ducpor

Hello everyone. Need some help diagnosing this problem....

Normal drive on freeway (15 min) in the morning, temp gauge normal the whole way.
After exiting freeway and stopped at light, noticed small amount of steam/smoke from front of hood.

Parked and opened the hood, steam/smoke appeared to be coming from beneath the upper radiator hose or the radiator itself.
- upper radiator hose looked normal, not dry or cracked. i wiggled it a bit, no leaks or anything...
- Small amount of coolant was visible on top of the radiator (in the grooves/crevices of the radiator) (does that make sense?)
- Nothing dripping as the car idled. (temp remained normal the whole time)
- reservoir tank very low, but I can't remember the last time I've looked at it...
- the steam continued to emanate from the area i previously mentioned the whole time the car idled (5~10 min).


Car did the exact same thing the next day.

-no history of any cooling system problems, water pump/timing belt etc changed at acura dealer 10K miles ago.
-car has a showa alum radiator (not sure if that's original or not)

The steam, coolant on top of the radiator and low reservoir tank suggests a leak but there is nothing dripping.
Temp gauge normal, no lack of heat or AC, so not head gasket or thermostat....(correct?)

Any ideas what this could be?
Anything I could quickly change/replace on my own? (I need the car for commute to work)

I'll be happy to provide any more details if I've left anything out!

Thanks!

Go90go

You might need a new radiator cap, or there's a micro-fracture in the upper tank. It wouldn't drip since it's so small and whatever is coming out is being boiled away immediately.

~Cheers~

01tl4tl

Its likely the seam broken on the radiator tank- there is a lot of vibration there
The only way to check is with a pressure test, where you screw on a fake cap and pump up to design spec- the leak should appear
Tool can be borrowed at parts stores

With the engine off there is no pressure so leak not obvious
Everything will work right up to when it all stops working!
Thats because with lower pressure in the system its fooling the temp sensor and not circulating water at the proper speed

meazz1

it must be a crack in the rad.
Same happened to me. Radiator will run about $180.00+. if you do it yourself, it should take less than 2 hrs.

ducpor

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'll order the radiator, but in the mean time, is it safe to drive for a few days? (~120 miles per day)

TL BABY

I had a crack in the top part of my rad and experienced the same problem. I was about to buy a new rad when I stumbled upon J.B Weld. It sealed the long cracks I had and I didn't have to buy a new rad after all. saved me some $$

Here you go. I paid $6.00+tax


http://jbweld.net/products/jbweld.php

Go90go

You used JB Weld on the plastic end-tank? I just used high-temp silicone. Felt all nice and squishy, haha.

~Cheers~

01tl4tl

JBWeld is great for emergencies and old cars you dont care about, like sealing the block on an old truck
If the area is cleaned and dry- the jb may get you thru till the new rad comes
Driving with a known leak that could turn worse with the longer drives you take.....
Imagine if the seam split wide open and white smoke billowed forth- will your towing coverage get the car home?

TL BABY

[QUOTE=Go90go]You used JB Weld on the plastic end-tank? I just used high-temp silicone. Felt all nice and squishy, haha.

Go,

JB is alot stronger and can withstand excessive heat temp of up to 600 degrees. It's an amazing product. It saved me having to buy a new rad.

TL BABY

[QUOTE=Go90go]You used JB Weld on the plastic end-tank? I just used high-temp silicone. Felt all nice and squishy, haha.

It can be used on plastics, glass, steel etc. It bonds like no other. And no...i ain't gettin paid to say that.

Go90go

Haha, I've used JB-Weld before, unfortunately where I had used it developed another hole the next day. My silicone goes up to about that temp, not too sure but even standard temp stuff hits 500 degrees C. For bigger things I have a welder.

~Cheers~

ducpor

So I guess driving a lot in my car's current condition is bad?

I'll try to find the leak, and temp. patch it until the new rad. comes.

Go90go

Yup, sealed my oil pan for about 30 minutes until I hit a speed bump and popped the hole open again in the Accord, haha! Two weeks after I put in the new oil pan, someone drove on top of the car... My radiator patch was temporary also since two days later my engine blew, . I tried Seafoaming it to bring it back to life but it didn't work...

~Cheers~