TouringLow

Can anyone help me locate the drain nut and also if anyone has tips for adding coolant (50/50) id greatly appreciate it

My upper coolant hose blew today and my car started smoking so much it almost caught on fire..

01tl4tl

the radiator drain plug is on driver side lower corner facing rear- its a butterfly nut with a hole in the middle coolant comes out of

to drain the engine block- which acura says to do at change time, remove passenger front wheel and reach in from the side- usually a 13mm head bolt or another butterfly valve is on the rear of the block
look between the cv joint metal cover and the exhaust downpipe

to burp the system is a rather strange method but it must be followed exactly

here is the owner book link- click year the model- complete directions there

open the heater before filling radiator and while burping the system
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/RJAAI001_OMANUAL.asp

Good luck!
how many miles-years on the hoses?

TouringLow

hmm that seems much more complexed but appropriate then what i decided to do. i will definately take it to a mechanic to redo it all..

all coolant was completely gone by the time i had checked on it. My neighbor told me to pour water in it and i believe i poured about 1/3 of it with water. then i filled most of the rest with diluted 50/50 solution. i would have drained the radiator but i could not find the butterfly nut to do so.

do you guys think this will be a problem? and im only going to leave it like this to drive 2 miles to school and another mile to a mechanic to redo it properly.

i have 100K on the car and it is approxiamtely 9 years old by now.

thanks for the quick and very informative reply, i only wish it reached me in time as it was getting dark and i need the car tomorrow morning.

01tl4tl

100k and 9 years! time for the water pump timing belt job!!
that would include new coolant and better replace all the hoses- one goes, the rest follow
Why would you pour in water- then add 50/50?
the point of premix 50-50 is that its the right dilution

At this point just run it and dont worry,, as long as you followed the air burp procedure- you are ok with a minor off the dilution

Get the other work done soon- hose failure means soft rubber parts have reached their life limit
If the rubber timing belt breaks- thays 2500$ damage to the cylinder heads and valves plus you still need to do the timing belt and water pump!
hint- that work is over a grand--talk to your shop about it

TouringLow

ok so i left the car over night without driving it and this morning as i drive to school (2 miles) i park it and check on the bay and i see a small amount of smoke coming out of my grill. i let it cool and go to class, i come back and add about half a pint of coolant. i drive to the the gym (.3 miles), park it and check it, and the same thing. let it cool an hour and add about another .5 pint. drive home (2 miles) and it is not smoking this time but the engine seems hotter than normal and also i dont hear my fan running anymore. maybe its a good thing because my fan before was really loud, like something was wrong.

do you think this may be because there is too much water? should the water burn out faster and cause me to add more coolant? and there is no leak btw.

water pump and belts have been change but i dont think the hoses were. should i just also change the lower radiator hose? any more hoses?

thanks once again for the very informative and speedy help!

-patch.

01tl4tl

it must be leaking somewhere- you need to pressure test the cap and the system and find out if there is a hole in the radiator or other hose leaking
I would replace all the radiator related hoses to be safe- you already know what happens when one blows
Replace the thermostat if not done already

find that leak!!!

If you burped it according to the book- and the res bottle was left between min and max or set to full hot or cold as needed- then it should not take any more coolant
water doesnt disappear- its part of the mix now

you should here the fan now and then- if not at all, you have a problem with that too
How hot is it getting
Are you filling the bottle or the radiator?

01tl4tl

coolant smoke at grill- I am guessing rock hit
get it pressure tested

TouringLow

no more smoke now, but i smell steam. probably because of too much water in the radiator?

TouringLow

i am filling the radiator.

my reservoir bottle got ran over and contains water but the cap does not fit. does the reservoir have to be sealed to work?

01tl4tl

thats your problem
It is supposed to be a sealed system
the radiator has to be full, the rubber line to the bottle on tight, then the res bottle cap has to fit tight and the rubber hose attached to the inside of the cap must sit down in the coolant
If not- the radiator gets hot and the coolant goes out the hose- expecting a catch bottle, later it cools and tries to vacuum draw coolant back in --all it gets is air, then there is a bubble or ten in the system- causes faulty readings at sensors and the fan wont come on when coolant is low..now low on coolant and driving- gets hot and coolant goes out the tube and onto nearest hot surface to make steam

replace whatever is missing- you can try walmart or parts stores for a radiator bottle system. Just show them your car and $15 later you will be fixed...assuming nothing has gotten hurt

Next time you might mention something like that in the first post!!!~

Get your radiator cap tested at the parts store- they are cheap to replace, less than 10$ and a vital part of making the system operate at a specific pressure