my guess is a blown head gasket. I would do a compression test. pretty simple to test. go out and get a compression test kit, they are not too expensive.

 

If the resovoir has coolant but the radiator doesn't, then maybe its a bad radiator cap cause its job is to keep the correct coolant pressure. The only test for pressure that i know is to sqeeze the hoses when the car is running (maybe you wanna do it when the resovoir is filled) and sqeeze the hoses, they should be firm like a tennis ball. I think you only do the upper radiator hose cause it has the pressure, but im not completely sure. And if its a cross flow i dunno which one will be hard. But i think one is firm and one isn't.

 

sounds to me like you have a blown head gasket... In fact I'm about 99.9% sure...

Here's how to check, and don't worry it should only take you about 30 seconds to do. First, with the engine cool, take off the radiator cap. Second, start the car up and then make sure that the radiator is filled all the way. With the engine still running, wait for a bit to let the coolant recirculate if you have just filled it up. Wait for about 30 seconds. After this, look into the radiator. Do you see little bubbles coming up through the coolant? If you do then it is a blown head gasket.

I just replaced mine, my car has nearly 219,000 miles on it and it's still running strong... Some tips for taking the head off (if this is the case)

1. when taking it off, disconnect the manifold from the head before taking it out, so you don't take out the manifold along with the head. Believe me it might be a little difficult since there is one nut underneath the car that you will have to have some long extensions for, but it will save you a lot of time in the end!

2. get the head pressure checked by a professional. I got mine cleaned, pressure checked, and resurfaced.

3. the best method for cleaning off the contact area on the block is with a razor and some kind of degreaser and a green pad (coarse kitchen sponge) just hold the razor so you don't score the surface. Get the rest off of there with the green pad.

This is just in case it actually is the head gasket, and if you want to do it yourself but I thought that I would just post it anyway.

 

It's sounding like the head gasket to me too. Justme, why don't you go check your coolant level now that the car has overheated?

A pressure test out here is ~$20, but mine was free because I left the car for repair. It takes less than a minute (and about five minutes for the mechanics to stop laughing if you have a head gasket as blown as mine was!). You can replace the hoses if you like, we did that in April and parts were $30--not OEM of course.

94VTECoupe, I really wish that I had known your trick September last year! It would have saved me nine months of trying every little thing to fix my car!

 

lol yeah, I probably would have done the same thing because I didn't really know what was going on until I had my uncle show me this being a mechanic so I found that most helpful in diagnostics. There's usually a simple way to test things, it's just figuring it out that can prove to be difficult!

 

I have had similar problems in the past as well. Are you sure you got all the air out of the system? It is possible for the system to become vapour locked if there is trapped air in the system. There should be a plug to bleed air out somewhere... (Did you solve your problem yet?)

 

i would say you got a bad coolant temp sensor....and that would be your ck engine lite.

 

I’m having the exact same problem with my 1994 Honda Civic ex coupe. I replaced the thermostat, flushed coolant and am about to get a new coolant temp sensor. I live in Orlando and when I drive in the afternoons it overheats, but in the morning it’s no problem. Only after driving on the freeway for about 20 miles and then stopping at red lights in city traffic. No bubbles in the radiator with the cap off and engine running for a minute or two I am going to get a new radiator fan from eBay. Chinas Finest aluminum.