yea on my way home from school i pulled in to my drive way when i got out of the car i noticed steam coming out from the hood and it wasent running hott so i poped the hood open found coolant all over and a crack in the top of my radiator, now 2marow im goign down to autozone to go pick up a new one they said it cost $103 and sum change so i plan to work on it when i get home from school 2marow, is it easy to swap out??? if any one has done it before can give me sum info?
its a 97 Accord LX

 

You sure it was the radiator? Not the cap failing???

Anyways 103 for a radiator is not bad price.

Some basic how to...
-Drain coolant as much as possible. I always like to rinse it out with water, so i don't accidently taste coolant... LOL!
-Remove top and bottom radiator hose. Inspect them for wear. Any cracks or bulges. (My top one was leaking) Buy some radiator hoses first. Just in case.
-Remove the fans. I would do it first if you can.
-Remove transmission lines going into the radiator. A/T only. If your car is auto, cap the lines. Some radiator includes these lines.
-Remove anything else in the way...
-Remove the top radiator support.
-Pull the whole sucker out.
-I like to inspect everything when it's out.
-I also like to flush out the new radiator with water. You don't know what's inside. Could be some loose metal chips and could ruin or clog your passageways.
-Do everything reverse.
-Put new coolant. 50/50 mix
-Then bleed it.

TA-DA! A short how to. I have no pix....

 

kool thanks man, yea im sure its a cracked i can see it and i saw were it was coming out of its rite on the top, crack is prolly like an inch more or less and i when out side to check it again and i found 2 more,what relly gona suck is that i live in chicago and 2marow its guan snow and my grage has a whole bunch of construction stuff cause of my step dad so ill proly will just pull the front in so i dont have to work on a brick drive way

 

Very common on these plastic capped radiators. THey usually last between 90k and 160k miles. I replaced the one on my Odyssey with a double core, all brass version. More cooling and will never crack again. Easy repair but takes a couple hours.

 

Only 108K miles on my '94, but the radiator started leaking (slowly) about 2 months ago, right at the plastic/metal top seam. From waht I've heard, this is THE place for leaks. Last week it started leaking faster-
Anyway, since I plan to do a LOT of engine work this winter, I bought a new Fluidyne radiator. A GOOD chunk of change, but I plan to be running a street-cam and a header, so the extra cooling will be needed in summer from extra heat off the header. I also figure I will own this car for at least 20+ more years after I build it, so I might as well spring for the all-metal radiator, keep it VERY clean, and probably never have to replace it again. If I never replace it again it will have paid for itself-
It is still in transit, once it gets here I will post RE the quality of the metal/welds, etc. For what it cost it better be one hell of a radiator! Wrenchy