WHATS UP GUYS...I NOTICED SMOKE COMMING FROM THE FRONT ON THE CAR, BUT SINCE IT WAS SO COLD, I THOUGHT IT WAS HEAT FROM THE MOTOR. I CHECKED and i was leakin anti-freeze. the hoses were fine. my mechanic said the radiator is cracked and that i need a new one. it is leaking from both the left and right sides (slightly) from underneath the radiator. when i changed the fluid few months ago, the inside of the radiator looks brand-new, the fins are white. Could have the cold have split the raditator? or is there another little hose that i cannot see? thanks for your opinion. only leaks when the car is running and its been below 10 degees these past few days here in NY.

only 131k miles and i need a new radiator already?? never had that problem on my other hondas. what you guys think, thanks for any help you can give me
98 Accord ex
5 speed 131k...runs like a baby

 

If it was leaking anti freeze the cold could have cracked it and I guess it could have been worse, it could have been the motor, also I would let you car warm up (after you fix the radiator) and just make sure all your hoses and clamps are doing what they are supposed to, and if your looking to get a new radiator I would upgrade because its a good excuse to and its around the same price (ok maybe more), take some b4 and after pics.

 

Man, I've had that problem with every Honda I've owned...........all of them it was around the 120,000 mile mark. A buddy of mine his '99 Prelude just did it at just 105K! Honda makes some cheap-a$$ radiators!! The bad thing is usually when they go its not just one crack that you could put some JB weld or something on to mend its almost like the plastic dry-rots and spiderwebs. On my boy's Prelude thats the way it was; just a series of spiderweb cracks....... anyway the link below is where we always get new ones if your just gonna replace it with another stock radiator. This place sells them cheap as hell, they're quick, and they offer lifetime warranties!! Can't beat that! We haven't had any problems with any of the radiators we got there. Oh yeah, don't take that thing to a mechanic dude, he'll rob ya not to mention charge ya at least $200+ for just the radiator! If you can change your own oil you should be able to replace your radiator, nothin to it.........

http://www.auto-car-radiators.....html

 

that's the one thing i don't like about OEM honda radiators....they've got plastic end-tanks with a metal core. Probably the heat cycling/cold cycling has opened up one of the seams. Unfortunately, none of the that stop-leak **** will work correctly; they will just gum up your coolant system innards.

An ideal (and also repairable) radiator is all metal or even better...all brass. Any replacement radiator you get, make sure it's all metal. Good luck...

 

i can def. do it myself. what...2-3 hoses? (upper, lower, and another small one i see). thanks for the advice....my mechanic told me like 200-250 installed for a new one.

i would also appricate if you can tell me what to look out for when installing the new radiator. thaNKS

 

sockets/wrench & pliers is all you need and a new bottle of anti freeze of course...

nothing much to watch out for, just be gentle with the hoses...

 

i would add a plumber's wrench and box cutter to the mix too if you have access to them. It's much easier to break radiator hose free off the radiator with the p-wrench b/k the wrench can approximate the diameter of the radiator neck.

Be very careful with the hoses...ALWAYS torque the hose ends sideways in a rocking motion (w/ a wrench) to break the hard water deposits w/o rupturing the hose.....it's super easy to create pin-hole leaks....use the box cutters to clip off the ends if they're too rotted.

And do the environment a favor and dump old coolant in the garage sink; it's legal to do so and municipal sewage will break that **** down...

 

I agree a P wrench has been my savior time after time with hoses under the car.....just make sure when your installing the new on to not damage fins and if your hoses are that bad just replace them while you have it out....and on the radiator dumping. Also fill your radiator and tank with enough fluid, let her warm up and see how much fluid needs to be added (like what you do with oil changes) after it settles and goes into all available areas....and you may want to do a complete flush.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by trackstar &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
http://www.auto-car-radiators.....html
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has anybody else bought from this place? I just ordered a radiator for my 96 accord from this site.

My radiator just went nuts on me today man. My car barely hit 90k miles two weeks ago and already the radiator cracked right on the top.

honda radiators


Thanks again for this thread guys.

 

would anybody know what could've caused this? just out of curiousity....

 

Just got my new radiator in my car yesterday, it was a bitch puttin it in but as of now....all is well

 

Yeah, it is a b!tch. The worst part for me when I was putting it back in was getting the lower radiator hose back on.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Accord_Munch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, it is a b!tch. The worst part for me when I was putting it back in was getting the lower radiator hose back on.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that part wasn't all that hard only because i managed to remove the fans before i took the lower hose off, and i put the hose back on before i put the fans back on. But never the less it was still a pain in the ***.

 

Accord_Kid

Did your replacement radiator from http://www.auto-car-radiators.com come with a new cap and drain valve? Or were you able to reuse those pieces from your original radiator. I will need to replace the original radiator, ND, on my 94’ Accord LX in the near future and am considering ordering the replacement from the same place. Thanks in advance - KC

 

i've heard that our radiators crack because honda designed them to. they want our business to come back to the dealer and pay a fortune to have it replaced. where do our radiators often fail? at the top portion of the radiator correct? coincidence, i think not! hehe

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KSTAR321 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Accord_Kid

Did your replacement radiator from http://www.auto-car-radiators.com come with a new cap and drain valve? Or were you able to reuse those pieces from your original radiator. I will need to replace the original radiator, ND, on my 94’ Accord LX in the near future and am considering ordering the replacement from the same place. Thanks in advance - KC
</TD></TR></TABLE>

The only thing it came with is the radiator itself, i was able to reuse everything else. So far my car's running better than it was before in terms of temperature. good stuff bro

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by timmy0tool &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've heard that our radiators crack because honda designed them to. they want our business to come back to the dealer and pay a fortune to have it replaced. where do our radiators often fail? at the top portion of the radiator correct? coincidence, i think not! hehe </TD></TR></TABLE>

thats a very interesting coincidence....those son of a holy mother of....its all good tho, the new radiator i got from that website has a lifetime warranty, the only part i hate is the whole installation part, its a bitch.

 

i found installing another radiator pretty entertaining.

 

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

The only thing it came with is the radiator itself, i was able to reuse everything else. So far my car's running better than it was before in terms of temperature. good stuff bro </TD></TR></TABLE>

Accord_Kid - Thanks for the info. - KC

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by timmy0tool &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i've heard that our radiators crack because honda designed them to. they want our business to come back to the dealer and pay a fortune to have it replaced. where do our radiators often fail? at the top portion of the radiator correct? coincidence, i think not! hehe </TD></TR></TABLE>

FWIW, my radiator is cracked at the top as well. In the 167,xxx miles I have owned the car, the only major components to fail have been the AC Compressor, Starter and now the Radiator. All have been Denso components. Makes me wonder. - KC