So I have had the car about 7 months and it has run hot since I got it. It leaks fluid from where one of the hoses connects and it seems like there is small crack right at the connection. I added some water and seems like that is making it worse. When I park you can here the fluid squirting out for a few minutes until it cools down. Questions, should I give up and just get a new radiator? Can you overfill the radiator and would this cause it to overflow at all? Does anyone make one that isnt plastic like the POS one I have? Last stupid question, do you have to use 50/50 coolant or is water ok?I have always used water in my Chevy truck....... Any help is appreciated!

 

Well if its leaking from the connection, try replacing the hose before going all out and getting a new radiator. It may even be that the hose clamps aren't on tight enough and coolant is slipping through. If you don't know how to replace the hose, just google for a guide etc., its not complicated. And yes, ALWAYS use 50/50 mixture.... unless you want to destroy your car.

 

yeah only use water in a honda

well by connection i assume its cracked on the radiator not the hose, try searching for a local radiator shop, most places will give you a brand new one or a refurbished one for $100-150, much cheaper than a new radiator, a new radiator will run you $500,yeah if you over fill it and its running hot, most likely it will boil over, which is what you are experiencing

 

Don’t drive till you get it fix! Water boils at 212 deg F at normal pressure. As you increase pressure the boiling point goes up. I don’t have the info in front of me but let say under 15 PSI the boiling point is 260 deg. If your system can not hold pressure there are area around the heads that normally get over 212 deg. The water/anti freeze will boil creating air pockets. These air pocket will cause “hot spots� because no coolant can reach into the air pocket to cool anything. The result is a blown head gasket or a cracked head.

The bad part is that it will drive fine, these small hot pockets with not lock up the motor or even cause it to run bad until the damage happens or until you run out of water in which case out will just fry everything.

 

If I drain it completely how much antifreeze should I put back in it to fill it to the correct level? If I run it with the radiator cap off until it heats up will that bleed out the air pockets? Hate to kill you guys with the NOOB questions butI appreciate the help...

 

I pick Thermostat!

 

christ youre dumb, shut up


how hot is hot? i would flush the whole system and replace the radiator. i think the system holds close to two gallons, so you can add 1 gallan straight coolant, and top it off with water, or just use all 50/50 mix. on the lt1's there is a bleed screw by the t-stat housing, im not sure if the ls1's have one. if the radiator cap is higher than the motor, then you can just run it with no cap to bleed the air out

 

Okay you've had this thing for a short period right? When you got it and you opened the radiator for the first time was there a bunch of crap in the radiator? Brown gunky junk all over the radiator cap and inside the radiator? If so then then whoever sold it to you knew there was a was leak and tried to fix it with bars leaks. I'll get back to fun with bars leaks in a second.

So you say that it's leaking around kind of where the hose goes in right? First yup check to see if it's the hose itself. Drain some coolant, then unclamp the hose and check for cracking of the hose itself. If it is cracked then it's your hose and you'll have to replace it. This is incredibly easy to do. Just drain the rest of your fluid, and take the other end of the hose off and take the whole damn thing down to your local auto parts store and tell them that you need "this hose" for your year and engine size car.

If it's not the hose. If the leak is coming from above where the hose goes in then what is actually leaking is the seam that runs from the radiator cap socket(where you twist on your radiator cap) down to the hose mount. I bought a brand new radiator a few months ago installed it and this seam was spitting like crazy when the pressure came up. Not a common thing, thanks again for the crappy manufacturing China! Anyway rather than tearing it out and sending it back and being SOL for a week I just took out some epoxy putty and plugged where it was spraying out. This fixed the leak without much effort. To do this yourself just go down to AutoZone or your favaorite auto parts store and get yourself some epoxy putty, sometimes it's called plumber's putty. Ask the guy for epoxy putty to fix your radiatior and he'll get you a stick. It comes in a stick wrapped in plastic. First find exactly where it's leaking from(again this only works on the radiator if your hose is leaking replace the hose!) but if it's actually the radiator leaking just open the package of putty, cut of a piece about a half inch long and then kneed it between your fingers like dough in your hand. Just keep twisting it and mashing it together until it's a uniform color, usually gray. What you are doing is mixing the chemicals in the outisde layer with those that are on the inside. It may warm up a little while you are doing this as a chemical reaction is starting. Making sure your radiator leak surface is dry and free of grime. MASH that putty over your leak so that it's completely covered. After about a half hour later the putty will have hardened rock hard and your leak should be "fixed". Looks like hell but function over fashion in this case.

Back to bars leaks. If your radiator was full of brown slury or brown junk, then they used a buttload of bars leaks in it and your radiator is F'd below 35 mph. She'll heat up quick if you are stuck in traffic for any period of time. There is no way to get rid of bars leaks from your radiator. You can purge and purge and purge and it'll be in there rock hard plugging up everything. If this is the case, swapping out your radiator is the only viable solution. It is NOT a tough thing to do. Do not fear doing this yourself. I would however highly recommend that get a Haynes or Chilton manual for your car because it'll take you through the process step by step and makes life much much easier.

Coolant problems are a lot of no fun so I feel for ya. And yes that's correct you really shouldn't run straight water through your system. It'll rust the bejesus out of your block and pound the crap out of your water pump. In a pinch if you had to run water for a very short period of time you could do it but long term absolutely you will destroy your block. The antifreeze has rust inhibitors mainly a lubricant that keeps your block from rusting and the lubricant also lubricates your water pump. So while it sounds like a great idea to use just water it's a sure way to get your vehicle to the boneyard.

Best of Luck!!

Thanks,

Tom

 

Tom,

That is exactly what I wanted to hear. I was thinking of using some of that putty but now that I read your post I am trying it for sure. I know it dries grey but I don't care about looks just want to stop the leak. You are right again with the leak on the seam, thats where the fluid is coming out. This info is greatly appreciated and i will let you know how things turn out...

 

Fill it all the way to the top, 50/50 the whole way.