Honda Car Forum

About a month ago my temperature gauge kept goin to the top so i replaced the oil pump,water pump, and radiator not just for that but for a major tune-up it needed. anti freeze would leak everywhere during that time. However after all that new stuff the temperature gauge still goes up, not leaks or smoke though but its still a serious problem. Could it just be the thermostat or a sensor? The shop keeps guesstimating the problem and im PAYING for it

thermostat

To accurately find your coolant temp go to any store where kitchen utensils are sold or go on line to find a cooking thermometer. Find one with a probe long enough to fall well into your radiator cap hole into an end tank. You can find great temp. gages @ Fisher Scientific or VWR. They both sell lab. wear. The best gage reads 250 degrees and under. With the radiator cap off and thermometer in the radiator turn car on and watch coolant temp. on the thermometer. This reading will be dead accurate. From there as you have noted the heat sensor may be bad or the dash gage is malfunctioning.

I'm betting it's your thermostat. How could you do all that work and not replace it? It's usually going to be the most likely, and consequently, the cheapest fix.

MY GUESS IS THEMOSTAT IF IT IS CORRODED IT WILL NOT OPEN AND SHUT PROPERLY CAUSING OVERHEATING.

Very simple my friend, its your thermostat. I had the exact same problem with my Honda but coolant wasnt leaking. I believe the total bill for fixing my car was $30.00. I can't believe your mechanic hasnt figured this out yet. As someone very knowledgeable about Honda's/Acura's, if you have had your car the their shop more than 3 times for this thermostat problem, they should fix it for free, especially if they keep charging you to looking at your car and their not fixing anything, that's ridiculous!!!! As a matter of fact, I don't reccommend you ever taking your car back to that shop if they dont fix your thermostat for free, good luck..

Yep...its your thermostat. A five dollar part failure will cause your car to overheat. I would replace this every time you get your coolant changed.

Sounds like thermostat might be sticking.

Oh it's definitely the thermostat. I had the exact same problem with my '94 Legend. Once we got the correct thermostat for that car, it didn't give me any problems after that.But be careful about the electrical work in your Legend. The work can sometimes get faulty. I had to learn the hard way. Keep a regular check on things as simple as the trunk light (does it always go off), the radio, the radar (if you have one), and the lamp light in the glove compartment.Hope this helped you some.Try Pep Boys or CarQuest for the right thermostat. Some places will just give you one, and it may make the gauge worse!

thermostat