I'm new to the Honda scene and am by no means a car expert... I don't know too much about cars other than the basics, but I'm trying to be a girl who isn't clueless or naive about issues my car does/ will have. I'm a "do-it-myself" kind of girl

I recently bought a 1992 Accord wagon from an elderly couple who sold it to the car dealership I work for. They were the original owners, and have kept every single service record since they bought it in the winter of '91 (seriously, it's amazing). They even tracked all the service in the back of the owner's manual! It had 69k on it when I bought it. I've had it about a year and now it has about 85k.

I've only had to replace/ fix most of the things that usually need replacing with time (spark plugs, tires etc). I also replaced the alternator and battery a few months back.

Here's my question(s):

1. I've noticed that when I idle, my wagon would start to overheat. I have had to constantly keep filling up my coolant. Over the past few weeks/ months, it's been overheating more and more often. Obviously there is a leak or something. At the auto parts store, they reccommend "Liquid Glass" or similar products. I haven't tried it yet, because I am a little paranoid about putting foreign substances in my car... Has anyone used these products? Do you recomend them? Are they safe? Also, how can i find out where the leak is so I can fix it?

2. I bought the car in Arizona and recently moved to the midwest where we actually have temperatures regularly getting below freezing. I was worried about how my car would handle it's first "real winter". It's been doing fine, but sometimes, and only when it seems to be cold, when it is running and in park or neutral, the engine seems as if it's revving by itself. The RPM gauge goes from 2 to 3, sometimes even up to 4 if I let it. It scares me a little! The revving is so violent, it just seems like there is no way that's normal... So if anyone has any advice on this, what might be causing this, and how to possibly fix it, that'd be great...


I really do love this car and I'm hoping to have it a long while longer. I want to take the best care of it as I possibly can just like the previous owners did, so any tips or advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

I'd look for the leak first, before putting junk in the radiator.

You work at a dealer? Can you borrow tools? You want a pressure-tester for the cooling system. It attaches to the radiator in place of the radiator cap, and has something like a little bicycle air pump. Place like AutoZone will loan/rent em out too.

Sometimes a leak will evaporate as soon as it leaks. So if you pressurize it cold, it's easier to find the leak.

What do you mean by "start to overheat"? If idling, it's kinda normal for the temperature to go up a bit (maybe 50%-60% on the gauge) before the fan switches on. Does the fan switch on?

In winter, I would expect it's not easy to get it hot enough for the fan to come on.

Item 2:
Look in DIY for my post about setting the "BASE idle". There's a few things to get sorted out first (listed in that post) including getting all air out of the cooling system.