thermostat????

hey guys, I was makin a long trip to western PA last night and i noticed that my temp. guage was reading C like the engine was cold, and i know it wasn't b/c i was getting heat, and also I was about 4 hours into the trip.

now here is the thing that trew me off, when i stopped for gas, and to check my fluid levels the temp came back up to the normal operating temp. the fluid levels seemed fine to me, but the engine was also hot.
when I started driving again the temp went down steadily, and remained there, except for a couple of times when it would creep up a little bit past the Cany help would be apprietiated in this one.

thanks guys:confused:

You must have been by me in Erie....anyways that won't answer your question. The air was probally cold outside and once you got moving the cold air alone cooled the motor down, and the thermostat didn't open up until you got slowed down and the air wasn't coming as fast nor as cold and when you sat to get gas the heat of the motor warmed it up a bit as it sat still. No big deal, most Honda's do it in cold weather.

well, here is the other thing, same thing happened again, and when i stopped this time i checked the radiator hoses, and the upper hose was hot, but the lower one was cool, took it to a shop and they wanted to charge me 130$ to flush the coolant system and change the thermostat.
which ain't happening b/c I can do it myself for un 80$

oh yeah, I am in Latrobe PA right now at St. Vincent College. next term I'll be closer to erie, b/c I"ll be in Fredonia NY

so do you think that changing the thermostat will help this problem???
and also isnt' there a chance of over heating since the thermostat won't isn't opening???:confused:

how hard is it to flush the cooling system on a honda????:confused:

I had the exact same problem and changing the thermostat fixed it.

What year is your car. Mine is a '94 EX, but the thermostat is almost under (and just to the left) of the throttle body.

Best way to do it is to drain the radiator (you will see the plug on the bottom, just unscrew it). Please drain into a pan and don't feed to any animals. I found it easiest to remove the intake hose. The thermostat is held on by two (I think 10mm) bolts. One is easy and on the top, the other is a b**ch and on the bottom. Thermostat should cost about $15 and is easy to find. (Be SURE to get a new gasket...They gave me the wrong one and I tried to make the original work again, so I got to do the whole thing twice). Might as well put new coolant (50/50 w/ h20) in. Before you put the intake stuff back on make sure it's not leaking.

i have a 92 accord EX

everyhting on the engine is original, so this should be fun, it was my mother's car before i got it. so this should be fun

thanks for the advice

A "Haynes" automotitve manual is the best $10 you can ever spend if you own a Honda.... You can get one aat about any parts store.... They are worth there weight in gold..... :)

Yep, if you don't have the Haynes manual you should get one. Not as good as factory manuals, but for $10 you can't beat it.

The one thing that's frustrating is that they often say something like "Remove thermostat housing" but don't tell you what you'll have to remove to *get* to said housing.

As far as flushing the radiator, just draining and refilling with clean antifreeze isn't really a flush, but it's a decent start. If the antifreeze looks really nasty (brown and not green at all) then you may consider a flush.