Alright, i have a 97 Accord LX,4dr. 5spd. (F22B) Recently, it has been using up alot of radiator coolant, i am refilling it once/ twice every week, what can possibly be the problem? how to solve? A buddy told me it could be in need of new water pump or possibly thermosthat...not sure...????? thanks KAOem1!! Any ideas or suggestions?? please!!

 

have you noticed any white-ish smoke coming from the tailpipe when you rev it up in neutral? you must try this with the engine cold and with the engine warm.
try pulling all the spark plugs out and comparing the color of the tips- if your plugs WERE in good shape and youve been burning coolant (through a leaking head gasket) you may see a slightly green color on the porcelain tip of the plug. if you see that then you probably have a blown head gasket in that particular cylinder. Watch your temp gauge closely if you know the coolant is getting low or you will be sure to put in a head gasket

 

im having a little different problem. still with coolant though so i thought i post it here instead of a new tread. well i changed both of the old radiator hoses with new ones and flushed it. got it running and everything. but now i have a leak under the engine...i dont know what it is called. its passed the oil pan and to the left of the of the belts (looking at it from the top from the from front bumper. any1 know what its called? its a rectangular part. not a hose but a metal piece

 

sounds like your water pump is leaking

 

oh and to help u out kaoEM1...check your hoses and the color of your fluid. i would recommend on 1) flushing and cleaning the radiator. 2) buying a new thermostat, its like $10. 3) look for leaks again. best of luck

 

while smeone posted about checking the plugs ..thats good too. however its too much work. i just get my block tester (you can rent/borrow one from autozone) and open the radiator cap. i fill the block tester like i should...hold it in place where the radiator cap goes and start the car (have someone else do that so you dont drop the block tester). i stand there for a minute and look for changes in the fluid in the tester. if so i have a bad head gasket.....or worse, a cracked block. its most likely the HG and not a cracked block. then i fix it. takes 5 minutes to test it with the block tester and i know it has exhaust gasses in the coolant (i.e.-a bad HG or cracked block)

 

where is the water pump at? is it inside the block? cuz what im talking about is (frm looking upwards under the car) on the drivers side. behind the oil pan and where the belts are, towards the passenger side. it kinda looks like an oil pan but antifreeze is leaking through it. looks like i might be able to weld it cuz its just a little leak between the creases. but dont know what it is called still.

i forgot to say that mine is a 94 4door accord ex.

 

if its not the water pump its going to be the pipe from the water pump to the thermostat housing. its between the oil pan (but higher if youre looking up from under the car) and the firewall. it runs along the block to the themostat housing and the water pump. the water pump is accessable by removing the timing cover and belt.

 

in this one you cant really tell but my oil pan on the left and the belts are on the top right of the pic just so u can get an idea of the location



closer look...its where u see the shiny part. past the oil pan



there u see the leak in action

any ideas? what it is or how to fix that?

 

ummmm we dont see nothin bro.no pic in the post. they said i had some color blindness but i dont see spit LOL

 

u dont see the pictures at all or u dont see the leak? i can see them on my computer in this post, even when u reposted it.

ill try to posting them another way if u cant see them at all

 

no i dont see nothing at all. no pic no link to click on. nothing. kinda looks like what stevie wonder sees LOL

 

maybe you can send them to my e-mail. rickmartinez@rock.com
BRB in a few. gotta go lock up the shop and the rides. got 5 of them so might be a few minutes

 

just sent u an email with the pics attached.

 

okay let me check em out

 

looks like its the water pump bro. like maybe the gasket o ring seal that goes behind the water pump. have you thought about pulling the timing cover?

 

To the original question; Coolant either leaks out, or leaks in. If you don't see any coolant dripping from under the vehicle, meaning you can't find an external leak, I would be concerned with coolant leaking into the engine. Usually this happens because of a failure of the cylinder head gasket, or though unlikely a cracked cylinder head. I would guess an external leak. Gotta look to see.

 

oh...is that gasket and seal expensive? i havent thought of that, i just noticed this problem, earlier today, after i put in new radiator hoses and antifreeze. how would i go about pulling the timing cover?

 

no the gasket is like 3 bucks maybe. (i have never bought them seperate. they come with the water pumps) but they are behind the timing belt so its a few hours worth of work

 

PHOOTBAG, quit hacky-sackin a second LOL you ever replaced just the water pump gasket? maybe you know the price?

 

I don't think the water pump o-ring is available seperately. I would replace the entire water pump anyway. It gets treated pretty harshly.

 

well guys looks like u were right...it its the water pump thats out...i had a friend look at it n thats what he said too. i googled the water pump and found another post on this on superhonda.com that another guy had the same problem i have. looks like the water is coming out of the weep hole. is this hard to do replace myself? other wise ill take it to a shop to do it. should i replace the belts also?

 

no its easy. depends on your skills and your tools though. head gaskets, rebuilds, timing belts are all easy to me. takes like 3 hours if youre fast. 2 days if youre not sure what youre doing or are lacking the crank pulley holder tool.

 

eh...i think im going to have a mechanic do that. haha i have a lil experience with the engine, i mean i can do basic stuff like oil change, spark plugs n wires, battery, intake, thermostat, front motor mount replacement, brake pads, door lock and module (just learned that 2 days ago), gauge cluster removal. but i wont go further into the engine just yet.

so other than the water pump, what else should i buy?

 

If you haven't replaced the timing belt in a while it is wise to replace that and the balance shaft belt while the front of the engine is apart. Also, IF any seals are leaking, replace them at that time as well.

Choose your own adventure but I have seen failures of some aftermarket water pumps. I would use a genuine Honda water pump but that's me.