Honda Radiator coolant on the floor

[ianbr26]

As the title, I found the coolant on my house floor two times in two weeks. First time, it happened last week Tuesday or Wednesday. Then on Monday this week, it happened again.

On both nights, I parked my car at the porch and found the coolant on the floor next morning. I looked high and low for leaks. no leaks. Then, I thought to myself. If there is a leak surely I can see the coolant dripping. but in my case, no. The water level in radiator also would drop drastically and cause overheating.

I did not do anything new except for servicing my car. this started happening only after the service. apart from that, I changed my driving style lately. I drive very slowly and no more high revs. I am mentioning this because these are the only changes recently. I know these may not be the cause but just thought of mentioning.

My car is using a B20 Vtec engine. The radiator hoses are more to the driver's side. But the coolant is on the passenger's side on both occasions.

So, that's what I can figure out. Can you help me find out what's the cause and so on?

 

[yeehau86]

Have a check at your water pump

 

[pisces23]

There might be a leak at your radiator top. The leak only happens when the radiator is hot and under pressure.

 

[DanzEterna]

agree with yee hau, check water pump.

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

the location of overflow-spare tank??

 

[kazukimy]

check the hoses as well, see any white stain....

 

[ddv_nk12]

If u say it's on the passenger's side, then it might be the water pump. For Honda's there's nothing that has anything to do with your coolant on the driver's side except the water pump. Check your water pump. It could be that. It can't be the hoses or the spare tank because those are on the right side of the car unless TS did any modification to that. But afaik, those are always on the right side.

 

[vr2turbo]

If you don't see any leak when engine is cold, probably it leaks under pressure when engine is hot. So check when engine is hot.
Either that or take to mechanic and use the radiator pressure pump. Pump up the pressure in the radiator then check for leaks...

 

[ianbr26]

i sent my car to check. no leaks anywhere. foreman checked everywhere including the water pump but he checked just to see if there is any traces of water. He could not find any traces of water or leakage. So he said not enough water/coolant. He released some coolant from the radiator hose. then poured 1.5L coolant and some water into the radiator and into the reserve tank. then he charged me RM30. I paid, I left. Then the night after that when I left for work, my wife called me and said there is coolant on the floor again.

Please advice. I wanna know how much is the price of a water pump B20 new and used if you guys know. For peace of mind, I might just want to change the water pump eventhough I am not sure what's the problem or do u suggest me to wait and see first.

 

[vr2turbo]

i sent my car to check. no leaks anywhere. foreman checked everywhere including the water pump but he checked just to see if there is any traces of water. He could not find any traces of water or leakage. So he said not enough water/coolant. He released some coolant from the radiator hose. then poured 1.5L coolant and some water into the radiator and into the reserve tank. then he charged me RM30. I paid, I left. Then the night after that when I left for work, my wife called me and said there is coolant on the floor again.

Please advice. I wanna know how much is the price of a water pump B20 new and used if you guys know. For peace of mind, I might just want to change the water pump eventhough I am not sure what's the problem or do u suggest me to wait and see first.

I suggest you change your mechanic first then.....

 

[ianbr26]

yes, that's what I am thinking of doing now. Anyone knows a good foreman in JB? somebody who is willing to find the problem, confirm it is it and then only suggest to change parts? and the price must be reasonable. I am worried now.

 

[ianbr26]

I have checked from where the leak is. It doesn't look like its from the water pump area. It's more to the front. I think it's the radiator. I can't see properly because it's under the car. Will have to jack up my car to see. I will do it later. But just out of curiosity is there anything else that is at the front and near the radiator that can leak?

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

I have checked from where the leak is. It doesn't look like its from the water pump area. It's more to the front. I think it's the radiator. I can't see properly because it's under the car. Will have to jack up my car to see. I will do it later. But just out of curiosity is there anything else that is at the front and near the radiator that can leak?

-loose hose clip

-cracked hose

-leaking radiator (cracked plastic top/bottom cover)

 

[vr2turbo]

Can be drain plug and/or the radiator itself, means leaking at the fins.

Did the foreman you went to use the pressure tester?
Something like this

 

[DanzEterna]

check your hose (lower part of radiator) it will leak when engine hot. best is to check after engine temp reaches its optimum temp.

 

[ianbr26]

-loose hose clip

-cracked hose

-leaking radiator (cracked plastic top/bottom cover)

If i'm not mistaken, my car has 3 hoses connected to the radiator, all 3 are about quite new. I don't think it is the hose. But, now I suspect it could be the plastic bottom cover. Few months back, i change the top plastic cover. So, maybe it could be the bottom. But then again, if it leaks, it should be leaking everytime. But in my case, it is not everyday.confused

Can be drain plug and/or the radiator itself, means leaking at the fins.

