it's an h23 in a 94 accord . i am trying to figure out what the problem is with my car . i was driving it the other day and i saw a little smoke coming out from the engine bay . the water temp gauge did not go all the way up when it happened, but i pulled over at my friends place, and i saw smoke, steam, and coolant spraying out from a tiny spot, like a size of a pin needle, on the radiator, i was wondering if i could fix this with some jb weld or do i need to buy a new radiator ?

i also tried to test to see if my thermostat was bad . i started up my car to warm it up . it warmed up in 5 mins, but i gave it another 10 mins because the radiator fan did not come on . the fan is supposed to come on after it warms up though right ? but then someone told me maybe it just takes a longer time for my car to warm up . also, when i turned on the a.c/heater, dont know which one turned it on, but the fan started working immediately, so i went to see if my lower radiator hose was hot, but it was still cold ? so what the hell is going on with my car ? can anyone provide some info .

 

if the lower hose is cold, the thermostat either hasnt opened yet or is stuck shut

if you have a leak from the radiator you should replace it, i wouldnt trust jb weld crap for more than a temp fix so you can get home....

 

No JB weld but a good radiator shop can prolly fix it right.

 

how long does it usually take for a thermostat to open ? is warming up the car not hot enough, so i need to drive the car around for a little bit and then test it ?

also, how much do radiator shops usually charge to fix a leak ?

 

Is sounds like you just need to fix the little hole in the radiator and get a new thermostat. No big deal...

 

yeah, that's what i was thinking . but i was just wondering if i can seal up the leak myself ? and if so, what should i use to seal it up ?

 

I put a couple holes through the readiator on my quad and had it fixed for $50 bucks. They used solder and then pressure tested it too.

 

I don't know about you guys but the cooling system of a car is NOT something I mess with. I had the same problem you did. I replaced the radiator (~$115 shipped to me), the radiator hoses, and theromstat all at the same time. The last thing I want is to have a problem while driving late at night by myself, or with somone else only to get stranded.

Tires, brakes, and cooling system are the main things I make sure are in good condition. Skimping on them likely leads to higher costs and a lot of inconvenience.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AndyD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I replaced the radiator (~$115 shipped to me), the radiator hoses, and theromstat all at the same time.</TD></TR></TABLE>

was that for a new radiator ?! if so, can you tell me where ? i was thinking about buying a cheap one off of ebay, but i dont know if it is worth it .

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=true


Modified by tonezilla at 11:17 AM 6/21/2006

 

Also check out http://www.radiators.com and http://www.radiatorbarn.com.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also check out http://www.radiators.com and http://www.radiatorbarn.com.</TD></TR></TABLE>

have you bought from these dealers before ? they have good prices but i dont know how the quality of the radiator is .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tonezilla &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

was that for a new radiator ?! if so, can you tell me where ? i was thinking about buying a cheap one off of ebay, but i dont know if it is worth it .

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...=true </TD></TR></TABLE>

I can't remember where i bought it from. I bought it online. It's new with a lifetime warranty.

The link you posted to the Ebay auction will NOT fit your Prelude if you have an H23 or H22 engine. That will ONLY work on a Prelude S. Trust me on this.

 

I think you got it from radiatorexpress.com, that was 115$, but you traded it for one with a lifetime warranty? it was only a couple years ago, sheesh, whaddya