Civic - Honda :: 2003 - Coolant Disappearing But No Pressure Loss?
Jun 12, 2011
I have a 2003 Honda Civic and the engine temperature will sporadically raise above normal. Using the heat (even a slight mixture, anything but full cold) seems to worsen the problem.
I've discovered that the coolant is almost always low in these situations, and so I've just been filling the coolant up in the morning before I start the car, but it usually takes about half a liter. There are no puddles or wet spots in the garage or inside the cabin, and I've had the radiator put under pressure for a weekend and it maintained operating pressure, so it seems that there is no leak.
I've had the water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, and O2 sensors replaced. It's been like this for about a year, but it's more frequent in the winter when I use the heat more. Where is my coolant going?
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I have a 2004 Honda Civic ex coupe. I have changed the thermostat (twice), fan sensor, temp. sensor. The fan works and when doing an oil change the oil looks normal. No white smoke coming out of my exhaust and I got two radiator flushes, no dirty coolant, and I have replaced the cabin filter. The car doesn't overheat as long as I keep my temperature on hot. If I were to change the temp. to cold it seems like the coolant goes into the reservoir, but it seems like it doesn't go back into the engine. The mechanic that did the flush said that the hoses doesn't to be clogged because the coolant that was removed was green. They stuck an air blower in the heater core hoses and to show that was not clogged as well. The AC worked, I haven't checked in about couple of months. Also when the car overheats there is no smoke coming from the engine. radiator has been burped as well.
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'95 Civic 220k 1.5 auto runs great, 40 mpg. I call her "LUKA". Recently noticed a slight loss of coolant, about 1/2 cup per 200 miles. No drips or puddles, no coolant in oil, just changed 500 miles ago and still golden and clean. I may have noticed a little more exhaust, maybe my imagination, certainly not a cloud of steam. I intend to slip a piece of cardboard under her this weekend and let her sit and alternatively run the engine to check for small leaks, can't do it right now as it rains every other day . . .
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1998 subaru coolant has disappeared 2 times with highway driving last June and November but it exhibited no leaks visibly or under pressure test. Put fluorescent dye in. Found a hairline crack in neck of radiator under hose and replaced in december. End of february with local driving after siting for 5 days it overheated, sucked up reserve tank and needed a quart of coolant in the new radiator.No leaks under pressure test again and tested ok on turnpike. No smells oil ok. Doing tailpipe heat dye test to see if it's burning coolant and needs head gaskets.
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Even though I had head gasket done/timing belt/water pump & other stuff, 3 months, ago, I'm having to check the coolant level weekly & adding about 1 cup of water to pink coolant every 8 - 9 days. The mechanic who did the work tells me that adding that "little" water in "that amount of time is nothing unusual". I know of no one else who keeps a coolant log. I'm obsessed with this problem. I've spent so much on differing repair to this car - it's as if I bought a lemon.Car has 104K mi. Have coolant problem with no coolant winding up on the ground?
VW Passat station wag. 2003 1.8 L Turbo 4 cylinder...
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I was searching for an oil leak forever. In my search for the leak I resealed my hpop, redid oilcooler rings and last week had a friend pull my motor to redo the pan gasket. The leaks were almost down to where I thought we had them beat. Now in the last couple days I'm losing coolant and oil....bad. there is oil on the ground mostly from the cross member. Question is did my oil cooler fix not take? I have read that a nicked of ring can cause this.
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I have a 2003 Chevy Malibu, V6, 3.1, auto, 140k miles. Car started out with code 0420 with no noticeable symptoms, but then added code 0303 (miss fire cyl #3) with loud knock (mostly after warmup) and loss of power under load. Now internal loss of coolant (no puddles or external drips). Changed plugs and wires - no change - all plugs looked good with no sign of contamination. Questions - if this is a valve/piston/lifter problem (which would explain the knock, miss-fire and loss of power), why would I get the loss in coolant? If the loss of coolant is fouling plug #3 (which would explain the coolant loss, miss fire and loss of power), could that give me the loud knocking? I don't see how a valve/piston/lifter issue would cause a leak in coolant but I also don't see how a coolant leak into cyl #3 would give me such a loud knock. Do I have two different problems? If it is a leak into cyl #3, is there any way to tell if it is the intake manifold gasket (which leaked before and was replaced five-six years ago and which I could do again if I had to) or a blown head gasket (which I don't think I could fix or afford to get fixed)? Engine will occasionally get hot (but not overheat).
