possible causes of a leak in the radiator system?

**bisolvon** · January 21st, 2011 11:45 PM

mga ser, good day to all. kasi yung saken(honda civic lx), bigla nagkaron leaks. especially dun sa may bypass outlet. when I checked, hoses are still firm naman. at sa mga dulo lumalabas leaks.

I'm thinking I could just replaced the clips and it might work. pero like after a few weeks, parang nagkakaron naman ng leak sa radiator mismo, yung sa plastic top.hayz. siguro need ko nga talaga paoverhaul na yung buong radiator system mismo.

so my real concern is kung ano po yung mga posibleng dahilan bat biglang nagkakaleak sa rad system naten bukod sa normal wear and tear so that I can avoid this from happening again in the future.at saka tips and advice narin po on how to properly maintain it. I'm using a coolant by the way(if this helps too).

hope to hear from you guys soon.thanks.

**t2erns** · January 22nd, 2011 08:41 AM

pag sa bypass hose check mo maige yung hose, kung ok yung hose replace the radiator cap.
pag malambot na mga radiator hoses; replace na.
coolant; 50% coolant-50%water (preferrably distilled water)
kung may leak na radiator tank, have the radiator repaired or better replaced it na.
check your fans proper operations.

**RustyXIII** · January 22nd, 2011 09:06 AM

Could be increased pressure in your cooling system. Worst case scenario is a blown head gasket. Try first the cheapest parts. In order: radiator cap, clips/clamps, hoses, fans, radiator, thermostat, THEN head gasket.

**Uncle Nick** · January 22nd, 2011 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by RustyXIII

Could be increased pressure in your cooling system. Worst case scenario is a blown head gasket. Try first the cheapest parts. In order: radiator cap, clips/clamps, hoses, fans, radiator, thermostat, THEN head gasket.

There is one sure-fire way to troubleshoot this problem.

Do a pressure test.

You can borrow, rent, buy, or make a pressure tester which you screw on instead of the radiator cap.

Or go to a radiator shop and ask that they do a pressure test only, no repairs.

You pump up the pressure with the bulb and look for a leak...radiator, radiator neck, hoses, clamps, water pump (and gasket). Look on the ground for coolant.

See if the pressure on the guage has gone down or remained stable.

If you have a head gasket problem, you will see white smoke in your exhaust. Do a compression test to verify.

Replacing parts randomly according to price does not always work and can be more costly in the long run.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to discredit your suggestions, I just want to help.

Ciao!

Uncle Nick.

**RustyXIII** · January 22nd, 2011 06:06 PM

^^In his case, pressure testing would only add to the cost. He is experiencing leaks already and he can see the places where coolant is leaking. A pressure test would just tell him what he already knows.

As to the compression test that you suggested, this would be a good lead just to see if the leaks were caused by high pressure due to combustion gasses escaping into the cooling system.

**Uncle Nick** · January 23rd, 2011 03:33 PM

Sorry!

Of course you are absolutely right about the pressure test being superflous.

I was unaware that the source of the leaks were known.

I do not read or write Tagalog. I must guess at the inputs supplied.

Another test for a blown head gasket, aside from the "white" exhaust smoke, is to remove the radiator cap, top up the coolant, then start the engine. Do not remove the cap if engine is hot!

Look for bubbles inside the radiator at the fill cap.

If there are bubbles, it is usually on indication of engine compression finding it's way to the cooling system.

Ciao!

Uncle Nick.

**desert fox** · January 23rd, 2011 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by RustyXIII

Could be increased pressure in your cooling system. Worst case scenario is a blown head gasket. Try first the cheapest parts. In order: radiator cap, clips/clamps, hoses, fans, radiator, thermostat, THEN head gasket.

sundin mo ito TS....worst scenario head gasket na nga...

**bisolvon** · January 23rd, 2011 11:37 PM

yep. I think it has something to do with increased pressure. nakaapekto rin kaya yung pagpalit ko ng rad cap from 0.9 to 1.1? after ko kasi pinalitan, dun nagsimula magleak around sa "plastic top"(not sure how you call it) ng radiator. yun kasi ang binigay saken ng casa and base from what I googled, 1.1 is the standard for Hondas.

I guess there is really some replacing/repairing to do, and I'll go with Rusty's advised. I will try to buy 0.9 again to test if that's the real cuplrit first and hopefully minimize leaks.

and nga pala, for testing busted HG's. after I leave the rad cap open and started in the morning, do I have to wait a couple of minutes when its already hot, like wait until my rad fan starts to spin or immediately check after starting if there's bubble in it?

I'm also thinking there might be air in the system, kaya ask ko narin how can we remove the air in it properly?

Kasi nung pinapalitan ko yung "L" hose sa may bypass outlet where I initially found the leak, nung paghila ng home-based mechanic dame lumabas na coolant then bigla salpak ng bago hose. Ofcourse me, being a noobie, am not aware back then that "air" in the system could also affect performance so I just simply top it off with coolant again. that was also the same time by the way that I replaced my rad cap from 0.9 to 1.1.

after about a week, then the plastic top radiator leak problem goes in.hayz.

and thanks by the way Uncle Nick for the advised too. That gives me additional information on Auto101 for my future references.