Acura Integra overheat since yesterday

[quote:8b0e7ae662="acur88"]1990 Acura Integra
204,722 mi
Automatic
2 wheel drive
No strange sounds
Maybe engine oil leak because I usually have to refill the oil after a long drive


Please help me I am a single mom on a tight budget and every penny I can save will be great, please understand that I am quite a novice at finding and fixing a car problem! Forgive me for the long explanation.

Yesterday I drove my kids for about 15 miles and noticed that it started to overheat.... A little white smoke was coming out of my engine... So I pulled over... I realized that I did not have enough engine oil (it takes 10w-30 and I put in 10w-40 by accident) so I went to a local gas station and bought a quart and filled up the engine. I let the car cool down and started driving back home...

However the car started overheating almost immediately... So I had to stop and let the car cool down.... I guess in my frustration of doing this a few times... I decided to take a chance and just drive back home... While I was driving back home the check engine light turned on and the gauge was all the way to the right indicating the engine was very hot...

So after coming home I didnt touch the car anymore and this morning the car still has the overheating problem... Can anyone help me please!!!! Please remember I have very little knowledge about cars... Thank you in advance!!!

Oh I should add that prior to this happening I had just driven back which was about a 65+ mile drive... and my car burns up engine oil really fast so when I drive long distances I tend to have to refuel the engine oil.[/quote:8b0e7ae662]

Part of the job of the oil is not only to lubricate the engine it also removes engine heat. might not be much but it helps.

White smoke is an indication of coolant being burn in the combustion chamber. Where as condensation will burn when the engine comes up on its normal operating temperature.

Now to start-if you know where the thermostat normally is place-find it either you test the opening temperature of it with warm water or replace it-

Check the thermostat and comeback if needed we'll take this problem step by step till we identify the cause of the problem.

Good Luck

I will go and find out where the thermostat is and will give that a try.

Hi! Thank you for your help. Luckily after many many hours of trying to take out the thermostat, I was about to give up. After that put some water in the radiator and noticed a lot of water was dripping. It turned out that I had a leaking hose. So it was just a ten dollar fix!!! Now my car is running fine.