Stock 99

Here's a little heads up for anyone who owns a 6th gen Civic. I've had this leak going on that I haven't been able to pin point for the last week or so. I first noticed just a tiny little spot underneath my car where I park at work. It's my spot so I knew it must be from my car but after inspecting on more than one occasion I just couldn't put a finger on what it was. Wasn't oil and it's a very wet time of year and it just seemed like moisture running down the inside of the plastic bit on the front bumper. Well, I got to work yesterday and noticed that the patch was considerably bigger so I look under and see blue liquid dripping...coolant! My heart sank for a second and little panic set in. Crawl under as best I can in the 15 minutes I had before work. It seemed that the clamp on the lower hose had gotten rusty and cut into the hose... no huge deal...deal with it later. So I've just finished working on it and it turns out the lower clamp had just rusted and fatigued over 15 years....every time pressure built in the cooling system it was pushing past the clamp. A sneaky leak! I literally snapped the old clamp with my fingers with not much effort. So I've just finished putting a new O clamp on it and brought the car up to operating temperature making sure that the cooling system is functioning properly.... Tstat opening , fan coming on, coolant pushing into the reservoir. I've got some cardboard underneath and giving it some time so make sure that is the source..but so far no other signs of leaking.

So if your a DIY mechanic like me the next time your under your 6th gen take a look at that clamp. It could cost you an engine/head gasket if you're not paying attention.

Sorry for the crappy pics....I really wasn't into doing this today...

...and oh yeah, ezone...what do you think? Time for a new rad pretty soon? (15 years old)

ezone

Looks like a lot of road debris has folded up the tiny fins over the years.
That isn't as bad as some I have seen, by any means.
I've seen the tiny fins completely detached and coming out from between the tubes too.

I'd wonder when/if the top tank will crack.

Replace? Up to you. Is it a problem yet?
Will the car last that long? There's a lot of rust there......

A lot of people can't justify the expense before it's absolutely necessary, some people can.

Stock 99

Common?

Twice today I saw a whiff of steam come off the top. I assumed it was just because I'd taken the cap on and off a few times and a few droplets had spilled. I'll take another look tomorrow it's dark already and I'm really done the cars for one day. What should I be looking for? It seems to hold pressure/liquid fine at this point.

You really think that's a lot of rust?

ezone

The 2 most common radiator failures I see here are

The nylon fatigues after so many thermal cycles and cracks (rather suddenly) in front, directly where all the hot liquid hits as it comes out of the top hose from the engine,





or the thinnest area in the tank, which could be the flat pad molded in on some radiators for a label. Couldn't find a good pic quick though.

I'm in the rust belt and I rarely ever see hose clamps wasted like that. I kinda figured the rest of the car can't be very far behind.

Stock 99

As always thanks for the info ezone.

I'll take a close look at things tomorrow...my place is thick with bears these days and my car is actually quite aways from the house.

I don't mind spending money for a rad if it needs it..it's my DD so money well spent.

Condemning my entire car as a rust bucket because of one little hose clamp...I don't know about that. I consider my car to be in exceptional good shape for it's age in general.

The only thing I can think of was the original owner was a woman....lol j/k

but I guess she was an avid snowboarder of perhaps the splitter got packed in with snow there more than the average Civic.

ezone

Oh my!
I really wasn't being serious.
I think I was looking at the underside pics when I thought it up.

I never know how long anyone plans to keep a car around, some people get rid of them for the craziest reasons sometimes.

In the past I've always had used cars and driven most of my cars into the ground, until they were rusted to the point of being hazardous.

A few:

I gave my 90 Buick to the kid just because I got tired of fixing rotten stuff (all the steel rear brake lines, steel p/s lines, fuel lines were gonna be next to fail).....It sat in the parking lot at work for a year after I got the Civic....rockers are rotted through, floor starting to go.....Seriously, it had a family of birds living in one of the rust holes for half of the spring/summer there.
Still going.

90 Calais before that rotted the rear wheelhouses completely off, shocks were banging the remaining metal around inside the trunk. Gave it to a roommate that proceeded to bash the oil pan and cash the engine.
Donated to local fire department.

86 Century, general body measles. Leprosy. Bottoms of the doors were gone. Gave it to the kids GF, then he got it from her when they broke up and she couldn't keep it running.
Junkyard.

84 626 had rear wheelhouse rot too, the back seat wouldn't latch and the rear shock was resting on the speaker shelf ready to go through the back window.. $100 parts car.

76 Chevette had no passengers front floor.
Junkyard.

79 Rabbit had drivers side front frame rot, wheel would move back and forth about 6 inches and hit the fender under accel and braking.
Sold to someone that needed the engine.

Stock 99

Yeah, I'm the same way. I've only ever sold one car everything else goes to the wrecker. I still have my Toy even though it hasn't been on the road for 3 years now. It's actually a compilation of about 5 or 6 different Toyotas. I finally gave up on it when coolant started weeping out the side of the block between the 2 and 3 cylinders. Even about a year ago I had some plans to revive it but after doing a compression test leveler heads prevailed. I'm going to strip it for everything useful/sellable over the winter and junk the rest next spring.

I can't believe you didn't have any commentary about me calling that plastic piece of crap on my car a splitter,lol. 'splash guard' the first time I've ever experienced plastic 'bolts' in my life. The Honda has been good to me...but like I've mentioned before I'm really a truck guy.

