> took off in it and noticed the A/C was on (!!!!!), the heater wouldn't
> work
> and about 1 mile up the road the needle started climbing. I pulled off the
> road that second. Since he'd also left his truck keys in my car, he
> couldn't
> bring me any water so I had no choice but to turn off the motor, let it
> cool
> down and carefully limp home without it going into the red. (It came
> close,
> but didn't.)
>
> I'm wondering, even after filling the radiator, why won't my heater work?
> Also, God only knows how long he drove it last night overheated....
> :-( How do I find out if my block's cracked, head's warped, or some
> other
> godawful thing? It will be at the mechanic's next week, but meanwhile is
> there any way to tell if something's seriously screwed?
>
>
>
>

wrote:

> Remco wrote:
>
>>You might be overheating now because an air bubble might be present
>
> in
>
>>the system somehwere because it was allowed to run low.
>>The heater will then also not work properly because the coolant
>>basically doesn't ciculate.
>
>
>
> Good point. Check your car manual for an "air bleed" procedure. You
> may need to open a small valve and let out air until some coolant
> starts escaping.

It's pretty simple. The air bleed screw is usually by the thermostat
housing. It's a nut with a little hole extending in the middle.
Just put something under it to catch the coolant. Drain it until
it comes out without air, and refill. It might need to be filled
more than once.

Dee wrote:

> I was told last week by my mechanic that my 94 Accord EX (4-cyl.) has a
> lower radiator hose that has a slow leak. I've been topping off the radiator
> every morning while waiting for payday to have it fixed. Meanwhile, last
> night my husband used my car. This morning I forgot to check the radiator,
> took off in it and noticed the A/C was on (!!!!!), the heater wouldn't work
> and about 1 mile up the road the needle started climbing. I pulled off the
> road that second. Since he'd also left his truck keys in my car, he couldn't
> bring me any water so I had no choice but to turn off the motor, let it cool
> down and carefully limp home without it going into the red. (It came close,
> but didn't.)
>
> I'm wondering, even after filling the radiator, why won't my heater work?
> Also, God only knows how long he drove it last night overheated....
> :-( How do I find out if my block's cracked, head's warped, or some other
> godawful thing? It will be at the mechanic's next week, but meanwhile is
> there any way to tell if something's seriously screwed?

The lower rad hose in my '95 Integra GS-R blew and I limped home about
two miles. You'll know if it's toasted. Coolant will leak like
crazy if there's a crack or warp. It was fine for another 20K miles
when the radiator tank cracked. Of course lack of coolant doesn't
cause radiator damage. Then it was stolen, but that's another
story.

You have a air pocket. The heater is usually difficult to get all the air
out of right away. after doing the air bleed system try this: With the rad
cap off start the car let it get warm, turn the heater on high and to vent
so you can feel it.. Goose the throttle several times, a higher RPM
(1500-2500) encourages the coolant to flow. Keep an eye on the temperature,
if it gets too warm, turn it off, let it cool off. eventually, you can coax
the air out of the heater.



--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
ASE Undercar Specialist



> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Remco wrote:
>> You might be overheating now because an air bubble might be present
> in
>> the system somehwere because it was allowed to run low.
>> The heater will then also not work properly because the coolant
>> basically doesn't ciculate.
>
>
> Good point. Check your car manual for an "air bleed" procedure. You
> may need to open a small valve and let out air until some coolant
> starts escaping.
>

This worked. Car runs fine, heater works. I'm still concerned, but for now
it looks ok.

Thank you all!!!!!!!





"Steve" > wrote in message
...
> You have a air pocket. The heater is usually difficult to get all the air
> out of right away. after doing the air bleed system try this: With the rad
> cap off start the car let it get warm, turn the heater on high and to vent
> so you can feel it.. Goose the throttle several times, a higher RPM
> (1500-2500) encourages the coolant to flow. Keep an eye on the
temperature,
> if it gets too warm, turn it off, let it cool off. eventually, you can
coax
> the air out of the heater.
>
>
>
> --
> Stephen W. Hansen
> ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
> ASE Undercar Specialist
>
>
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> >
> > Remco wrote:
> >> You might be overheating now because an air bubble might be present
> > in
> >> the system somehwere because it was allowed to run low.
> >> The heater will then also not work properly because the coolant
> >> basically doesn't ciculate.
> >
> >
> > Good point. Check your car manual for an "air bleed" procedure. You
> > may need to open a small valve and let out air until some coolant
> > starts escaping.
> >
>
>