Hi everyone! I'm new here but hope that you can help me with what might be wrong with my 90 Honda Accord.

I have been having coolant leaks for quite a few months. Originally there were some small puddles underneath my car when parked overnight. They seemed to be intermittent but in the last month or so they have grown to considerable leaks every night. I am putting about one jug of anti-freeze in my radiator a week.

My car seems to drive fine until the radiator gets down to a certain level, then it idles up and down but is fine again once I put in more coolant. I have driven on long trips (250 miles) and have not had a problem so I'm not sure if it is actually leaking when I am driving or not. At the end of summer I did have an overheating issue and brought in the car to have it pressure tested. They said it was just a hose and replaced it. That seemed to help for a little while but now the problem is back with a vengeance (but with no overheating).

Does anyone have any ideas of what I could check into? I know very little about cars and have very little money. I did check the oil and it doesn't appear to have any anti-freeze mixed in. Also, I do smell anti-freeze sometimes on short drives (like to the grocery store) but not on long drives.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

One gallon of coolant a week loss is a lot. Where are the puddles located in relation to engine? Near the front where the radiator is or standing in front of the car, to the right near where the belt areas is?

If it is near the radiator, it could be the radiator or hoses. Do you see a crack near the top of the radiator with some coolant residual? Refer to this link regarding crack in the radiator: http://techauto.awardspace.com/overheating.html

Although the car has a bunch of coolant hoses, try squeezing the two radiator hoses to see if it leaks. Check when the system relatively cool and full of coolant.

If the leak is near the right side of the car, a little away from the radiator and closer to the belt area, then it may be the water pump.

You can also try placing newspaper or cardboard under the car to try to located the area of the leak. Use cardboard, if the car is parked outside, so that wind can't blow it easily.

 

I think that it is leaking near the right side so maybe it is the water pump. I put some cardboard under the car to see for sure. I will also check the radiator and some of the hoses tomorrow when it gets lighter out. Hopefully it sill be something simple (and inexpensive) to fix. I'm starting a new job so I'm trying to get this car to last as long as I can so I can save up a little bit of money and actually be able to get to work.

Also, thanks for the link! It was really helpful. It's hard searching for things like this when you're not exactly sure what your looking for (if that makes sense).

 

I am assuming it is quite cold where you live?

In cold temperatures, the expanding and contracting of the hoses/metal is much more than in the summer months. This leads to an increase in coolant lose because of the extreme opposites. Many short trips will make you loose more coolant than one long one.

I have a small coolant leak where my lower hose attatches to the radiator. It is barely noticeable in the summer but now that there is plenty of snow I have to check the overflow tank every 2-3 days to keep it between the min and max line.

 

Well, there was only a very small spot of antifreeze this morning when I checked. I warmed it up (as I do live in ND) and drove it for about 10 minutes. Next time I checked there was quite a large puddle underneath on the passenger side and a small puddle underneath the drivers side (both near the front). I do not see any obvious signs of leaking on the hoses that are visible or any cracks in the radiator. I guess I will just have to take it in and see what they say.

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

 

Have u tried replacing the thermostat? If stuck closed on short trips the pressure would build up at stops and could leak out due to slightly loose hose clamps.