BTW - I rolled that truck into the ditch doing 90 km/h and flipped it on it's wheels and drove it for another 3 years, lol.

ezone

I just figured it was some sort of Canuckian term. LOL. I figured out what you meant.


Yeah, don't push while turning them or they won't go anywhere...

The plastic pushpins they use now can be worse after they age and get dirt in them.
I'm getting old, I like the bigger cars now. The Buick was one cushy ride and I miss it. I don't miss the gas mileage though.
Kinda makes me want to put super soft struts on the Civic.

Stock 99

OMG, I drove the F150 maybe 100 km one day last week and I have to put new shocks before I drive it anymore. Picture 4200 lbs going down the highway at 50 mph on nothing but springs....scary. I actually had a car back up on a side road when they saw me coming.

ROTFL

That's why I like trucks...get the eff out of my way... I'm an effing truck. LOL

Stock 99

So hey ezone....

...to get back somewhat on topic....

I did another inspection on the top of the radiator today and everything seems fine. I plugged my OBD II scantool in before I left for town today and did a 320 sec live data capture. My coolant seems to hover around 84C (184f) and it seems the Tstat and fan doesn't open/come on for a 20 min drive on the highway. I touched the lower rad hose and it was cold at the end of 20 min (it's 0C(32f) ambient today). Is that normal? or should I look at a lower temp Tstat? I did test the entire cooling system parked in the driveway yesterday and the Tstat does open and the fan does run....it's just not getting hot enough on my daily drive. I literally go out my driveway on to a 100km/h(200mph) highway and pretty much stop/turn it off within minutes of getting off the highway.

ezone

Did someone turn the lights off?

Good.


Yes it is, and you don't need it.

Tstat is regulating the operating temp as long as there is ariflow through the radiator. You're driving at highway speed in the cold.

Fan is not needed until coolant temp gets to 200ish, or whatever temp the fan switch is rated at.

Stat regulates minimum operating temp, fan regulates the maximum. (after warmup).

All normal.


The job of a radiator is to ___________?
Is the radiator doing that job?

(HINT: It's working perfect.)

No no no.

What makes you say that?
If it gets to whatever temp your first line said, it's perfect.

But you have to be running long enough to reach that temp.

No big deal, I wouldn't mash the pedal and do redline runs when it's cold though. (And that car won't go 200 MPH).

ezone

Emphasis here:
What makes you say that?

ezone

Think of this, in the way of cooking.....

How long does it take to boil water? Don't tell me you can give a single answer here. There's a crapload of variables that go into the answer.




How long would it take to boil water, if there is only a cupfull?
How long would it take to boil water, if there is a gallon?
How long would it take to boil water, with a tiny flame?
How long would it take to boil water with a freekin huge flame?

How long would it take to boil a cupfull of water, on low flame?
How long would it take to boil a gallon of water, on low flame?

How long would it take to boil a cupfull of water, on high flame?
How long would it take to boil a gallon of water, on high flame?

Got it??
Your engine and radiator holds close to 2 gallons of liquid.
Your gas pedal is now the burner.

EDIT: More....
You can heat up only a gallon of liquid at one time (inside the engine). The other gallon is getting cooled off (in the radiator) while the first gallon is heating up in the engine.

Only the thermostat doesn't dump an entire gallon through at once.
It is an "intermittent flow" system.
As the liquid in the engine gets up to temp, the stat lets some through until cooler liquid hits it, and it closes. IF it reaches stable temps, the stat might slowly let a continuous stream through to maintain a certain temp. It can close or open more at any time as needed (up to a point), depending on the temp of the liquid coming FROM the radiator..

Stock 99

Why did that feel like a burn? lol

cool, bit paranoid I guess, I always thought normal operating condition was the engine getting hot enough to open the Tstat regardless of ambient.

My car spends 98% of its time between 2000-3000 rpm and it has never seen redline under my ownership. Do they not tell Americans all Canadian Honda's are turbo and push 300hp? I can see why they wouldn't.

little eyecandy...

Stock 99

good info thanks

ezone

Not intentionally. I try to do that at work whenever anyone asks questions. I try to get them to use their brain and see if they can figure out the answer using what they already know.

That is how I was taught, and learned. Build on what you already know.


A quote, stolen from another forum.

I believe that giving someone a solution hinders
their learning process. Unless researched, nothing is
gained. We did homework in fifth grade. What happened? In my
view, the technique is motivational. Motivated individuals
will perform research. Unmotivated individuals usually claim
their ego is bruised and quit the dialogue.

When our current lubie first started with us, he absolutely hated that I teach in riddles..... Now he has figured out how to appreciate it.


And they don't tell you that all of ours come with a Magnesium Lung and Nitrous.

Actually, the CR-Z is supposed to be getting a supercharger for 14, maybe available in a kit too?

http://www.hondasacuras.com/2013/11/...ercharged.html
Holy cow, I can't even read that. I THOUGHT I needed new glasses.....Now I think I need binoculars.

Stock 99

lol, yeah I know small pic...

I have a pretty nice 27" monitor and it's still just readable....

just been playing around with my OBD II scantool the past couple...

....no sense in having tools if you don't know how to use them



I was trying to make the computer geeks jealous as well when they saw my PC running at 12C....my PC has a radiator/block/pump as well

ezone

True dat!

You must be just as blind as I am.

17" screens on my laptops.
42"or bigger TV in the bedroom so I can see it without my glasses on. (barely)

I've got the core temp displays on mine too.
Yeah? Well...uhhh....Mine has a magnesium lung and nitrous!

Yeah. That's the ticket.