Why you should inspect your radiator: A lesson learned in hindsight - Honda Prelude Forum

4thGenReady2Go · 11-15-2004, 05:53 PM

I was driving today to meet my brother at the Nissan dealer he works at and smelled something ... not gas, no, this had a sweet odor to it, but faint. Less than a mile later I pulled into his work and popped my hood, sure enough, coolant had collected in the fan housing, but from where it had leaked I was not sure. With a flashlight I looked as best I could in front of the fan and low and behold, there was a 3"x3" area where there were no fins whatsoever -- I assumed that is where the leak sprung from.
Lucky for me, not only is my brother's friend also a technician at the same dealer, but was willing to stay a little later to swap in a radiator for me, free of charge (well, on my last trip to S. Africa I brought him back a lot of chocolate and cookies, plus I'm sure I'll be buying him many a drink next time I hang out with him). Where'd the radiator come from? I purchased it from a place next door... $120 bought be a new radiator when all I had to do was inspect my old one months ago and simply purchase the C&R or Koyo all-alluminum one I was intending to get anyway. In hindsight, inspect your radiator frequently -- a few minutes now can save you a lot of money down the road.

I'll see if i can get the picture from my brother's camera phone of my old radiator, you'll all get a good laugh out of how decrepid it looks.

TruNinja619 · 11-15-2004, 10:55 PM

good heads up.... its always good to a little eye-inspection around your vehicle...

i'm glad your brother's friend was willing to do the work for ya...

4thGenReady2Go · 11-15-2004, 11:07 PM

^^ so am I, things were tight before I had to blow $120 on a radiator.

I just don't want to hear about this happening to anyone else, there's no reason for it, at least when it comes to leaking from the tubing/core.

dohcpower v2.0 · 11-16-2004, 03:15 PM

I had a similiar problem on my 92 S.. i was having major over heating problems, so i yanked out the radiator, and pulled off the fans. I noticed a section where all the fins had gotten corroded, and basically felll off as i touched them.

Got a radiator from 1800radiator.com for like 125 shipped over night.

PRelude787 · 11-21-2004, 07:07 PM

I replaced my radiator a couple months ago with a new one from radiatorexpress.com.

I look on the garage floor a couple of days ago and there was some antifreeze on the ground. I cleaned it up and today I saw two more spots on there.

Where exactly can I check to be trouble spots? I did do the throttle body coolant bypass btw but I can't find anything there (no leaking coolant).

4thGenReady2Go · 11-21-2004, 08:18 PM

check your outgoing and return hoses (one at the top is most visible, and the long one coming from the back of the ending down to the bottom of the radiator. Check them where they meet the engine as well as the radiator. Check your reservoir bottle for cracks. Check the tube which runs to your reservoir bottle. Check the filler neck around for cracks. I guess that's all I can come up with, unless you want to remove your under cover and check the entire bottom plastic part as well as the top part, maybe run the car and see if you can isolate the problem. Turn your heater on full hot and your vents on full and let the car run till it heats up, the whole while checking for leaks. Make sure your bleed valve is snug, but don't over overtighten it.

thepreludedude · 11-21-2004, 08:58 PM

ever since i had the timing belt/tensioner/water pump replaced (like 2 years ago), i smell antifreeze occasionally. never lose any. no drips. i have no clue. none in oil either.

4thGenReady2Go · 11-21-2004, 09:35 PM

if you have the time one day remove your middle cover and the lower crank pulley cover on the front of the engine and check to see if any of the belts have coolant or residue on them.

^^ now that I think about if you have to remove your valve cover to get the middle cover off.