Hey eveyone. Just wanted to say I love my accord and want to keep her on the road as long as possible.

Car:
1997 Accord EX-V6
Issue:
Car overheats (needle pegs) after about 3-4min of driving. Highway or stop and go.

Checked:
-No leakage, or burning of coolant. Full radiator & overflow.
-No smoke
-Both Fans Click on and run fine.
-Top radiator hose hot, bottom hose cold.

Thats all i can think of to check now. Please let me know. I saw a lot of posts on the 4cyl cars, but I know the V6 is an entirely different deal.

Thanks

 

The cooling system should be similar between them. You don't want to drive it when it is overheating. Turning the heat on the in car full blast can help cool it down in a pinch.

It could be from a stuck thermostat, clogged radiator, or possibly worn out water pump.

I would buy a new thermostat from the dealership (~$20). Drain the system, dispose of coolant in proper way (ask someone at a parts store if they take old coolant). Remove the original thermostat. Reassemble without a thermostat.

Flush the system according to the instructions with radiator flush you can pick up at a parts store. Usually, you add the flush solution to the empty radiator, fill the rest of the system with water. Run until the engine gets to operating temperature w/ heat on high. Allow to cool. Drain. Refill with just water. Run until the engine for 10-15 minutes. Shut off, allow to cool, then drain.

Put in new thermostat. Open bleeder valve on thermostat housing. Fill radiator with 50/50 coolant/water mix until only coolant comes out of the valve and no air is spitting out of it. Close valve, top off the radiator. Fill the overflow reservoir to the proper level.

 

Easiest way to diagnose...?
Thermostat, Waterpump, Radiator, any electrical compents.

Thanks guys

 

You can drain the system and remove the thermostat. Suspend it in hot water and see if it opens when the water gets to 194F. See pic.

The radiator is trickier to figure out, that is why I suggested that you flush out the system.

Hopefully it is not the water pump, because you might as well get the TB replaced.

 

...if it was a failed water pump, wouldn't i expect to see some coolant coming the weep hole? possibly squeaking?

because the card does neither of these things. Just trying to narrow it down.

 

replace the t-stat

 

Overheating that fast and the bottom hose being cold you have no water circulating through the engine which would come down to Thermostat, or Water pump most likely. If the V6 has an external bypass hose off the water pump you could see if it is pumping any coolant. The bypass system circulates coolant through the motor until the Thermostat opens. Are you running straight water or coolant? The water pump has an impeller that can fail and have no symptom other than overheating which isn’t a common issue .

 

Could also be a plugged radiator. Very small flow through the radiator can be caused by a bad thermostat or by obstructed water-flow tubes in the radiator. With a long residence time in the radiator, the lower hose will be cold even though the flow rate is too small to cool the engine.

 

I'm running a 50/50 mix.

 

I am going with changing the Thermostat and doing the flush also. You are going to have to start somewhere and a new Thermostat(get a Honda One) is cheap insurance on keeping your engine cool and do the flush. If you were running water that is when you see things like a water pump impeller failing.


I would also inspect the radiator . If the core is copper I would look for the fins at the bottom getting gooey and detaching from the radiator tubes. On both aluminum and copper core I would check the condenser side for being coated in something.