One thing after another...

I got the car from a dealership(95' GSR) back in Aug/Sept. Ran great for about two weeks until it started overheating. Replaced the thermostat(the old one was tested and was bad), ran great for another two weeks and started overheating again, but this time only when I ran the A/C. (Alabama 80 degree weather all throughout). Checked the hoses for leaks along with the radiator. Water was circulating, as it turns out the fans weren't kicking on. (still have no idea why) Right now they're running on a switch. Drove to Tennessee and back twice(200miles) The third time it began dumping it radiator fluid on the way home and I didn't even make it to the AL/TN state line. The thermostat wasn't working properly so I replaced it again. Worked for a few days until it began boiling over the top-clogged radiator. So replaced the radiator(which had a piece of flower pot??? along with other rocks & such in it)(previous owner must have made somebody angry), and it was still over heating just not nearly as quickly. So we check the bottom hose again for heat and what do ya know it's not circulatin. So my car is currently in Ashland City(the Clarksville Side) and we are moving back to Alabama Friday. HAVE to get the water pump done by then and pray it works. I've read on how to do it, and looked up diagrams and everything else but is there some kind of easier way that doesn't involve taking the power stearing pump off or the cruise control module?

This is the link my husband found for me:
http://www.team-integra.net/forum/blogs/vitamin_d/288-timing-belt-water-pump-replacement-g3-teg.html

Also if anyone is up around that way and would be willing to help on their off time it would be greatly appreciated. (I do all the work on my teg because my husband THINKS he knows what he's doing but after a 15ft cheater bar, and a broken headbolt on a cb7 I beg to differ)

I was a Honda technician for over 10 years... You can take the ps pump off the head by removing the 2 12mm head bolts off there brackets move it down to get the belt off then move the ps pump off to the side also just loosen the alt belt by the rear 12mm head bolt on the rear and u can take the belt off... Take off the valve cover then make sure the timing marks are lined up before u loosen the tensioner bolt... Slide the belt off the cam gears and then take off the 5 10mm head bolts of the water pump... Install is reverse of removal... If I was closer I could do it in less than 2 hrs and have it running again... Hope all goes well...


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Wait, how did we jump from bad thermo to bad rad to bad water pump? The bottom rad hose is the intake hose. The top hose will be the hotter of the two. Im not convinced you have a bad water pump based soley on your 'bottom hose is cold assessment.' That more likely indicates a bad thermostat.

If you need to get the car driveable just pull the thermostat completely out of the housing to drive it home. Then change the tbelt/water pump at home if you still feel its the problem. Thats a million times easier than doing a water pump change in whereevertown. And buy an OEM Thermostat this time.

You can run your car without the thermostat if needed. Really not recommended but it won't hurt for a few days just to see whats going on. If your coolant isnt circulating it could be because of a blocked thermostat also. Best way to tell if your water pump is working properly is to take out the thermostat, stick your hand over where the thermostat goes and start up the car. You should feel suction. Usually a water pump goes bad when it starts to leak antifreeze out of it from the small holes. Good luck!

Muckman said:

Wait, how did we jump from bad thermo to bad rad to bad water pump? The bottom rad hose is the intake hose. The top hose will be the hotter of the two. Im not convinced you have a bad water pump based soley on your 'bottom hose is cold assessment.' That more likely indicates a bad thermostat.

If you need to get the car driveable just pull the thermostat completely out of the housing to drive it home. Then change the tbelt/water pump at home if you still feel its the problem. Thats a million times easier than doing a water pump change in whereevertown. And buy an OEM Thermostat this time.

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We currently live in Ashland City and we are moving back to b'ham. Well, the reason I figure it's the water pump is because it's at 183K. It has to be done anyways. Just decided to go ahead and get it over with. I am not going to risk driving it 200+ miles without a thermostat. I don't need anymore problems then I already have.

What risk? Your coolant system just runs unrestricted. Thats not going to hurt anything. At worst it wont warm up to full temperature. At best it will get you home without over heating. If you change the water pump and its not the issue then the car is still stuck where ever it is. Changing the tstat (or removing it) is much easier to do in the field vs a tbelt/water pump.

Changing the tbelt increases your risk because it sounds like you are unsure about how to do it. Which means if you get it wrong and the tbelt slips or timing is set wrong you could be bending valves and making a small problem into a very big one. Just my opinion...

I'm not unsure about doing it. I have confidence in myself, but I'm not cocky about it either, I'm more worried about not being able to have the right tools, I am fairly new to the car world, so I am doing the best I can.

The pebbles and pottery stuff in the rad make it sound like someone dumped stop-leak in it. Which could be a big part of your issues.

white4d96 said:

The pebbles and pottery stuff in the rad make it sound like someone dumped stop-leak in it. Which could be a big part of your issues.

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That's what we thought it may have been but wasn't 100%.

Did you bleed the air out your lines? Switch out fuses and fan switch? Hope you know you will need about 2 hrs to remove everything to install a new pump if you go that way ,timing belts suck balls

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BankiBoi said:

Did you bleed the air out your lines? Switch out fuses and fan switch? Hope you know you will need about 2 hrs to remove everything to install a new pump if you go that way ,timing belts suck balls

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Yeah, we did the more obvious & easiest things first. That's why this is the last thing we're trying

Just so you understand what a thermostat does, it closes and opens at certain temperatures. Its closed on a cold start becauese it doesnt need to circulate the liquid and when the liquid reaches a certain temperature it opens up allowing the liquid to flow and the rest of the system to do its thing, keeping the temperature from getting too high. So if you run it from a cold start with no thermo it just takes longer for the engine to warm up. Other than that it allows it to flow as if it were at operating temperature.

There are ways to check things before replacing them (some already mentioned) but if you want to replace it based on mileage and peace of mind then no one can really blame you. What i want to tell you though is that its important to know why it overheated even if you go about replacing something. Overheating can damage a number of components involved in the cooling system, especially along the way of having repeated overheat issues. You may replace one thing but didnt know something else was damaged. If youre ever low or losing fluid you need to be sure you find out where its coming from. If you think youre not flowing liquid, find out if you are or arent. Check over the system and fix the fans. If you replaced the thermo, did you use a oem one? There are also sensors and grounds that need to be checked or replaced because a bad one will throw off the system. And always, following repairs, keep an eye on temp and fluid levels, see if theres liquid on the ground where you park.

so since there's evidence and it seems likely that someone dumped some stop leak stuff in your radiator..

what's the history of your car?

it may be signs of a bad head gasket that the previous owner tried to cover up before selling it to you?

have you tried checking your spark plugs to see if they're wet?

is there white smoke or excess moisture coming out of the exhaust?

check your oil cap for any milkyness?

check your oil in the dip stick for any milkyness?

change your oil to check for milkyness?

just a few things you might want to consider..

simplels said:

so since there's evidence and it seems likely that someone dumped some stop leak stuff in your radiator..

what's the history of your car?

it may be signs of a bad head gasket that the previous owner tried to cover up before selling it to you?

have you tried checking your spark plugs to see if they're wet?

is there white smoke or excess moisture coming out of the exhaust?

check your oil cap for any milkyness?

check your oil in the dip stick for any milkyness?

change your oil to check for milkyness?

just a few things you might want to consider..

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I am getting a potential head gasket vibe from the description and issues faced thus far. I would recommend checking all of the items listed above.

Change the water pump. I bet all your problems will be cured (except that pottery issue). I had a water pump go bad and it still seemed fine when it was swapped out. No play, no sign of obvious wear, just didn't work. The new one corrected the issue after i had changed all hoses, radiator, thermostat etc.
Good luck to you! Don't overheat her and blow the head gasket!