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I had plugs and wires changed to try clear code. Car seemed to do some better but while trying to go up a steep hill car started stuttering and jerking. Power went out of car and check engine light started blinking fast. After let the car sit for bout 45mins car started running fine again and light stopped flashing but remained on. Code read cylinder2 misfire again.
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I have a 1992 Civic sedan with a lot of coolant in the muffler. Let me put it this way: we messed up the head and coolant leaked into the exhaust pipe. Anymore detail than that and it's a long story. We have a new head now, but there's a lot of coolant in the muffler. My dad tried taking it off and tipping it on one end, but the fluid is stuck and only dribbles out when we slosh it around. How can we get this fluid out without damage to the muffler?
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I recently had an upper radiator hose bust and ever since I have been having a slight water leak. It appeared to be coming from between the layers of rubber on the new hose which I replaced twice since the incident. Both hoses had water seeping from the same location. This afternoon I plan on doing a pressure test on the cooling system to diagnose where the water may be coming from.
My question is could a loss of pressure cause larger than normal Oil and Water deltas? If I have to replace the radiator is there a particular manufacturer or type I should avoid? Should I try to get a factory replacement from Ford or would an Autoparts unit be sufficient? The original is still in the truck now with 286,000 miles on it.
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My 2001 Civic sedan coolant reservoir was full after a long drive - with coolant blown out from the top. I am trying to isolate the problem.
1) I Did not notice if temperature gauge rose above the mid-point on the gauge.
2) I Discovered issue after 120+ drive on a hot day (90 degrees plus).
3) The car has almost 230,000 miles.
4) About 1,500 miles prior to this incident I removed my drive belt and replaced it with the shorter drive belt to circumvent the A/C compressor as it or the compressor clutch crapped out on me.
5) The morning after this occurred the coolant reservoir was still ful.
6) I removed the radiator cap and ran the engine for about 15-20 minutes. During this time I noticed the coolant in the radiator begin to rise into the fill neck area of the radiator - no bubbles or movement other than up into the neck area. The top hose was warm and then got hot but it seemed the bottom hose remained cold. I then throttled the gas briefly and nothing happened to include the radiator remaining off. The temperature gauge read just below the mi-point. I then throttled up to about 3,000 RPMs and coolant blew out of the radiator – about 1/2 to 1 liter of coolant came out. At that point, I shut everything down, installed the radiator cap, and cleaned up the coolant. I noticed the bottom hose appeared to now be much warmer than before the coolant blew out. The next morning the coolant reservoir was empty.
7) Today, about one week later, I applied power at both fans and both worked. I checked the relays and both registered no continuity across terminals 1 and 2 - as they should. I checked the radiator fan switch for continuity when cold and there was NO continuity across the contacts - as it should. I ran the engine for about 20 minutes with the radiator cap installed. The temperature reading rose to just below midpoint (normal) and stayed there. Radiator fan had not come on yet. I throttled up and nothing. Idled for several minutes and the temperature gauge rose to about ¾ of the way to “H.” I throttled the engine to look for smoke from the tailpipe – there was none (there is no history of any kind of smoke coming from the exhaust of my civic). I throttled up again, the temperature gauge dropped quickly below the mid-point, and the radiator fan came on for the first time. After the fan kicked off the temperature gauge again rose to ¾. I hit the gas, the temperature gauge dropped quickly to below mid-point, and then the fan came on again.
I was thinking this could be a blown head gasket but now I am questioning my initial thoughts. As of right now there is no coolant in the reservoir. One would think if the head gasket was blown that I would continue to get fluid in the reservoir even with the lost ~1 liter from my earlier test. I checked my engine oil dipstick and it looks clean - just oil. Nothing unusual visible when oil fill cap removed. Wy my coolant reservoir would have filled, blown over, not empty when cooled, only to empty out by the next morning after blowing 1/2 to 1 liter. This has been a loyal car (other than the recent loss of A/C) and I would like to see if I can get 250,000+ miles out of her with no serious maintenance.
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I've been working with my son to get a 92 Honda civic LX running. When finished, it was running fine except for the temp gauge always showing Hot. My son replace the Thermo sensor for the gauge but over tightened an snapped it off. I had to drill out the remaining piece and clean the threads to install another sensor. When we started the car, white smoke was pouring out of the exhaust and when rev'd, coolant came out. I think I may have drilled in too far and created a leak. How can I repair this?
