crxforum

Well last week I replaced my rad cap because it was not holding any pressure. So that was fine. Then today on my daily job hunt I stopped to get gas. As Im pulling out steam is coming out from under my hood. I look at my temp guage and it is almost verticle. So I stop and pop the hood. There is coolant EVERYWHERE.

Somehow it is getting into the fan and the fan is shooting it all over my engine bay. I managed to get to the local Canadian Tire to get some pre-mixed coolant and used 1 1/3L of it just to top off my rad. That is how much fluid I was loosing.

The cars temp went back to normal and I heading over to my old job at the autobody shop to get my hands on some tools because it was closer than going home.

So I removed the hose that is highlighted in yellow in the pic below and it seems totally fine. I suspect that it is the hose that is highlighted in light blue but I cant see anything leaking from it. The bright green stuff is where the rad fluid has been discovered. Its all over the place because the fan hits it and launches it all over my engine.



Please if you can think of anything help me. I need this car as it is my only means of transport.

CRX Forum

ElementMotor

start the car and look for leaks, thats about all you can really do....could be coming from a lot of places. Maybe the lower radiator hose has a pin hole in it somewhere......

Bandit74

First thing that came to mind when I saw that picture. lol.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EF8 ownz U &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">start the car and look for leaks, thats about all you can really do....could be coming from a lot of places.</TD></TR></TABLE>I agree with this.

Agent Daimon

i dont know why but crxforums threads crack me up

crxforum

When I start the car I still cant see anything. This is becuase the fan is spreading it around all over the place. So it looks like it is coming from everywhere.

Anyone know how to remove the light blue hose? I know how to do it but since it is attached to the bottom of the rad I assume if I remove it the fluid will start to come out all over the place.

I have never had to drain my rad before. Can anyone tell me how. LOL sometimes I feel to engine illerate.

CRX Forum

amh0001

its might be the water pump.

I had this exact same problem on my BMW. not sure how much the structure is different from the two. But this is what happened to me, it would drip and hit the fan like you said. I ended up having to replace the water pump. it should be ezier on the honda then it was on my bmw. but anyways other then that, you can buy a little mirror on a stick, and try to see where it is leaking that way, (make sure you get a big one) good luck

~AMH

biggdogg

mmmmmmmm, dual point . bet that thing screamz

superbeastcrx

Get a radiator pressure testor. the radiator tetor puts pressure into all of your coolent passages, which will make coolant come out from the place that is leaking.
i hope it works1

Bandit74

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxforum &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When I start the car I still cant see anything. This is becuase the fan is spreading it around all over the place. So it looks like it is coming from everywhere.

Anyone know how to remove the light blue hose? I know how to do it but since it is attached to the bottom of the rad I assume if I remove it the fluid will start to come out all over the place.

I have never had to drain my rad before. Can anyone tell me how. LOL sometimes I feel to engine illerate.

CRX Forum</TD></TR></TABLE>
The best bang for the buck:
http://www.helminc.com/helm/ho...69306

Filthy Focker!

CRX, disconnect your fan motor and let the car idle.

fs

crx_88_si

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by filthy_shovel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">CRX, disconnect your fan motor and let the car idle.

fs</TD></TR></TABLE>



bingo. take a close look at the rad too. it seems to centralize around the water neck.

crxforum

Ok I removed the whole fan to get a better look at what was going on. I couldnt see anything. So I removed the 2 highlighted hoses in the pics but still cant seem to find the leak.

I drained the rad and then blew air into it to see if I could feel a leak anywhere but I cant. What the hell is going on here?

Should I just say screw it and head over to Honda or a parts place and get new hoses and replace them and see what happens?

When I removed the fan I looked down at my rad and near the bottom of the rad all the copper folds have become green and pretty much disintegrate when you barely touch them. Could this be the problem? I dont think it is but just checking.

Currently my car is all in parts all over the place. LOL. I removed the fan, front bumpber, hoses, underbody plastic protection panels, and AC lines.

