Overheating...I'm stumped.
 

Hey guys,

I've been having this overheating problem for a long time. I would fix one thing, the problem would go away for a few weeks, then it would start overheating again. Here is what I have done so far:
-New rad
-New water pump
-Thermostat was changed last year
-New temp. sensor
-New upper rad hose
-New heater core hose
- I put new coolant 2 weeks ago

My most recent repair was the upper rad hose because the acura dealership told me it was swelling. Before I changed that, the cooling system was drinking heavily from the resevoir.
The engine only overheats when I am idling (ie. at a light). My oil is clean and there is no smoke coming out of my exaust.
I feel it may be either a blockage in the cooling system, a warped head or blown head gasket, or somehow air is getting into the system. After I park my car, I smell coolant. There are no visible leaks.

I'd really appreciate any help. This is driving my crazy.

Thanks

check to see if your waterpump is leaking around the seal, so pull the timing belt cover and take a peak.

Other than that you just gonna have to run your car and lay on your back under it and watch for the leak.

For me it took about 15 minutes then I saw a very small drip at idle.

ya it's gotta be leaking from one of the smaller hoses. i recently replaced one on my IM. it was that little 3 inch S bend one. gonna have find every hose that carries coolant thru the engine and check them.

yeahh wildoutwhitegsr is ryt check your waterpump 1st, if its working properly then its got to be your head gasket or your block. same thing happened 2me turned out its my head gasket hope this helps..later

is your rad fan turning on?

even if it wasn't, it still doesn't explain the fluid loss. i thought of it too

That's a good idea wildoutwhitegsr. Hopefully the hot coolant doesn't fall in my eye lol. I am suspicious of the hoses by the firewall. Thats where the coolant smell is coming from. I doubt its the water pump since it was changed a few months ago. All of my parts are Acura OEM.
When the dealership said my hose was swelling, they suggested it may be a blockage in the system. Could that be because of the air getting in?
I really hope its not the head or head gasket. I've had a lot of ppl tell me that. But the symptoms aren't there.
Should I do a leakdown test or any other test to see if it is the head gasket?

^if a new WP was installed i would look there first. if they diden't put proper sealant before re-installing it then it will leak, mine did when i put it back on. then i pulled it off, sealed it up and it's good to go.

also bleed the system to get rid of any air pockets.

does the actual engine overheat or is it the temperature guage,
ive sold many of guages due to their malfunction

true i ve bought parts from cdn tire brand new out the box and installed them and they dont work. was faulty product,just because its new doesn't mean it will work there is that 1 % chance what u bought is faulty.

pressurize the system and see where its leaking. you can borrow the pressure tester from canadian tire