Engine Overheating

Well it is very possible that when the motor overheated previously the head gasket was weakened. And now you may be building up air in the system because of the head gasket. A clog can also cause the problem, but if both hoses are hot it sounds more likely that it is a head gasket.

Is there anyway to test that? Changing the head gasket carries a pretty hefty price. Also if was the head gasket wouldn't it overheat pretty fast and run poorly with a loss in mpg. My car seems to run fine and the needle takes it's sweet time to make it's way past the halfway mark on the gauge. It also stays perfectly cool when driving. Temp doesn't start to rise unless you are parked for a few minutes.

Yes you are right in saying it would overheat quickly. And it depends on the severity of the blown gasket as to how it would perform. Sometimes you will get white smoke from the tail pipe. But in your case, since you mentioned that it doesn't overheat when you are moving makes me think about the cooling fan. Is it working? You might let it run at an idle for a little bit (paying attention to how hot it gets) and see if the fan ever kicks on.

Yes the fans seem to be working fine. Yesterday when I noticed the needle start to move I heard the fans come on. The fans would also cause a check engine light to appear would they not?

I'm not sure that the fans would trip the check engine light. But something you can check now is while it is getting hot try and squeeze the radiator hoses. (Wear some gloves or use a rag as it will be warm/hot) But what I want you to look for is whether or not the hose feels solid. (Like it has pressure built up, and check it after the thermostat has opened.)

Also, your problems could be caused by a bad radiator cap if you have not already replaced it.

Car overheats at idle. Dumps coolant out of overflow. It has a new thermostat, and radiator. No visible leaks on any hoses. Holds pressure on tester at 11 lbs. No oil in coolant and no coolant in oil. If the a/c is running it appears to make no difference in slowing or speeding up the overheating. Car runs fine. No rough idle. Great on gas. Both fans run and operate properly. Drives fine for daily use, then may overheat unexpectedly. Pours coolant from overflow. Sometimes overflow dumps out when vehicle is at normal operating temperature. I am stumped.

I will try the hose trick and the bad radiator cap could very well be a possibility. When I got the radiator, the cap would not go on and we had to slightly bend it to get it on. I will try these things and let you know the results. Thank You

I have almost the same exact problem, exact same car.I recently replaced my radiator which was leaking due to a chunk of ice that was hit. After replacing that the radiator cap didnt fully fit all that well, but still went on. When I am driving my car it NEVER overheats. It will overheat if I leave it idling for about 5-10minutes or if I sit in traffic long enough. It doesnt overheat all that quick and when it overheats, it spits fluid out of the reservoir tank.

I am going to replace the cap today if you find a solution please let me know as it would be so helpful.

Radiator cap is new. Just bought the car and it looked like it had overheated previously. I replaced the cap. I can not tell if it seals 100% though.

Let me know if the radiator cap fixes the problem. I am going to flush mine first and see what happens. Thx

I think I figured it out. The guy at Advance told me to take the radiator cap off and let the car idle til it starts to get hot and the radiator fluid should start bubbling out of the radiator. Rev the engine a little if needed to raise the temp of the engine. When their are no more bubbles it should be fine. I was told when you change or drain a radiator you should do this to get any air out of the system. Good luck and I hope this helps

Is there any way to test the impeller without removing the pump? It seems to run fine for a while. Normal operating temp, but as soon as I slow in city traffic, it hits past the red line and begins to dump coolant. I also noticed the fan runs for about 10 minutes after the car is shut off, even if it has been running at normal temp.

Engine Cooling problem
1997 Honda Accord 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive 177000 miles

My Honda still is over heating. I replaced the thermostat and still over heats. So I drained the radiator and put 50/50 coolant in it and it still is over heating while ideling and ac on kind of lost and don't really know where to look next I'm hoping it ain't the waterpump any help would be great Ty

The pump seems to be working. Water definitely flowing through the radiator. Everything seems to be in working order. After the car is at what appears to be operating temperature, I am able to remove the radiator cap and there does not seem to be any pressure release. I cannot tell if it seals properly from where the old cap had melted. If it won't hold pressure at the cap, could that cause the coolant reservoir to overflow and not draw coolant back into the radiator?

When ac is on they both run when they r off neither run