Thermostat question

[jlspr]

The first t-stat was on there when I got the car. So it would be only one bad one. It was a duralast from autozone. I also changed the cap and it looked like the bottom of the cap fell apart. I flushed the system with a water hose for a few minutes to see if anything was clogged and everything looked good.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by jlspr

Do you mean the lower hose? Before the lower hose was cool and the top was hot. Now they are both hot. I'm wondering if the lower is hot from the temp under the hood. Its. It's not as hot as the upper is. Also would a stuck stat cause the fan not to come on? I haven't seen it come on yet since I've been driving the car. The sensor is right after the stat correct? So if its closed then it wouldn't know when to come on?

They should both be warm after a while, so this sounds normal.

The fan should operate regardless of whether the thermostat is stuck or not because it should be controlled by a different thermostat that measures engine coolant temperature and signals the fan to turn on.

Do you have a way to measure engine coolant temperature? Most cars have a temperature gauge that isn't very accurate, but is useful to draw attention to serious issues with the cooling system. A Scangauge or Ultragauge also has the ability to report engine coolant temperature by connecting through the OBD2 port.

The term "thermostat" is confounding because it can describe a device that measures temperature, or it can describe a device which maintains temperature at a certain level. I'd prefer the thermostat in a car to refer to the device that measures the engine coolant temperature, and call the other thermostat a thermal variable control valve.

[jlspr]

All I have is a temp gauge. It stays at normal temp. I cant get a scangauge on a 95.

[user removed]

I would use a Honda t-stat since it is such a critical component.

If both top and bottom hoses are fairly hot then it might be a clogged radiator, in which case no thermostat will fix the problem. Not unusual for a radiator to fail after 10 years, unless it is regularly flushed and new coolant used. Even then it is still reaching its point of replacement and they are cheap and can save your engine.

Maybe this is your first truly hot day of the season, it hit 88 here today in eastern Va.

What is the temp gauge reading?

I have never seen original equipment thermostats on Japanese cars fail in the closed position. They usually fail wide open and the car won't run cool enough.

Run it with the radiator cap off and see if the coolant starts circulating when the tstat opens. If you see bubbling in the coolant suspect a bad head gasket.

You car requires the cooling system to be purged to get all of the air out of the system. There is a bleeder screw that you need to loosen while the engine is running to purge the air from the system. I think it is near where the top radiator hose connects to the engine, 10 MM.

regards
Mech

[user removed]

You must run 50-50 antifreeze mix to get the boiling point of the coolant high enough to prevent boil over.

If the cap seal was disintegrating then the radiator is probably fairly clogged up.

The car will run hotter when you are driving it, it makes little heat when just idling compared to when it is under load.

regards
Mech

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

I have never seen original equipment thermostats on Japanese cars fail in the closed position. They usually fail wide open and the car won't run warm enough.

Very good info Mech.

[jlspr]

The temp gauge reads normal. I flushed the radiator with water with both hoses off for a few minutes. I noticed some black pieces floating around in the antifreeze. Really small pieces. From what I'm hearing then it sounds like it is clogged up somewhere. How would it be clogged if I flush it with water and it comes out the bottom? Guess I will check around for a radiator. It was boiling over when it was cool outside. It hasnt boiled enough to blow through the overflow yet but I noticed there is more coolant in the overflow than before.

[jlspr]

Also what all models radiators will change out with my oem ex radiator? Thanks

[jlspr]

Will any 92-00 radiator fit?

[02ws6]

These guys can usually give you a better price and product for radiators/heater cores and such..

Performance Radiator®

And also when installing the thermostat make sure the small hole/nipple deal is in the 12 o'clock position. This also helps bleed coolant.

If a headgasket does wind up being the issue I would recommend carrying the cylinder head to a machine shop because of the mileage. Have them resurface the head, check for loose valve guides, reseat all bowls and valves, replace valve stem seals and check spring tension on all valve springs.. This is alot of work but the car will be ready for another 250k mi when put back together.