Honda Forum

[MW1962]

Any forum members with a Mark I 1999 Honda CR-V (2000cc) which overheats when doing more than, say, 60 mph?

I did leave the engine idle to see if the fans come on and they do OK.

Example: When I drive along, doing (say) about 65mph, the temperature gauge drifts up a little (but not excessive to assume serious overheating), then, I assume the fans must be kicking in and do the business to bring the temp down- which they do. This cycle keeps going on - if I stick to those speeds.

I have had the car for four years and it has been ultra-reliable - until now.

It started when I came home from Leicester about a month ago and did a bit above 70 mph for a stretch. When I got home I noticed a bit of water on the floor and opened the bonnet and found a fine pinhole of a burst in my top hose. This was repaired immediately.

I now have NO LEAKS but still the problem remains. The engine doesn't misfire and there is NO white 'smoke' out of the exhaust. Absolutely NO loss of water anywhere.

HELP!!

[rolandrat]

Hi, I have a 1998 CRV which had a mysterious water issue, when I first got it after a few weeks the head gasket blew. It turned out the previous owner had spent around £800 on an overheating problem, and for whatever reason bodged the car back together with a cracked head. Obviously, after a few weeks the gasket blew again when I had bought it.
Once this was repaired, it somehow transferred the water from the radiatior into the expansion chamber, nearly filling it over a few days.
This baffled my trusty mechanic, who had tested all the hoses and radiator, which seemed to be getting hot allover, and the thermostat seemed to be opening and closing.
The mechanic added some heavy duty radiator sealant, which just seemed to make it worse, until one day when I'd just arrived home the temp gauge jumped dramatically as soon as I stopped.
On checking the radiator it was very hot in some places, but not in others. I suspect when they'd checked the radiator before the conductivity of the metal had given the impression of an efficient radiator.
Anyway, I fitted a new radiator and this has elimated the overheating problem.
I only mention the whole story because people kept telling me that they had checked the radiator and it seemed fine.
I suspect that if your car has the original radiator it will be like mine, getting clogged in various places, and when you stress the car the radiator can't cope with it.
P.S also, the clogged radiator on my car was causing an extreme build-up of pressure, which caused one of my hoses to develop a bulge. I suspect that my naff rad either caused or contributed to the head going.

[MW1962]

Yes, I replaced my radiator in the end.

I found mine to be hot-ish in some areas but one side (half) in particular was cold - and I mean, COLD!

So rather than faffing about and wasting time and money on so-called flushing fads, I bought a brand new radiator from Car Cooling (Croydon) for £95 and it did the job.

So next time your temperature gauge starts rising when the engine is under most strain, stop your car and switch off the engine and immediately check/feel your radiator. I'm no mechanic but I sussed that if it's not even temperature and/or there are abvious temperature differences across the fins like mine, then it's time to get new radiator.

Fortunately, I never got to the stage where my CR-V over-heated. Maybe 2/3 temp at most and then only for less than half a minute.