hey... i know i'm gonna get reamed for this, but a girl friend of mine is leaving town tomorrow and her car is over heating. the only thing i can think it could be is the therm. so my question is, does anyone have any experience working on these cars... or point me in the right direction....w/o buying a manual? i've changed thermostats in my supra and jeep, but i have never messed with a honda. its a 1995 1.6l. oh, and i've looked @ some honda sites... no luck. man do those web sites suck... thank god for the ORG.

 

I'm not keen on where it might be but I'd follow the radiator hose to the block. The thermostat should be inside of a dome looking part which is connected to the hose to the radiator.

 

Just checked my Haynes for you. You follow the bottom radiator hose to the engine. Radiator needs to be drained. Remove hose and clamp from thermostat housing. Unplug thermostat ETC. It shows 2 bolts you need to remove so you can remove the housing, remove housing, remove and replace thermostat making sure the jiggly looking thing is up (manual strongly mentioned this!). Replace housing, hose and clamp, electrical connector and antifreeze. Check for leaks. If you run into any problems you can reach me at 704 321-9391, I have a 98 Honda Civic here at the house so I might be able to provide some assistance by looking at my Civic and the Hayned Manual. However it looks pretty straigh forward.
Be well!!!!

 

thanks guys...

 

I've done this job on my toyota without draining the radiator. Just refill with more fluid.

 

Bingo. One other note to add: when you refill the radiator, be sure you get all the air out. let the engine warm up @ idle w/the cap off and wait for the thermostat to open. You'll see the water start moving. Otherwise you _might_ send her off without enough water. ( of course if you leave the cap on, don't open the radiator if it's hot.)

Also while you have the thermostat out you can check it by putting it in a pot of water and seeing at what temp it opens. Just to verify that that is the problem. I think it should be around 180 but my memory is starting to fade.

ps--most of those sites do suck. But there are some smart people out there, you just have to wade through a mountain of crap. I used to hang around there in my acura days and only found one quality bbs. It's gone now.