Questions and Answers

Honda Del Sol Engine Running Too Cool Q. The head gasket was just replaced after the radiator had leaked and lost all Prestone, and white smoke came out exhaust. The radiator was replaced and flushed through the motor. Now my temperature gauge takes long to rise and stays at a quarter of scale instead of being at half, as it used to be before head gasket was replaced. There is lots of heat in the car when needed. 1993 Honda Del Sol Si 212,000 kilometers 1.6 liter SOHC (VTEC) Manual transmission Thanks, Claude Quibec, Canada

A. The first thing I would suggest is replacing the thermostat. It's not uncommon for them to go bad after a head gasket replacement. In fact I always include it with the job.

If that doesn't help, and assuming all is well with the new radiator and the cooling fan is operating as it should, then there is no problem. A test of the cooling system temperature will show if the gauge is reading accurately.