Coolant leak

[kronikally420]

Heya. I have a coolant leak as the title says and it is underneath the intake..In the middle-ish maybe toward the driver side some..

I just had the oil cooler hoses replaced and new hose clamps put on as well...

It seems to be a hose leaking, but it's hard to see under the intake... ( I have looked at it from the bottom side as well.)

I was wondering what it could be other than my oil cooler hoses?
And what is the best way of getting to those hoses? The guy I had replace the oil cooler hoses and O-ring said he went in from the bottom..(90$!)
Also I think my car is building too much pressure in the coolant system and therefore leading to premature hose failure..(maybe not...im not sure.) Any ideas what would cause this? At first I was filling the radiator with cold water all the way full like a dummy...I know better now. (It doesnt seem to want to bleed out properly unless it is topped off on coolant.) Now I am not overfilling and it leaks only (so far) when I go over 3,000 RPMs-ish.

What is/could be causing these leaks? Other than the fact that it might just be old hoses..
Maybe a slightly cracked head or gasket? (The gasket is less than a month old..) I was told to start the car and rev it up a few times and feel the radiator hose for pressure, and when I did it had none.

[cloudasc]

Are you using the oem clamps? If so you might try the ones you tighten with a screwdriver instead.

Also to answer your question about excessive pressure in your cooling system, a headgasket going bad can leak combustion gasses into the cooling system, without leaking coolant into the combustion chamber and burning it off. Its a problem I've personally dealt with.

Is your overflow bottle always full to the point of overflowing (well beyond the max line, even after you've topped off the radiator and filled it to between the min/max)?

If you have old hoses, it is wise to replace all of them, speaking from experience, they are nothing more then a ticking time bomb if they are old.

Also your supposed to check the radiator hoses for pressure after the car has been fully warmed up, meaning the fan has cycled on/off 2-3 times. Both the top and bottom hoses should be hot (if your thermostat is working properly)

Best way to get to the oil cooler hoses is from underneath, it shouldn't be any harder to install then changing an oil filter and few radiator hoses.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

If the hoses are rock hard you may have a bad radiator cap that wont relieve the pressure.

[kronikally420]

They are brand new screw clamps. And I Attempted changing them out myself(The oil cooler hoses) , But I could barely see them much less get to them.


"If the hoses are rock hard you may have a bad radiator cap that wont relieve the pressure. "
I hope this IS my problem! It is something I have not checked, and didn't think about either.
I did NOT think about the radiator cap being faulty. I have noticed it helps *some* when I run the radiator half open so it does relieve pressure..I hear it hissing sort of after driving it with it half open. (letting the pressure out of the system it seemed intense to my virgin eyes/ears)


"Also to answer your question about excessive pressure in your cooling system, a headgasket going bad can leak combustion gasses into the cooling system, without leaking coolant into the combustion chamber and burning it off. Its a problem I've personally dealt with."

I was told if you revved the engine a few times ( I did it 10 or 12) with the car cold that if I were to be leaking comubstion gases into the coolant system that I would know because the hoses would be tight when the car is *not* running temperature. Not sure this always works however.


"Is your overflow bottle always full to the point of overflowing (well beyond the max line, even after you've topped off the radiator and filled it to between the min/max)?
"
No. I don't put water into the overflow...It never seems to "work". (Supply water to the coolant system or receive water when there is too much)


"Also your supposed to check the radiator hoses for pressure after the car has been fully warmed up, meaning the fan has cycled on/off 2-3 times. Both the top and bottom hoses should be hot (if your thermostat is working properly)"

My thermostat is working properly. I was checking for pressure on my hoses from a combustion leak into my coolant system. Which in theory should make my hoses be tight before the car is fully warmed up. NOT SURE on this though. As I know different leaks are of different severity and therefore have greater/lesser effects depending on the size of the crack or blown headgasket.

My head gasket is less than a month old and its brand new. And as most of you know its metal, and yes I installed it correctly.

[crazymikey]

I had a Cadillac Catera that would literally pour coolant out of the back of the engine all down the firewall and onto the tranny.

Turns out that was a bad headgasket. Also had no heat.

Do you have heat?

Definetly check your rad cap though. That sounds like that could be all your problems.

[kronikally420]

I have heat but my blower fan doesnt work.


I just replaced my head gasket...



Edit: What goes wrong with the radiator cap to make it no relieve pressure? Just curious...I am taking the one off of my old cb7 and replacing mine...Any way to test to see if they are functioning properly to take the guess work out of it? (I guess just feel the hose to see if its rock hard...?) shrug thanks

[HondaFan81]

All based on your leak location reference. In addition to the HG & oil cooler hoses (I would not rule out the replacement jobs done incorrectly), it could be:

- Water pump gasket leaking
- Water pipe on water pump side O-ring leaking
- Corroded water pipe, tend to corrode at ports
- Rear engine coolant plug in block
- Any IM coolant hose could leak and come down middle/back of block as well.
- Heater coolant hoses, specifically one on driver side.