Did the foreman you went to use the pressure tester?
Something like this

Nope, he did not use this at all. I am quite fed up with this foreman already. He is quite famous in JB drag scenes and so i think he not serious in doing these small jobs. I told myself not to go to him again. disappointed

check your hose (lower part of radiator) it will leak when engine hot. best is to check after engine temp reaches its optimum temp.

for my car, optimum level is almost close to middle of cold and hot, slightly more to the cold side. recently, i drive very slowly so the temperature is only at 1/3 of the meter from cold. it doesn''t reach the optimum level. As u said, it will leak when engine is hot. do u mean hot as in at any temperature or optimum level? I'm sorry if i got your whole idea wrong. not very knowledgeable in all this.


I hope some one can recommend a good and honest foreman in JB. Really need to get it done before it gets worse and make me pay more. thank you.

---------- Post added at 09:54 PM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 09:51 PM ----------

-loose hose clip

-cracked hose

-leaking radiator (cracked plastic top/bottom cover)

If i'm not mistaken, my car has 3 hoses connected to the radiator, all 3 are about quite new. I don't think it is the hose. But, now I suspect it could be the plastic bottom cover. Few months back, i change the top plastic cover. So, maybe it could be the bottom. But then again, if it leaks, it should be leaking everytime. But in my case, it is not everyday.confused

Can be drain plug and/or the radiator itself, means leaking at the fins.



Did the foreman you went to use the pressure tester?
Something like this

Nope, he did not use this at all. I am quite fed up with this foreman already. He is quite famous in JB drag scenes and so i think he not serious in doing these small jobs. I told myself not to go to him again. disappointed

check your hose (lower part of radiator) it will leak when engine hot. best is to check after engine temp reaches its optimum temp.

for my car, optimum level is almost close to middle of cold and hot, slightly more to the cold side. recently, i drive very slowly so the temperature is only at 1/3 of the meter from cold. it doesn''t reach the optimum level. As u said, it will leak when engine is hot. do u mean hot as in at any temperature or optimum level? I'm sorry if i got your whole idea wrong. not very knowledgeable in all this.


I hope some one can recommend a good and honest foreman in JB. Really need to get it done before it gets worse and make me pay more. thank you.

 

[DanzEterna]

optimum level means needle pointing towards the half mark. if it goes beyond, definately there is a leak somewhere.
drive around the neighbourhood for a couple of minutes then open the hood to check for leaks.
your hose might be new, but once happened to me after engine rebuild, drive out of workshop temp increased to max, later at home found out there was a cut on my lower radiator hose, it did an investigation & found out that when my foreman opened my new hose, he used a blade to cut thru the plastic & accidentally cut my hose as well, this has caused the leak & the rubber hose was those el-cheapo made in china ones.

2nd, u could try squeezing your hose when your engine has cool down, if u feel water dripping on your hands means there is a leak.

 

[vr2turbo]

If i'm not mistaken, my car has 3 hoses connected to the radiator, all 3 are about quite new. I don't think it is the hose. But, now I suspect it could be the plastic bottom cover. Few months back, i change the top plastic cover. So, maybe it could be the bottom. But then again, if it leaks, it should be leaking everytime. But in my case, it is not everyday.confused

Nope, he did not use this at all. I am quite fed up with this foreman already. He is quite famous in JB drag scenes and so i think he not serious in doing these small jobs. I told myself not to go to him again. disappointed

for my car, optimum level is almost close to middle of cold and hot, slightly more to the cold side. recently, i drive very slowly so the temperature is only at 1/3 of the meter from cold. it doesn''t reach the optimum level. As u said, it will leak when engine is hot. do u mean hot as in at any temperature or optimum level? I'm sorry if i got your whole idea wrong. not very knowledgeable in all this.

I hope some one can recommend a good and honest foreman in JB. Really need to get it done before it gets worse and make me pay more. thank you.

3 hoses? do you means the one to expansion tank also, because there should be 2 main ones only. Bottom In to engine and top out from engine.

To test radiator when cold with pressure need this tool....

After driving a while whether slow or fast the meter should show same position at optimum running temperature as this is control by a thermostat. Slow driving slower to reach optimum and faster driving, faster reach optimum level.

Any brother from JB, we are mostly from Klang valley....

 

[ianbr26]

3 hoses? do you means the one to expansion tank also, because there should be 2 main ones only. Bottom In to engine and top out from engine.

To test radiator when cold with pressure need this tool....

