'91 Accord engine overheat after timing belt change

About a month ago, I took my car to a local Honda dealer for a timing belt
change which includes water pump change as well. They also found some oil
leak and replaced my oil pump. The whole job cost me one grand.

Today as I was driving, I noticed the engine temperature getting up to high.
Fortunately, I was just entering my parking lot. After parking the car, I
noticed tthe hood emitting steam. I opened the hood and coolant was all
over the gasket area.

This is a car that has been pretty reliable all the time. I've never had
any major problem with it. I was wondering if this might somehow be related
to the recent water pump change. Did the mechanic at the dealer do
something wrong?

Thanks in advance for any comment.

Regards,
Dave

 

Yes.

 

The dealer may have done something wrong. Sounds very fishy. But it's possible
something else is wrong. E.g. a radiator leak. (But did they screw up and cause
this? Press them if they deny culpability.) But you do have an old car. It may
not have been the dealer's fault.

Make sure the dealer shows you exactly the problem. If it doesn't make sense,
post back here.

The good news is dealers are probably better about guaranteeing their work than
independent shops. Honda (not the dealer) was calling customers after service
not too long ago, and may still be. The dealers want to make you happy, because
if they don't, the head honchos come down on them big time. It's cutthroat.

Which gasket do you mean below?

 

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I'll report back after I take
it to the dealer. I hope they'll pay for the towing if it turns out to be
their fault because they're 10 miles away from where I live, and I don't
think I can drive this car for another 10 miles.

When I mentioned coolant was all over the gasket area, I meant the gasket
cover that has the Honda logo on it and has the four spark plugs. There's a
lot of coolant especially around the left most spark plug area when I opened
the hood.

For the $1,000 they charged me last time, they didn't do a perfect job to
begin with. I had to take the car back almost right away to adjust the
accessary belts because there was a loud squeaky noise on starting up the
car. They fixed that and now this happened.

Thanks all,
Dave

 

Did you get new radiator hoses when they did the belts? It sounds like you
might've blown the top hose.

 

I didn't get new hoses with the timing belt job. Looks like that may be it.
The car is still in the repair shop at the dealer's. They're going to do a
pressure test tomorrow to find out where it's leaking coolant.

Thanks,
Dave

 

You were right. There was a leak in the upper radiator hose. The pressure
test also showed that the upper radiator tank was leaking. Spent $770 to
replace both the hose and the radiator. I guess it's about time to sell
this car and get a new car to cut down on repair costs.

Regards,
Dave

 

It always surprises me that people reach the conclusion that they would be
better off selling a car that they've just invested money into making it
more reliable rather than keep it and derive the benefits of their
investment.

You need to carefully weigh all the costs of a new car against those of
keeping an older car. For example, be sure to take into account the higher
license fees and insurance costs in addition to the price of the car
(including any financing costs if applicable).

http://www.high-road.com/fga/BuySell/BuySell1.htm

Eric