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I have a 2000 honda civic ex that I recently bought used. It ran fine with no problems for a good month then the check engine light came on and it started overheating. I could smell burning oil and see smoke rising from the hood. I checked the coolant and it was all out. So I filled it back up. Drove about 20 miles and during the drive when sitting idle the car would shudder and jolt around for a second, after about 20 miles I could see the coolant that I just filled up was all gone. I could hear some bubbling sound, all of the coolant had burnt away and was steaming. I did some research and it could be a blown head gasket, but I'm not sure and was seeking how to fix it or to clarify if it was a head gasket.
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I have a 2010 Civic Sedan. Whenever I turned the ignition switch to on, I always see the "Low Oil Pressure light" on and it disappears when I start the engine though. Is that normal?
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I have a 99 Honda civic LX 4 cyl. There is an oily residue in the coolant reservoir an on the fill tube but when the radiator is opened the coolant is clean. The car is using oil but not running rough or hot. There is no tailpipe smoke or evidence of leakage. I am planning to do a compression check and look at the plugs.
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I drive a 2001 Honda Civic EX and have over 248,000 miles. Almost at a quarter million! Recently, the engine has been overheating. The coolant has been leaking and the coolant reservoir would becomes full. I've checked out the fan and the fan relay and both seem to be fine. The temperature seems to increase (to redline) during traffic jams and any times of idling. When I blast on the air conditioning, the temperature seems to decrease, but would later increase when the car idles. The temperature also decreases to normal when I sustain my speeds over ~60mph. Also, the temperature will fluctuate from cold to hot to cold. What does this all mean?
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We have a 2006 Civic and there appears to be a coolant leak coming from the engine block above the started motor, so it is hard to see clearly. The kids are about to leave for Atlanta (from Iowa) and I am concerned that this could be a crack in the block based on some on-line discussion. Is it risky to send the kids on a 1000 mile trip without fixing?
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So my civic has been running hot this week. Had plenty of antifreeze. Oil.changes and tuneup are up to date. Started running hot monday so I went ahead and changed the radiator cap and replaced the thermostat. Still running hot at this point and im losing all my fluid from the coolant reservoir. I run my heat as a guide to when I lose all fluid. Once the heat turns cold I pullover and refill it up. Oil isnt milky and no white smoke. Could it still be a bad head gasket? Possible water pump? Plan to flush the radiator tomorrow.
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I have replaced a head gasket on my 2001 civic LX recently. I have drain the coolant and put it back on again. Now I have idle issues, the car starts fine with high RPM (because it is cold) about 5 min latter the RPM changes, it revs low and high (about 2000 rpm) when it should be idling normally. I have taken the radiator cap (before i start the engine) and run it a while with the cap off to purge any air pockets, no luck. Another thing I have realized that there is a pressure build up in the upper and lower radiator hoses when it is running with the radiator cap on. How to fix this problem?
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The car: 1991 Honda Civic, 4 cyl manual Bought a month and a half ago. Past: I have been dealing with a slow coolant leak in the car that up to this point I have been unable to locate. No puddles or obvious leaks. Small amount of smoke out back, nothing like a blown head gasket, but a little more than average for a car its age.
~Ran a block tester - head gasket fine.
~Checked spark plugs - look fine, not too clean or dirty.
~There does also appear to be water in the oil from time to time, this is not constant, and I do not put water in my radiator (beyond mixing with coolant).
Today: Looking around valve cover noticed it was dirty. Also noticed some sort of sealant/caulking like material that easily came out of the seal between Valve cover and lower engine. I then began to drive the car and noticed small amount of steam coming from the hood. When I opened it up there obviously had been coolant spraying on the left side of the engine. It was difficult to locate a leak point, but appears to be coming from the seal between the valve cover and engine. I have seen it suggested else where that coolant could not leak from a bad valve gasket, but could be leaking from the intake manifold and look like it was coming from the valve cover. Should I just try to replace the intake manifold gaskets?
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Bought a 1988 Toyota Celica GT Convertible. I am losing coolant. So far I have done the following: used a leak down pressure tester that shows I have a leak; looked under car for leak and didn't find one, put UV test fluid in radiator, doesn't show any external leaks and doesn't detect any coolant in exhaust; there is not coolant dripping from the heater (passenger side floor); the car does not overheat - the temp gauge shows it in the middle; the car runs great; just had emissions tested and passed with flying colors.
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