After driving a while whether slow or fast the meter should show same position at optimum running temperature as this is control by a thermostat. Slow driving slower to reach optimum and faster driving, faster reach optimum level.

Any brother from JB, we are mostly from Klang valley....

There is another one. u shape but not connected to the radiator. Sorry I meant that as well.

Anyway, I went to two more shops today. Both confirmed its the radiator plastic cover at the bottom that is leaking. the first shop told me to change to a used one from halfcut which cost about 250.

The second shop asked me to use alloy radiator which cost ranging from 600 to 800 plus.

I asked both shops why not change just the bottom plastic. 1st shop said the price will come to almost the same as changing to a used radiator. 2nd shop said cannot get the bottom plastic. only top can get.

why i dont want to change my radiator is because only few months back i serviced my radiator and changed the top plastic as the shop guy told me to do so. he didnt say it was necessary to chnage the bottom plastic, so i didnt change. I feel it would be a waste to change my radiator now. i also dont know how is the condition of the used radiator. who knows i might have to service it again. i'm gonna pay more then.

i need to know this now. is it really not possible to get the bottom plastic? i dont mind paying for it as long as it doesnt cost more than the new alloy radiator. but still i prefer my oem radiator because the alloy radiators are china made. even brands like synergy and forged were initially from china according to the second guy but assured me no problem with any of the china made radiators he has sold before.

i serviced my radiator in my in-laws place in senawang last time. that was a shop that specialised on radiators only. in jb, i dont know if there is anyplace like that. really hope some jb ppl here can tell me where to find this like this type of shop.

i am afraid to travel using my car now. the leak might get worse and then more problems could arise. right now, temperature is still normal. it doesnt even reach half way line because i drive slowly. but who knows when it will rise. so thats why i need to find that plastic bottom soon.

thank you for your advice and i have decided not to go back to my usual foreman. if only he had jacked up the car, he would have found my problem. to me that shows only 2 things, he's either too lazy to check because small repair and small money or he is not good in finding problems and repairing. only good in making fast drag cars.

 

[vr2turbo]

There is another one. u shape but not connected to the radiator. Sorry I meant that as well.

Anyway, I went to two more shops today. Both confirmed its the radiator plastic cover at the bottom that is leaking. the first shop told me to change to a used one from halfcut which cost about 250.

The second shop asked me to use alloy radiator which cost ranging from 600 to 800 plus.

I asked both shops why not change just the bottom plastic. 1st shop said the price will come to almost the same as changing to a used radiator. 2nd shop said cannot get the bottom plastic. only top can get.

why i dont want to change my radiator is because only few months back i serviced my radiator and changed the top plastic as the shop guy told me to do so. he didnt say it was necessary to chnage the bottom plastic, so i didnt change. I feel it would be a waste to change my radiator now. i also dont know how is the condition of the used radiator. who knows i might have to service it again. i'm gonna pay more then.

i need to know this now. is it really not possible to get the bottom plastic? i dont mind paying for it as long as it doesnt cost more than the new alloy radiator. but still i prefer my oem radiator because the alloy radiators are china made. even brands like synergy and forged were initially from china according to the second guy but assured me no problem with any of the china made radiators he has sold before.

i serviced my radiator in my in-laws place in senawang last time. that was a shop that specialised on radiators only. in jb, i dont know if there is anyplace like that. really hope some jb ppl here can tell me where to find this like this type of shop.

i am afraid to travel using my car now. the leak might get worse and then more problems could arise. right now, temperature is still normal. it doesnt even reach half way line because i drive slowly. but who knows when it will rise. so thats why i need to find that plastic bottom soon.

thank you for your advice and i have decided not to go back to my usual foreman. if only he had jacked up the car, he would have found my problem. to me that shows only 2 things, he's either too lazy to check because small repair and small money or he is not good in finding problems and repairing. only good in making fast drag cars.

The U shape one should be some bypass hose for the engine.

Anyway, I suggest you change the bottom cover since you have done the top one and service the radiator already.
The 1st shop probably taking out and send for repair is troublesome and probably he makes more selling you a chop shop unit. Chop shop unit also not sure how good condition.
2nd shop just want to make a new sale.
Yes, if you can find a radiator repair shop will be better, they probably can find the cover for you and repair.
In fact I just repaired my radiator. A year ago was sent to my mechanic. He took out and send to radiator shop and change the top cover. 3 months later it leaked so was send back to rectify. Another 3 months later it leaked again, but they say cannot repair and refund only the workmanship fess to me. Lately I took to another radiator shop near my place and got it repaired again. So far so good but only 2 months, so got to see how it goes...