UHOH! HELP!

[BaliLover]

How is it the shops fault you're too blind to see the temp gauge? If you had white smoke, it means the HG was ALREADY blown at that point and you had already overheated. I'd be willing to guess you just didn't see the temp gauge and don't want to admit it here because its embarassing.

Rule #1, ALWAYS watch your temp gauge.Rule #2, ALWAYS CHECK YOUR FLUIDS

You had this car back for weeks before anything happened. There is no way any shop could have known there was a problem since you were able to drive it for so long problem free.

If it was a stuck thermostat, that is also in no way their fault. They didn't make it, they just install it, and it was working fine when they handed you the car.

If you buy a brand new car, and the radiator hose busts and you drive it and let the engine overheat, very few dealerships would do anything for you. Your gauges are there for a reason, WATCH them. If something isn't normal, STOP DRIVING.

The headgasket didn't blow because a radiator hose came loose, the headgasket went because you overheated the car and continued to drive.

[drifter_for_life06]

right......or not

as i previously stated it was driving PERFECT up until the day it smoked white. it was driving at NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE for half of my drive, then out of nowhere, it smoked white and over-heated

before you start saying that i dont know what im doing and too embarassed to say something, get your sh*t straight

[spider_slayer]

check the turbo and the turbo to manifold gasket and the manifold to head gasket. a blown turbo will also burn oil/coolant and toss it out the exaust intermittantly.

more expensive then a headgasket, but easier to replace and a good excuse to upgrade

baillover - engines break, be it the drivers fault or not. how about some constructive critism, eh?

[BaliLover]

You told us you checked the fluid and it def. had some left then told us your step father looked at it and the lower hose was partially disconnected and there was no fluid. If the lower hose was disconnected partially it shouldn't have had any when you checked it and there should have been a puddle of fluid on the ground where you parked as it would constantly be leaking. If it smoked white, that means it was already burning the antifreeze which means the HG had already let go. The only way to get white smoke like you described is by burning antifreeze inside the cylinders. The only way I know of for antifreeze to get into the cylinder is a blown HG, and the only way I know to blow a HG is either to overboost or overheat. I doubt the HG was bad when you got the car because it was able to be driven for at least a few weeks problem free.

As mentioned in the previos post, its possible a seal in your turbo went bad and started pouring coolant into the exhaust causing the smoke also, but they don't typically just go all at once although it could be possible. I wouldn't count on this being the problem though since your Step father apparently found a disconnected radiator hose to be the reason for the coolant loss.

[drifter_for_life06]

i ment there was fluid in the overflow tank i couldnt see any in the actual radaitor

and as i stated AGAIN the car was fine for the first part of the drive and started overheating and smoking halfway throught eh drive....im guessing it was on its final legs(hg that is) and compeltely blew while i was driving....do you understand what i mean yet?

[spider_slayer]

i ment there was fluid in the overflow tank i couldnt see any in the actual radaitor

and as i stated AGAIN the car was fine for the first part of the drive and started overheating and smoking halfway throught eh drive....im guessing it was on its final legs(hg that is) and compeltely blew while i was driving....do you understand what i mean yet?

well... if your hose had slipped off some and you lost enough coolant then the over heating would cause warping in your head and cause the gasket to pop. it isn't necessarily your fault that the engine over heated but the heat would be enough to cause a perfectally good gasket to go.

however nothing if certain yet. you still need to get a compression test done i rented one from auto zone about 6 months ago. they made me leave a $50 bill and i brought it back like an hour later and got the money back. also, take off your intake and check the turbine for any excessive play. this would point to a blown turbo.

[DRIFTINIZ]

when i start my sr from a cold start......whenever i let off the clutch, the rpms drop as to compared when the clutch is in.....could my HG be on its way out??

[Blown240sx]

No you HG isnt going out. Your putting a load on the engine at cold start when you let out on the clutch....

Also the original poster of this thread. Ive had 2 times when swapping my SR the Radiator HOSe on the back of the motor has come off and caused air in the line. Which will cause the over heat and if let go to long with warp the head as stated above. Or worse, for your good I hope its just a HG.

[drifter_for_life06]

i hope to god its just a HG...i dont wanna have to replace the entire head

[BaliLover]

If the car is still running then chances are even if the head warped, its probably minor and could be fixed by having the head decked. To test, when/if you remove the head, get a steel ruler and lay it on its edge against the head. It SHOULD be perfectly flat on the head all the way across the cylinders, make sure to go across the head at several different angles. If you can see light between any part of the ruler and the head (aside from cylinder holes of course, then there is warpage.

If you do have to have the head decked, I would suggest upgrading your valvesprings and retainers so in the future you could run whatever cams you wanted to be they stage 1 or stage 2.

[spider_slayer]

^^ what he said. i have my head off right now too. and i'm gonna upgrade my springs( i'll never run huge cams so retainers arn't that big a deal) and take it to a shop and have a 3-angle valve job done just so i never ever ever have to remove it again. it i ever have to take the head off again i'm gonna pull the whole ****ing engine.

[drifter_for_life06]

well right now until i sell my honda accord parts i odnt have much money to spend doing that, but if need be the car will sit for a while and ill save to do the decking and probably build the head up as much as possible

[drifter_for_life06]

okay....i put the new thermo in, it didnt help

took it out and drove ti w/o a thermo and its been running perfect....

[Neil]

jusst be careful without a t-stat, especially this winter. itll probly idle high and run jumpy from the rich/cold mix for a good while till it warms up. sr tstats are like $20 shipped from places like phase-2 and cipmotorsports... in case you think the stant just wasnt right. Drive around some more, beat on it a little. report back w/ yr findings. so far im vaguely optimistic.

