today i went out and decided that th aem filter needed to be cleaned, so while i was taking the intake apart, i saw that my coolant tank was very dark and discolored. So i went ahead and took the can out and to my suprise it was just filled with nasty rust. It was horrible, so i went further and took the whole tank out,pipe,and open the radiator cap to see if it was in my coolant. Well there was rust on top of the radiator cap and little specks of it on top of the coolant but other than that i did not see any in the coolant itself. This is not normal right? cause i dont think there should be about 1/2 cup of water with rust on the can. should i get my coolant flused and replaced?

i have a 03 tls with about 47,000 miles and i dont know exact millage but i did add some coolant additive that keeps the radiator running cooler. forgot the name of the stuff.

 

A little is ok, but what your describing isnt. Now might be a good time to have the system flushed with new honda coolant.

 

^^ what he said, also is ur rad cap good? rust can be formed from that as well...

 

how do i know if its good?
and is the mugen radiator cap benefical in any way?
oh and is there a diy on how to flush your coolant?

 

sounds like you neglected the radiator coolant for a long while. I change mine every 2-3 years for maintenance sake along with all the other fluids. at this point you probably need to get a complete flush just to get the rust and residue out of the system. Theres no telling what this has done to your water pump and the internals.

Maintenance may not add HP but it sure will keep the car running in prime condition longer than any other aftermarket mods.

 

well the manual maintinence schedule says you dont need to replace coolant untill like 100,000 miles so i only had a bit more than half that so i thought i still had alot more time.

Also i am taking it acura to do the change does 135 bucks sound reasonable for this service?

 

I've never replaced coolant in a radiator, is there a valve or something at the bottom that I can open to remove the coolant? Or do I need to somehow siphon it out from the top opening?

 

You can get a tester kit at most auto parts stores to test the coolant.

 

drain. and there is a drain on the back side of the block to drain the coolant out of the motor.

 

There is a drain on the bottom of the radiator same as most cars have
There is a crucial engine block drain on the back of the engine.
Look up between the exhaust pipe and cv, where there is little room for a mans hand with skin....see the little bolt or bolt with valve built into it?
thats the one!
The refill and burp procedure is very involved and covered in the owner book
here is the link for owner book for every year, just click your year and it will go to model selection page.
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/...01_OMANUAL.asp

Let Acura know you found a problem with your car, start a file on it with them.
Might be a bad batch of somethings went on certain VIN range- you never know
1-800-382-2238 x5
Ask your local service MANAGER if there have been reports of this problem.

rad cap- get one of the trick new ones with temp guage built into it- then you can watch for other probs rust may have caused. I think Prestone makes them and regular parts stores carry
100k miles for service point is bs. Its a number- and based on NORMAL conditions with time limits
Do you drive like that- probably not~
TIME is the killer in most cases and 5 years will be the normal life of coolant. The stuff inside it breaks down, the PH increases,,,, now we have aluminum in a corrosive acidic sealed environment.

If the dealer is using a pressure machine to flush and reverse (dual flow direction) flush, that would be best for ridding the rust fully in a severe situation as described above.
New radiator cap too with service.

I changed the coolant on my 01 a few months ago based on age, it looked great and the radiator was spotless.

Normally- Acura does not want anything in the rad beyond 50/50 mix.
The engine is designed to run at a certain temp, lowering that for street use is not going to net you better power or mileage.

 

Great writeup

 

The stuff he added was probably a wetting agent which isn't going to do any harm (or much of anything really). If you don't want to take it to the dealer you can easily flush out an engine by removing the supply and return lines from the radiator and jamming a garden hose in there. Flush it in both directions, don't neglect the radiator and drain everything before you refill. The process of getting the air back out it sort of a pain in the ass as others have mentioned.

 

Except the only thing I would change is that a lower pH is more acidic, not a higher one.

 

Doh!!! I knew something made it acidic- should have stayed with the basic fact of-
age is bad, it turns acidic-- and left it at that. So much for my credabilty here~

And if its all rusty, I personally would drain it and rinse out whatever you can from the top via radiator- add a serious rust cleaner and drive as directed, then fresh water flush out followed by the 50/50 install, but thats just my opinion on trying to save the car and figure out
Why THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED????