91 Prelude Si 2.1L Engine too hot

[FaizanSheikh]

Hey guys I was more of a spectator to this great forums once i got my Prelude 2 weeks ago. Anyways i noticed that my engine gets extremely hot but my radiator grill stays cold. Do you think the circulation is messed up? And how can i fix this? Any replies welcome.

[chillinz77]

Hey guys I was more of a spectator to this great forums once i got my Prelude 2 weeks ago. Anyways i noticed that my engine gets extremely hot but my radiator grill stays cold. Do you think the circulation is messed up? And how can i fix this? Any replies welcome.

sounds like i could possibly be your thermostat or even your waterpump if your radiator is staying chilled then its def your water pump theres no circulation i would check those two things then get back to us

[spiffyguido]

I agree. I'd check the thermostat first as these do wear out with time. Your should feel your upper rad hose get really not by the time the fans come on. If that's not happening, it's probably the thermostat.

[FaizanSheikh]

and how do i change either one of those? I can lift the car with jacks up to 5 inchs from tire to the ground. Do you think its possible for me to change the water pump or the thermostat?

[spiffyguido]

The thermostat is easy to change, the water pump is not very easy, so start with the thermostat.

To change the thermostat you don't need to even jack up the car. Here's what you do.

-Purchase a new thermostat, preferably from Honda.
-Wait for the engine to be cold. You don't want any pressure in the engine due to hot water.
-Drain the radiator using the spigget on the bottom side of the radiator. If the radiator fluid is clean, you can reuse it if you want.
-Locate the thermostat housing. It is on the engine side of your upper radiator hose, bolted to the engine block. The upper radiator hose connects to the thermostat housing outlet.
-Remove the upper radiator hose from the engine side.
-Remove the thermostat housing outlet by undoing the two bolts. Behind the outlet you will see the thermostat. Take note of how they thermostat is orientated as they do not work if they are place in backwards.
-Remove and replace the thermostat with the new one.
-Put everything back together, refill the radiator and bleed the coolant system. If you use new antifreeze, remember that it must be mixed 50/50 with water.

Here are some directions from Honda that will help you:

http://media.honda.co.uk/car/owner/medi ... 0/5-66.pdf
http://media.honda.co.uk/car/owner/medi ... 0/5-64.pdf

[FaizanSheikh]

thanks man,but i cant really identify the upper radiator hose. And again i appreciate you helpin me.

[spiffyguido]

If you stand in front of your car, the upper radiator hose is the large black hose that goes from the left side of your radiator (near your radiator cap) to the engine. Does this make sense?

[FaizanSheikh]

yeah got it, now that was extremely hot after i had turned the car off. so iam guessing its the damn water pump.

[spiffyguido]

Sounds like it, unless the temperature was traveling down the hose itself. If I were you, I would start by switching the thermostat anyway as it is easy to do and inexpensive. If your problem doesn't go away, they you need to start thinking about doing the water pump which is a much larger job.

[FaizanSheikh]

do i have to go under the car to replace the water pump? where is it located? by the alternator?

[spiffyguido]

The water pump is located on the belt side (same as alternator) of you engine, under the black plastic cover. You won't be able to see it without removing the plastic covering. Changing the water pump is a pretty involved task and requires setting the timing, etc when complete. People generally change their water pump when they change their timing belts as this is the most convenient time to do it.

[FaizanSheikh]

also there is a brown cap in front of the radiator by the driver side just like the one u see when you put air in a tire, when i press the pin in the middle very cold stuff comes out.

[spiffyguido]

That's probably the air conditioner line. Don't let the pressure out as this will make the air conditioner not function properly.

[chillinz77]

pictures help!!!!!!

when you do your thermostat make sure you scrap the excess gasket material from the thermostat cover and the housing

clean them off with a wire brush it helps....If you dont you may have improper seal and not only that you may snap the cover when screwing things back on!!!!

[FaizanSheikh]

hey guys thanks for all the help. I changed the thermostat and it fixed everything. Appreciate the help.