OVERHEATING PROBLEM - 91 Integra - please HELP!!!!

acintegkid21

I APPOLOGIZE FOR THE LONG THREAD BUT IM DESPERATE...AND WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE WHOLE STORY. PLEASE HELP!!!!

For the last like 9 months my 91 acura integra GS has been givin me off and on overheating problems. Every time I fix something it works for a little while...then it will start up again. During the first instance it would heat up as I sat at a traffic light for a while or when I took off from a traffic light but would then cool back down after my speed got back up. Turns out my radiator was cracked and leaking coolent...so I had it replaced and the problem was fixed (for about 3 months)

It started doing the same thing again...so I took it to my mechanic friend and he found two small hoses back by the throttle body that were leaking and causing my fluid level to drop. We replaced them and the upper and lower radiator hoses and it worked fine for about 2 and a half months.

Then it started doing the same thing again, so we replaced the fan switch, the thermostat, the thermostat seals, and radiator cap. Again, it worked perfectly for about a month and a half.

This past week it started up YET AGAIN...except even worse!!!! This time it would heat up during the same instances except it would take a lot longer to cool back down. So I checked the fluid level and it was low again...so I filled it back up and bled the system to rid of any air bubbles... it worked for about 1 day!! Then while driving to work a day later I was stuck in heavy traffic and it proceeded to heat up all the way to red and stayed there even after i got out of traffic and got my speed back up above 65!!! It stayed all the way up the entire trip (i know i shouldnt have been driving it but i was already late for work). About 10 miles away from work the check engine light came on, and when I parked at work steam was pouring from under the passenger side door area.

I checked the fluid level when I left work about 9 hours after parking it...and it was way WAY low... so luckily i had coolent in the car so I filled it up, and started to drive home. At first it was doing fine...but about half way there it started heating up while I was going 50 mph (which has NEVER happened when ive been moving) it heated all the up and stayed there the entire trip. Again when I pulled into my street the check engine light came on, and when I parked steam was pouring out from the same location.

So the next day I filled it back up, and bled the system again and let it run for about 30 mins, the fans kicked in when they were supposed to and it ran cool. However that night it was back to just radamly heating up while i was driving. It hasnt heated back up to the point where it doesnt come back down...but it will heat up when moving at over 50 which has never happened before...and now when I park it and come back there is a lovley green coolent puddle under the right front fender! (YAY!) Oh and it smells like coolent in the car alot now too.

Once again I appologize for such a long thread but I am desprite. Ive been told that it could be a water pump...but ive also been told that that could be just another temporary fix to the problem.

Any help or insights would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks You,
Geoff Owens

AcuraImport · Site Admin Joined: Mar 11, 2003 Posts: 337

I am guess it is your water pump. When that thing goes bad it will leak coolant like a seive. Now, there is a cheap fix for that! Just alway drive with a couple of juggs of water werever you go

Thats what I did when I needed to save up for the parts i need way back in the day! Also, try doing a search for overheating, there may be a few things on the board you might not have thought about yet.
_________________
If you feel like you're in control, you're not going fast enough. ~ Mario Andretti

acintegkid21 · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 2:02 am Post subject:

Ok...I'll fix that then. Quick question though... I've seen some other posts on this site with the same problem that said it ended up being their engine that was leaking, and they needed a whole new engine. I've also seen a couple that say that they fixed the water pump, and it still didnt help and it ended up being the engine.

Does it sound like it could be the engine...and if it sounds like it might be, is there a way to check it and how?

thanks Again

Geoff

AcuraImport · Site Admin Joined: Mar 11, 2003 Posts: 337

You're, talking about this thread: http://www.all-acura.com/ftopict-82.html, right? I can't say with any certainty what your problem is excatly b/c I can't see it, but i'm pretty sure its your water pump. When your car is at operating temp an its filled with water/coolant whichever, drive really slow down a street w/o traffic if u see a trail of water/coolant it is come from your wheeper hole (water pump). then u will know!
_________________
If you feel like you're in control, you're not going fast enough. ~ Mario Andretti

acintegkid21 · Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2004 12:39 pm Post subject:

Ok will try that as well...but I heard that there is some kind of test that can be done on the engine to see if its the overheating problem...do you know if that is true, and if it is what is it called?

Thanks Again,

Geoff