Phantom overheat

[bngl3rt]

So I drove home today and then used my fancy new IR thermometer to check the radiator hoses... Only read about a 5 celsius difference between them - one was 65C and the other right around 60.

I parked the car in the reverse direction from usual so we'll see if it leaks from the tunnel again tonight.

 

[PATCHEZ]

Ah, I wish I could find a single mechanic that I could feel good about giving repeat business. Everyone who has fixed one problem with the car seems to have caused another (otherwise the timing of all this is very suspicious). Wish there was somebody that was thorough and not rushed.

I will put the car up this weekend and take a look inside the tunnel to see what's up. It's not coming from the footwell but rather I see a long thin line of coolant that leaked right along the passenger side of the tunnel all the way along it.

Ben is there something that we did to cause any problems? I know we just looked at your electrical and Don at Hill Top did all your maintenance. If you are still have issues with the cooling system I think you should let Don know. Im sure he would take care of it since he did all the coolant hoses and H/G work. I would take the car back instead of you trying to fix it. You paid good money to repair that vehicle.

 

[bngl3rt]

Ben is there something that we did to cause any problems?

No, not at all. Dealing with you guys was a breath of fresh air... but like I said you are ~50 miles away from my home in the city so when the car's drivability is in question I have to err on the side of taking it to the nearest shop.

One possibility is that the cooling system was always deficient, but that this weakness was not exposed until the aforementioned electrical work returned my car to its full factory power output (including the re-enabling of VTEC) - it certainly felt faster at the top end of the RPM range after I got it back from you.

 

[PATCHEZ]

I'm at Acura of Fremont for the time being. Let me know if we can help. And of course you can take a loaner car if you need.

 

[bngl3rt]

I'm at Acura of Fremont for the time being. Let me know if we can help. And of course you can take a loaner car if you need.

Is there a different email address I should use or still the Sunnyvale one?

 

[PATCHEZ]

No the Sunnyvale one is mine. It's linked to my login at work

 

[bngl3rt]

Pulled the tunnel cover off today... And sure enough, the clamp on one of the hoses was not all the way on the thick part of the hose, with dried coolant all around. Moved it back to where it's supposed to be.

Before:

After:

Bled the system on a downsloping driveway and refilled coolant, so whatever air got in by the clamp being out of place is hopefully gone now... I hope this fixed the problem.

As far as the A/C not working, all the connections look fine so I can only assume they accidentally vented the freon while the engine was out. I'll have to get it recharged.

 

[bngl3rt]

The good news is I am not losing coolant anymore.

The bad news is, the tunnel is still heating up under hard driving.

Very strange. Need to buy some more coolant and bleed the system again.

 

[Ultraman]

Glad to know your making progress on fixing the issues.

 

[Valhalla]

I hope you are making progress. Glad you found the source of the leak. While you were in there did you see any of your collant lines/hoses making any physical contact with the tunnel or were they loose enough that they could have? If not, the removal of the carpet pad might be it. You may have to insulate the inside of the tunnel (where your coolant lines are)with some heat shield wrap or the inside of the cabin tunnel with some padding. Good luck.

 

[bngl3rt]

While you were in there did you see any of your collant lines/hoses making any physical contact with the tunnel or were they loose enough that they could have?

Yes, I compared it to a friend's car, everything looked fine.

I intend to go back to OEM black carpet anyway with the insulated backing anyway... the tunnel is still heating up but it is now much more dependent on driving style and outside air temp/whether the car has been sitting in the heat all day or not.

I bought some more coolant and I'm going to bleed the system again to take care of any more air bubbles.