CRX Forum

RCautoworks

Put everything back together, start the car and let it run until it gets hot. The leak might only occur when the system is under pressure. See the spot to the left of the rad hose, the bolt that holds the intake snorkel on, make sure its not cracked right there.

88DXCRX

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by superbeastcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get a radiator pressure tester. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Agreed.. Have it pressure tested..
Any good mechanic or radiator shop should be able to do this..

spaceman

dood take your radiator to a radiator repair shop and they will pressure test it and maybe can fix it if its leaking for like 30 bucks....remove the upper and lower hoses and check them for leaks...other than that..whats with the coolant,it looks like slime you need to have atleast a 50 percent water/coolant mixture...good luck

RCautoworks

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spaceman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dood take your radiator to a radiator repair shop and they will pressure test it and maybe can fix it if its leaking for like 30 bucks....remove the upper and lower hoses and check them for leaks...other than that..whats with the coolant,it looks like slime you need to have atleast a 50 percent water/coolant mixture...good luck</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol, I'm pretty sure he did that with photoshop.

sm00thk0zz

Dood, unplug ur fan and look for leaks.

HatchBox

Dye is probally one of your best bets.


how to:
http://www.diynet.com/diy/en_m....html


Where to order
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/rodi/trcodyeforfl.html

Or im sure any local automotive store should carry this product

crxforum

Well today I went absolutely ape **** on attacking this problem. It looks like the core is rotted out. Not 100% sure but here are some pics. Tell me what you think. LOL if you can even tell what the hell is going on.






Here is a pic of the rad after I removed it. If you look at the bottom of the rad you can see that all the copper folds have turned green. They are very brittle and break off at the slightest touch. That is core rot right?






I hope these pics help a bit. I doubt that they will but maybe you can see what I am dealing with and can help me out.

Thanks
CRX Forum

HatchBox

i still ya dye test it. But do whatcha gotta do...

Bandit74

This actually came to mind when I saw your radiator: I had a '76 Toyota truck that had a leak in the folds and radiator fluid got EVERYWHERE.

RCautoworks

Well there are the fines and the tubing inside the radiator, if the tubing as a pin hole leak, when the system becomes pressurized the leak is gonna come out at what ever psi your system can hold, and if its in the tubing its gonna hit the fines and go every where.

crxforum

Well today I went into troubleshooting mode and rechecked everything. With the rad removed I filled it with water, plugged all the openings, like the cap, drain plug, hose entrances, and over flow hole and with the air compressor I pressurized it. Couldnt find the leak. So I dunked it underwater and tried it again and still nothing. So I reattached it to the engine, without the fans, and filled it up with coolant and turned my car on.

BINGO. I finally found where it was coming from. Where the upper rad hose attaches it seems to be centralized there, but not from the hose or the opening it self. It seems that at the top of the rad there is a long crack that it is leaking from. Look at this picture and you can see that the highlighted green boxes is where the fluid is and the highlighted blue boxes is where it is dripping down.


Now you can see how it was hitting the fan and getting launched all over my engine bay.

So I called up a few parts places and rad repair places and they all told me that a new rad would be the best bet since I already suffer from core rot repairing the leak up top will only mean I have another month or 2 before the bottom starts to rot so bad that it leaks from there.

So I ordered a rad from the local Parts Source for $203.50 More debt on my credit card that I have no way of paying for. For some unknown reason Honda wanted $625.66 for their rad. LOL and it didnt even have the lifetime warentee that the other places had on their rads. I wonder how Honda's parts department even makes money.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys I really appriciate it alot.

CRX Forum

4DRmafia

i knew it i had a feeling somewhere on the folds near the hoes connect to but i guess u found ur plm then

jew4u2nv

u paid 200 for a rad? seems like a lot, got mine for $120 shipped off ebay. but yeah going to honda you know your going to get rapped. i ended up paying 100 bucks for my f*in valve seals grrr!