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Hey, it's the middle of July, my money's on AC evaporator condensate, in other words totally normal.
You want the car to get hot but not overheated quickly. Best fuel efficiency is achieved at full operating temperature plus any fuel vapors that blow past the rings evaporate from the crankcase oil rather than remaining in solution in the oil diluting it. The temperatures you mention (which I assume are the surface temps of the two hoses) look perfectly normal to me.
I have never heard of a head gasket being a recommended periodic service.
Anyway, it sounds like you have absolutely zero evidence that there's anything wrong at all except that you found a small puddle of liquid under your 18 year old car; and you don't know what the liquid is. Why don't you get a white paper towel and sop up the puddle and look at it and smell it (I myself would not taste) and then you will be better able to find out what it is? Antifreeze is (usually) green and has a distinctive smell; ATF is red, engine oil is amber to dark brown, gear oil is thick amber and smells sulfury, brake fluid is clear to tan and has a distinctive smell. Water looks like, well, water.
Even if it turns out not to be AC condensate (as I said, that's my bet) it could be something like you need to take a couple more turns on a heater hose or radiator hose clamp with your screwdriver.
I have been driving this car for about 7 years. I have not had the water pump or thermostat replaced. I have noticed that one of the fans has been running frequently, like after a 20 minute drive to work early in the morning. The coolant reservoir was near empty. I filled it before driving to work. I checked when I came back home. Reservoir coolant level remains the same. Temperature of reservoir coolant was cool. Is this normal? Isn't supposed to hot or warm after you drive the car for a while?
Car A/C does not cool, so I never use the A/C.
How do I check to see if the coolant is boiling?
I did not notice the car getting this hot this quickly last summer. After driving for as little as 15 minutes, opening the hood is like walking into a furnace.
I have been driving this car for about 7 years. I have not had the water pump or thermostat replaced. I have noticed that one of the fans has been running frequently, like after a 20 minute drive to work early in the morning. The coolant reservoir was near empty. I filled it before driving to work. I checked when I came back home. Reservoir coolant level remains the same. Temperature of reservoir coolant was cool. Is this normal? Isn't supposed to hot or warm after you drive the car for a while?
Car A/C does not cool, so I never use the A/C.
How do I check to see if the coolant is boiling?
I did not notice the car getting this hot this quickly last summer. After driving for as little as 15 minutes, opening the hood is like walking into a furnace.
Water pump going bad?
Thermostat stays closed?
The reservoir is an overflow tank. If there's too much coolant after expansion, it flows into that tank. In THEORY, if there's not enough, it draws from it.. But often, it's gravity fed and I often find that the tube that should go to the radiator is clogged after a few years. So, the fact it is cool tells nothing, IMO.
If your thermostat was sticking closed, you'd be overheating.
Your temps are right. At least, according to the gauge. So, the only problem I see here is that you have a small puddle. That could be coming from a hose, a fitting, a connection, the head gasket, the water pump, the radiatior itself and yes, the thermostat can often leak, at least the gasket around it.. The only one of those you can really check without pressure testing the system is the water pump.. And then you have to get under the vehicle (most likely) to check the weep hole. Where the water winds up often is not a great clue, because the system IS under pressure, any leaks usually spray and the drips happen far away from the actual leak.
If you want to worry about the water leaking.. Fine.. I don't disagree with you on that. Probably a good thing to be concerned about. Because if it is a pin hole in a hose it will become a blown hose at the most inopportune time. But.. I think you're focused on overheating when none exists.
You need to remove the radiator cap and make sure it’s full (when engine is COLD). You can’t always go by what you see in that plastic overflow tank, it can be misleading if there is air in the system.
The car is older so it’s probably time to replace the hoses, and it’s very likely the water pumping is slowly leaking. It may be leaking more than what you see on the ground, if some of it is evaporating on the hot engine.
I'm calling my shot, It's the Radiator!
Older Honda's used cheap Plastic Radiators and they develop hairline cracks that you can't see till the engine gets to Operating temperature.
The Crack Radiator usually leaves sitting antifreeze all over the manifold.
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