95 Integra OVERHEATING! Please HELP!

Hey, I live on an island, so parts are very expensive. I am a student with no job at the moment... so I have little money to throw at a car to try and solve the problem. Here's the details:
I have a 1995 Acura Integra that is overheating and boiling over
Here is all I know about the problem:
NO thermostat is in the housing
Fans work (no broken blades or anything and turn on when supposed to)
When lower radiator hose is off fluid pours out rapidly
Water pump is brand new
Hoses are all in good shape
Car overheats and boils over
No fluid circulates in the radiator when the car is on and the cap is off
Losing fluid with no visible leaks anywhere
No oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil (no white smoke out the exhaust when starting)
Any suggestions?? I'm at a loss as to what to do next....
People keep saying if fluid isn't moving and it wasn't the water pump then the radiator must be clogged. It will cost $500 USD for a radiator here and I don't want to spend that money unless I am 100% convinced that is the problem. Being that when I flushed the radiator with a garden hose and water poured out where the lower hose would be... I'm not convinced it is a blocked radiator.
PLEASE HELP!! thanks!

Hmmm interesting.... What do u mean by "no thermostat is in the housing?" Cuz if I had to guess it sounds like the thermostat is stuck closed....

He means the he removed the thermostat so it's open all the way, all the time. I used to do this with my old Hondas.
Your rpoblem sounds strange. It loses coolant? Yet doesnt white smoke or seem to miss under acceleration?
Did you bleed the system? (Run the car with heater on, radiator cap off, until it reaches normal operating temp)
Take the radiator off, put a water hose in the top and see if it drains out the bottom quickly.....maybe?
I dunno, seems like youve covered all the bases.

do you have any check engine?

make sure you use 50/50 water coolant

Rockadilla: i mean just that... i thought it was a stuck thermostat, so i opened up the housing... and to my surprise someone had already taken it out. there was nothing in there. No thermostat. I don't know how long it has been running without a thermostat either.

Endo617: no check engine light. but that doesn't mean that it isn't on. the bulb could be burned out... it is an island car. (I mean that there are a lot of peculiar things about it... and it's pretty normal for door handles to be broken, automatic mirrors to not work, gauges to not work, etc)

natt2000: tried just having a good coolant ratio after flushing the radiator the ghetto way with a garden hose. didn't help the situation.

72Spitfire: haven't tried bleeding the system.but no missing, runs great other than it is overheating.

And today it did blow the by pass hose (from the block to the thermostat)... so gotta head down to the parts store tomorrow for a new one.

72Spitfire: btw i'm a chick. ;-) lol but i usually work on cars with carbureters.

bubbles said:

72Spitfire: btw i'm a chick. ;-) lol but i usually work on cars with carbureters.

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Lol u have NO idea how attractive u sound do u live in hawaii? lol
but back to topic, first off how long does it take to overheat? have u made sure that the air system is all working correctly? Its a far shot but maybe the air filter is clogged up and is causing the engine to use more coolent to keep cool. It could be the water pump causing all this. Or u could do a pressure test to see if there's any leaks in the cooling system, cuz if ur losing coolent then it has to be going somewhere.

My guess is your losing coolant into the cylinders via the headgasket. And I believe, im not positive, that if the coolant is exposed to the firing of the piston, it will increase coolant heat rapidly. Have you pressure tested the cooling system? You could also have Scale/Rust build up in the coolant passages of the engine not allowing for adequate flow. Good luck finding solution! -Aaron

Are you SURE you installed the water pump correctly and with a brand new unit? Blowing hoses points to water pump for sure.
I would change the water pump again...i know that sucks and all.

And...I'm sorry for calling you a man. You don't see many car wrenching chicks. But, that makes you all the more cool

Good luck!

Don't drive it overheating. Your gonna blow the head gasket and the repair bill will get much higher!

rockadilla: nope sorry, i'm in the caribbean. lol driving on flat roads.. takes maybe around 15-20minutes to overheat (odometer is broken so can't tell you mileage...) and the speed on the flat roads here is average 40-45mph. so it's not like i'm driving at high speeds.. but if i drive it up a hill (which lucky me lives up a hill) then it takes only about 5 minutes driving up the hill for tha gauge to start to climb past normal operating temperature. I did check the air filter when I bought the car and it's semi dirty but not too bad at all. blew it out and it's no worse off than my 68 cutlass' air filter back state side.

TheIV Jackal: i thought maybe a head gasket too... but there are no other signs of a blown head gasket. no oil in the coolant, or coolant in the oil... no white smoke out the exhaust on start up... so like i said i need to be sure of what the problem is before i actually throw money at the car and find out i fixed something that didn't need fixing. As far as pressure testing... haven't found a mechanic that can do that yet... :-( If there is scale or rust buildup within the cooling passages of the engine... is there anyways to get that out without taking apart the engine?

72Spitfire: yes the water pump is installed correctly. I didn't have all the tools to do it on my own so a mechanic on the island and I did install it. It only goes on one way. And it is a brand new unit. Not rebuilt or anything. The impeller is functioning, the timing belt is in good condition and spins the impeller...
and as far as blowing the by pass hose... that was the roomie's doing. driving it when the temp gauge was maxed out instead of letting it cool down and add more fluid. And no problem on calling me a guy. lol no worries. I know there aren't many chicks out there into engines.

savageKIDD: i checked all the hoses before... but it's worth checking again. maybe i missed a crack under a clamp or something...and yes... got a quote for a new radiator with conversion rate came to about $500 USD... ridiculous!!!

how is the timing on the car because if your timing is to high it can run hot and cause it to over heat while the car seems to be running fine.

when you run the car hot and you stop pop the hood and what does the top hose look like does it look like it is being smashed? if it is the clog is in the motor and all you need is a complete system flush

u could always buy a new radiator online for a lot cheaper >>>HERE<<<
oh and if u want to milti quote people theres a little button next to the quote button on the bottom right of a post

savageKIDD_90 said:

yeaa deffinately check those bc you dont wanna spend $500 and the problem be only like $10 lol
and you using the right coolant? i have the radiator from my eg hatch if you want it, with all the hoses
your radiator might be cracked bc thats what happened when i had my coupe

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I'm guessing your radiator would fit in my 95 integra? I'm not an integra gal... lol so please forgive how stupid i may sound. If the radiator is in good condition and not clogged or anything like that then I would be interested. The only thing is shipping. Not sure how much it would cost for you to send it to St. Kitts in the Caribbean. But of course I would pay the shipping. Let me know what the shipping would be. (aey.4@mail.com)
why did you pull out the radiator anyway?