1995 Honda Accord boils over

lewisd42 · 2007-04-30T01:41:44+00:00

My daughter owns a 1995 Accord with about 125K on it and a new timingbelt and water pump. The car was running fine for several months afterpurchase when it suddenly got hot and boiled over. She had thethermostat replaced and that wasn't the issue. Here's what I know: Itstarts and runs normally, it heats up to normal operating temperatureat idle and will happily stay there all day. With the cap off, thewater level will come up and overflow the filler neck and if iaccelerate the engine, the water will pull out of the neck into thesystem. Water does seem to move through the system and with the heateron, I get heat in the cab...lots of it. With the heater off and fullcold with A/C on, temp remains the same and the cooling fans come on.The fans will run after I shut it off. If I drive it a short distanceit is happy enough but (if the car is warmed up) after about 1/2 amile, the gauge will jump to the halfway point and then climb. I canturn the heater on full bore and get it to cool some but it won't behappy for long. If I pull over and let it idle, it returns to normaltemp.I have bled the system according to the Service Manual for the car. Ihave verified as best I can that there are no holes in the system andI see no leaks.When the engine warmed up, it looked like it was burping some air out,but the bubbles were random and they were not smoky. I see no steadystream of bubbles in the coolant as it passes through the radiator,but when the system is closed and it gets warm the behavior is that ofan old car boiling over. There is a lot of action in the overflow tankand it begins to fill and bubble violently.I am out of options. I am getting conflicting symptoms as to whetheror not it is a failed head gasket and I am not sure if the coolingfans are working while it is just running down the road since my wifewon't let me strap one of my boys to the hood while I drive it to lookand listen.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Apr 30, 2007 42 Replies

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Michael Pardee 19 years ago

I don't think they can inhibit air flow that way because the air pressure against the blade is what flexes them "flatter." At least in theory, they should still be pushing air.

To each their own.

Mike

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Michael Pardee 19 years ago

You're right about the change in air speed and that the ideal pitch should vary along the blades like the pitch on an airplane propellor or a ship "screw." This isn't rocket science, though, it's just a radiator fan they are trying to improve a bit. Regular fans work and these fans work. Take your choice (I think you already did!)

Mike

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Grumpy AuContraire 19 years ago

Nope, the higher the RPM, the greater deflection of air, almost like having a circle of plywood right in back of the radiator.... So much so, it could become a negative factor at higher rpms. "Silence" has a price...

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