Hi! Hope someone can help??? I have a 1990 Honda Accord EX, automatic trans. Last week my car overheated & the S Sport button indicator came on flashing, which in the manual indicates a prob. with the transmission. I immediately pulled over & pulled in a space, waited about 15 min & checked all the fluids & the temp had dropped back down to normal & I noticed an orange colored spray on the back of the inside hood. Was going to drive it 3 blocks to the shop, but when I pulled out of the space it cut off. After that it would only turn over, but not catch. Took it to the shop & they 1st replaced a heat sensor that had blown, but still wouldn't crank. I left & they called later saying I had a pinhole in a very long pipe that runs from the radiator (coolant tube on bill) & that I needed a new distributor. $600 & 1 week later, the engine started to overheat & the radiator had lost 1/2 of the fluid. At the very front of the radiator, there is a strip of what looks like a black spongy weatherstripping that has come halfway off & that is where it is leaking & is also creating steam. Am taking it back to the shop,but would like some insight, before I bend over for them again! thanks in advance

 

make them figure out the problem and fix it before you pay them anything....

bring it to me ill change everything its not and charge you too. dispute the charges with your credit card and say they didnt fix the problem you asked them to fix and go somewhere else

 

"Orange colored spray" is that like coolant so old it has turned to rust water?
The Coolant tube goes along the back of the block from the T-stat housing to the water pump; if your coolant is rusty water I wouldn't doubt a hole rusted thru it.
It's a pain in the butt to change that tube as well.
I would have charged more than $600 !! LOL
So it isn't uncommon at all for the top tank of the radiator to leak, and since it has been overheated I'd say it's mostly circumstances.

Radiator replacement; Parts and Labor will probably cost in the range of $225.

You can jumper the service check connection to get the trans flash code.

 

If you found the leak in the radiator, you could replace it yourself.

Those plastic tanks cannot be fixed. Radiator itself is not too expensive. But everywhere else for leaks too. May as well fix it all at once.

 

Thanks guys & gals! I unfortunately paid them in cash & my radiator went out after I posted this. Changing it out ourselves today. If anyone has any tips or pointers on that, it would be greatly appreciated! xoxox, Shai

 

Helpppppp! Got the radiator in, but cannot find the drain bolt or the bleed bolt to finish draining the coolant. It doesn't seem to be where the manual says or any of the diagrams I found.

 

http://www.autozone.com/shoppi...5f2e4