I own an 00 GPW. Just yesterday the overflow tank starting spraying out coolant mix and got all over under the hood. I opened the radiator cap and checked the level, it looks to be filled all the way to the top. The temp gauge is still at 3 bars. What could be the issue here? I havnt done many changes to the car and it just started spraying. I took it out today to class and it was about a 10 min drive home and popped the hood to see it still spraying,

Could it be that I need a new thermostat? I need advice/info on why the engine overheats. I was about to drop $60 for someone to replace the thermo but they suggested it could be something else and wanted to charge me $50 for a diagnostics.

 

How many miles on the car? One possibility could be the head gasket.

 

about 68k

 

I let the car idle for a few minutes to warm and I start to see smoke come from under the radaitor cap, would this be the thermo? the fan isnt turning on either, not sure when the fan would turn on.

If it was the fan, would it be the fuse? And where can I find the fan fuse? in the fuse box next to the battery?

 

It wouldnt be the fan. You could change the thermostat fairly cheap and easily. If it were mine I would do that first. Might take 30 mins. GO from there. If your still have problems then check the water pump. Is it weeping coolant?? If it is, then its bad. If you determine that neither are bad then I would check the compression n all 4 cyl. Make sure your not getting blow by in a coolant passage.

Like FISH22 said it could be the headgasket...

 

If you see steam coming from the radiator cap, that would mean it is not sealing. If it does not seal, it will not allow the sytem to pressurize. If the system cannot pressurize, wouldn't this allow the coolant to boil at a much lower pressure?

 

okay, I will change the thermostat first. Anyone have a DIY with pictures? I hear honda does it by the helms and the way helms does it is to approach from the top and has to remove the intake manifold and such which is estimated around 2 days(which i dont have). But some people tell me I can approach it from the bottom?

And if its the radiator cap, would that mean I need a new one? how long do the caps last? I havent done anything to the car except drop in filter and snorkel.

 

If the radiator cap is leaking then DO NOT replace the t stat. You can get a new one from this site or local auto parts location.

The radiator cap should NOT be leaking steam or anything else at any temperature. It sounds like your cap may be bad. He is correct.

Would it mean you need a new one? If its not sealing YES

How long do they last? They usually dont go bad, this is weird that it isnt sealing.

 

Okay I will try this first thing tomorrow morning and report back.

 

Okay before I did the radiator cap thing I decided to check it once more to see if steam was really leaking from there. I refilled my overflow tank to max, ran the car til it warmed up. And I was waiting for steam to arise from somewhere I noticed there was fluids leaking from right next to the cap.

Would it be time for a new radiator? How much would it run me at honda in so cal? Should i just get some small honda specialist shop to fix it?