Honda Repair: 1993 honda accord lx overheating issue, blown head gasket, head gasket problem

Question
I have a 1993 honda accord lx 2.2 ltr engine 4 cylinder.  As of late february 2007, i have had some issues in relation to the engine overheating.  On February 22nd my car broke down and i towed the vehicle to a local pep boys in the city of ontario,california.  I told them that the car started to get hot and started to overheat and immediately pulled over on the freeway and stopped the car.  they diagnosed the problem as being that the radiator needed to be replaced.  they replaced the radiator,thermostat,water gasket,upper and lower hoses and flushed and filled the radiator.  this cost me over $530.00 dollars that day.  on february 23rd, the car again started to overheat and again i had the vehicle towed back to their shop and I was told that the water pump had failed at that time.  I spent almost $400.00 dollars that day along with a towing bill at a cost of $87.00.  Ever since those repairs have been done, I have noticed that the temperature gauge has started to go up as I am sitting at idle or waiting at a stop sign or signal light.  once i step on the gas, it returns to normal.  I was told at the time when I was having the water pump replaced,that they could do the timing and v-belts.  i declined since i was not financially able to do all of those things on that day.   My question is this: Do i need to have the timing belt replaced as soon as possible along with the v-belts? whenever i return home from work or wherever, as soon as i turn off the engine, the fan turns on and cools off the engine and radiator.  i do not see any visible leaks of coolant, and i have looked at my radiator when the engine is cold and have a full tank of radiator fluid inside the tank and also visually inspecting the coolant recovery tank and this is also full of radiator fluid.  i do not think that i have a full blown head gasket problem as of yet, since the tailpipe is not showing any kind of black or white smoke and have not noticed a loss of power on the part of the engine. any kind of answers are greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Patricia,

I understand that the fans are working when you shut the vehicle off but at that point they are being controlled by the fan timer unit. I would like to know if they are coming on during vehicle operation. It could be a head gasket but they should have tested for that. A tester exists that will detect exhaust gas in the cooling system. Some head gasket problems won't result in smoke or lack of power but will force combustion chamber pressure in to the cooling system causing an air bubble around the thermostat. This results in the thermostat not opening and overheating. Again there is testing equipment out there for this condition. Most reputable repair shops have this diagnostic equipment. If this test good than I think you have a fan problem. Especially is the gauge only creeps up when you come to a stop (reducing air flow across the radiator). As for the timing belt you should have done it with the water pump since it had to be removed anyway to do the pump. No additional labor should've been charged just the price of the belt. Honda recommend every 6 years or 90,000 miles on your vehicle. It is a preventative maintenance item and it is hard to tell whether or not the integrity of the belt has ben compromised. That is why they put those recommendations on replacing the belt. I will say and this is not to scare you but for your information that if that timing belt breaks there is a good possibility that the pistons will hit the valves and bend them. This will result in the head having to be removed and a few thousand dollars of parts and labor. Hope this helps and if you have any more questions please feel free to contact me.

Nolan