[BaliLover]

You could have a blockage in your radiator. Go drive the car until it reaches operating temperature, then turn the car off and feel the finned area of the radiator with your hand. It should have an even temperature, and if theres a spot thats colder than the rest, you have a blockage.

[drifter_for_life06]

okay, been driving for 2 days w/o the stat

it hardly EVER got above a "click" above the C on the temp gauge, and it seems it only gets a click ro two above when im going REAL slow or at a stop

once im up to speed again the temp goes down to the "C" line

so far no bad findings, runs as good as it used to if not better

[BaliLover]

The only problem is that you're only masking the problem, and not actually fixing it. If it runs better and doesn't overheat with no Tstat, then its probably not a headgasket issue. If you have a radiator shop near you, you should consider bringing it to them and asking them if they can check the radiator for you. I'm not sure if they can run a pressure test or check for a blockage with the rad. in the car or not but its worth a shot. Otherwise you could just pick up another radiator just to be safe.

[drifter_for_life06]

yea thats what i was thinking

time to read the yellowpages

[Neil]

what bugs me out is the needle stays around C even when warm. I wonder if you didn't roast the gauge temp sender... Even without a Tstat, after like 15 minutes of normal driving it should read proper operating temperature.

edit: It seems more and more places are running specials on Koyo's... my guess is overstock. If you can find a Koyo for like $320 shipped BUY IT!!! It's a billion times better than the oem one (ok a little over twice as good) and dresses up the engine bay. The stock AC condenser fan mounts right to it and that sucker moves a lot of air. I rewired that oem fan to a thermostat switch and the temps have always read a bit cooler than my KA with the stock radiator and clutch fan.

[BaliLover]

WHen I had no Tstat in my KA, it NEVER got warm. EVER. It was terrible in the winter because the heater was basically just like running the AC.

[spider_slayer]

WHen I had no Tstat in my KA, it NEVER got warm. EVER. It was terrible in the winter because the heater was basically just like running the AC.

it gets cold in florida?

anyway, has the smoking issue stopped? its odd that you would be burning coolant if it was jsut your thermostat was say stuck closed.

[BaliLover]

Its supposed to hit 38 tonight. Not cold to alot of people, but when you're used to 80 it is. Its around 55 right now and it took my car FOREVER to start blowing hot air from the heater, like 10 minutes. I was even driving around in 4th to keep the RPMS up and hopefully generate more heat.

[spider_slayer]

Its supposed to hit 38 tonight. Not cold to alot of people, but when you're used to 80 it is. Its around 55 right now and it took my car FOREVER to start blowing hot air from the heater, like 10 minutes. I was even driving around in 4th to keep the RPMS up and hopefully generate more heat.

wow. its like 30 out right now. i think i'll move to flordia this summer. i hear you all got some babes down there too.

[BaliLover]

There are more heffers than babes, Florida is now a retirement community first, and a place for babes second.

[drifter_for_life06]

smoking is no longer there

temp is now stayin on the pittle "peg" all the way below C

temp sensor take a sh*t?

[nismostate]

i love newbs, just playin. why not get an SR thermostat? weird how it stays that cold because the motor runs best at a certain temp. did you ever get a comp tester?

[Neil]

Its supposed to hit 38 tonight. Not cold to alot of people, but when you're used to 80 it is. Its around 55 right now and it took my car FOREVER to start blowing hot air from the heater, like 10 minutes. I was even driving around in 4th to keep the RPMS up and hopefully generate more heat.

you baby, its 62° INSIDE MY HOUSE and i'm comfortable. put on a sweatshirt.ps 10 minutes should only seem like a long time if you do a lot of amphetamines.

smoking is no longer there

temp is now stayin on the pittle "peg" all the way below C

temp sensor take a sh*t?

You can steal the temp gauge sender from a KA. On the SR the sender is the one on the right in the coolant inlet plenum. Check to make sure there's no wiring issue from getting in there to do the tstat. also, oem sr tstats are cheap if you think the stant isnt doing the job but there's no reason it shouldnt.

[drifter_for_life06]

yea i figure the stant shoulda worked fine

the other day it was liek 50-60* out and the car actually moved the needle a bit above the C, then dropped again when i acceled a bit

lately the needle hasnt come up off the little peg, i guess cuz its cold and the thermostat is gone its constantyl pumping cool fluid

[Neil]

uh.

did you really think the radiator draws enough heat away from the coolant that your motor wasnt warming up without a tstat?? Why do they sell aftermarket radiators? why do motors have FANS on them?

every single engine ever gets up to operating temperature (needle in its normal half way position) with or without a thermostat. The purpose of the thermostat is to make the motor get to that temperature Sooner, so it can run the intended a/f maps faster which helps reduce emissions and improves drivability. Once the motor warms up, the t-stat opens and stays open. The coolant is pumped through the radiator from then on to draw away SOME of the heat so the motor doesnt run too hot. When the motor has been off long enough for everything to cool off, then the tstat valve contract again and closes.

I still think the temp sender is botched, or the wire has too much resistance for some reason (poor connect), or the gauge itself got hurt when it pegged to max, or there's an air pocket at the sender or Something.

[BaliLover]

I have to disagree, seeing as how I have personally driven a KA with no tstat and had the temp gauge never move off of C as long as the car was driving and there was airflow. I replaced the Tstat and the temps went back to normal.

IF you remove the tstat and let the car idle, it SHOULD heat up since there is no airflow to cool the radiator, however when you drive there is airflow cooling the radiator and the coolant is constantly circulating with little or no restriction so it doesn't get much time to heat up.