well about a month or so ago i replaced my radiator/cap because coolant was leaking/sparying all over the place. well after checking my radiator and reservoir the other day i noticed a lil puddle of coolant and the level in the reservoir was very low. i work at a honda dealership and had a couple mechanics take a quick look at it and they didnt find any leaks, did a pressure test too and its fine. well they said it was ok, filled up the reservoir, dried w/e coolant was around the area and drove off. took a look under the hood today, everything was dry but i noticed the reservoir was low again...wtf? where is the coolant leaking?? the hoses are dry and arnt cracked. i have no idea where it could be leaking from or what the deal is. my main concern is if its internal, bad headgasket or something. my stepdad said it could possibly be the water pump or something? i dunno...any ideas? comments? suggestions?

ill have the guys at work take a look at it again tomorrow. hopefully we can figure out what the problem is soon and take care of it so i can drive/race with a clear conscience..

thanks!

 

well if you were burning any coolant there would be big puffy clouds of smoke coming out your tail pipe, it doesnt take much to make alot of smoke. next i would check your oil, after its sat for a while, pull the dipstick and see if there is any water/AF bubbles in the oil. if thats clean, just look all over the engine, it may be evaporating before it can drip so thats why you dont see anything

 

alright i changed both the top and bottom hoses yesterday. as far as i can tell, everything is just thee way it should be. BUT, somewhere, somehow, its still freakin leaking...this is a complete mystery to me. i've changed the radiator, the cap and now just the hoses. its holding pressure, the thermostat isnt stuck because theres no leaking near it and i can feel the hoses warm up. i kno the car isnt overheating cuz the fan starts up after a while. the clamps on the hoses are tight. i dont think its an internal leak because if it were burning coolant, just like rampage said, id see white smoke comin out of the exhaust.. im gena do a compresson test just to make sure nothings wrong.
itook pics earlierto show where the leak is, or atleast where i think its coming from..




looks like it would be leaking thru the upper hose right? i've checked it and made sure that its clamped tight...any tighter and i might break the part where the hose connects to the radiator. when i look and feel around the end of the hose, i dont feel any coolant. i have no idea where the hell its leaking from..i've also checked the resevoir for cracks and it looks to be just fine.

little hard to see but the coolant level is fairly low, the engine has cooled so it is lower and it could be because i may not have put enough coolant in the system. what has happened tho, in the morning before i drive and do my daily thing ill check the level. it shows that its fine and at the right level. then the next morning ill check it again and its under the min. line...

[&:]any ideas??

 

I would put another clamp on the upper hose so there is 2 clamps on there and slide 1 a little close to the radiator It may not be getting a proper seal between the neck of radiator and the hose.

 

it could be that the level is going down in the rez because there is still air bubbles in the lines and as they come out it sucks more up? also, im not sure if you said this or not, but is there AF in the oil?

 

thats exsactly what my radiator did and it was because i over tightened that hose clamp right there so i went back to stock and just got it snug, try a little snugger and if it continues look on the inside of the hose and make sure it isnt cut

 

If there is are bubbles I have a bleeder screw on my engine head I just unscrew it and it lets the access air out.Normal if I don't bleed it the car runs hot so it doesnt sound like that's the prob to me.

 

i tightened the upper hose a lil more and that seems to have done the trick. i would have used the original clamps but the radiator i used isnt an oem one. the hole or thickness of the plasticwhere the upper hose goes over is either smaller or thinner than the oem one so the original clamp wasnt enough to hold the hose seal tight. hopefully this will be alright and i can drive/race with a clear mind. im just real glad its not an internal leak, that def. would not have been good[&:]