Okay so something weird happened today with my car that I haven't noticed before. I did my commute home from North Raleigh (about 13 miles, took 45 minutes) and went to the HT in Cameron Village. When I came out with groceries about 25 minutes later, I noticed a puddle of coolant. I looked under my car and saw it dripping, but couldn't tell from where exactly (dripping off a splash guard). It wasn't a ton, seemed like 1/2 a cup or so, but any leak is reason for concern!

When I got home (just 1/2 mile from there) I jacked up the car and did an investigation. No coolant was leaking anymore, and I located the "leak" to the drain plug for the radiator. I say "leak" b/c it wasn't leaking, but looked wet.

Any thoughts? I'm gonna top off the coolant tomorrow after work (don't have any handy) but I can't figure out what caused this to happen.

9/2/2008 8:46:49 PM

its possible that the o-ring on the drain plug is leaking, or the radiator is leaking higher up and dripping off there, take some pics of it

9/2/2008 8:48:40 PM

hot day-boilover

how many miles on yer rad?

keep an eye on it. could be failing.

9/2/2008 8:49:22 PM

Quote :

"keep an eye on it. could be failing."

thats what the doctor said about my penis

9/2/2008 8:50:47 PM

^^lol, man you know my mileage, roughly. 272,000 miles. And its the 3rd radiator in this car. It was installed last summer. I tried turning the plug, it was TIGHT.

9/2/2008 9:06:22 PM

air cool it dude, fuck it

9/2/2008 9:20:22 PM

did you check to see if the reason it stopped leaking is because it ran out????

9/2/2008 9:32:14 PM

^lol, thank you Joel. To be honest, I didn't take the radiator cap off to look. It was too hot. However there was a tiny amount still in the overflow reservoir. Plus I sat in a lot of traffic not moving for a while and the temperature gauge didn't go higher than usual. I will take a look in the morning though before heading to work

9/2/2008 10:45:52 PM

Quote :

"air cool it dude"

9/2/2008 10:55:34 PM

Okay, since it was on my mind I just went out to the car and checked the radiator. I couldn't see any liquid in there so I started filling it up with water. It took about 2 pints to fill it up. I'll check to see if it leaked in the morning.

9/2/2008 10:58:14 PM

Quote :

"drain plug"

its not an oil pan.

pitcock is the word

9/2/2008 11:59:42 PM

if you are going to correct someone, you need to make sure that you have it right

its petcock not pitcock

9/3/2008 12:03:40 AM

no you are right it is pet cock

if you are going to correct someone use proper grammer
most sentences usually start with a capital letter no?

9/3/2008 12:08:20 AM

^ So you're saying you've never in your very limited automotive experience, come across a radiator with a drain plug?

I can believe that.

9/3/2008 8:03:39 AM

well on a cooling system its called a pet cock because you open it to do 1 or both of the following things
1) drain fluid
2)release air pressure or an air pocket.
and it doesn't always have to be at the bottom of or even on the radiator it self.



[Edited on September 3, 2008 at 11:58 AM. Reason : .]

9/3/2008 11:52:07 AM

I had a weird issue on my accord a few weeks ago. Mine started leaking and I pressure tested it with the car jacked up and looked at the petcock. It was leaking there, but was tight, so I started to unscrew it, and it snapped with half of the threads still in the radiator. It was a bitch to get out. The new one I got from Lakeshore (it was a lakeshore radiator) was leaking for a little while and now it has stopped.

9/3/2008 12:31:21 PM

the new one didnt have an oring

9/3/2008 12:38:32 PM

Quote :

"if you are going to correct someone use proper grammer most sentences usually start with a capital letter no?"

you [fail] at trolling

9/3/2008 1:03:10 PM

this would be a petcock



this is a drain plug



fyi, its not called a fuckin petcock because its on a cooling system dumbass, it called that because its a type of valve

9/3/2008 2:25:09 PM

replace the radiator. it's well past it's expected life span. plastic tops on aluminum radiators only last so long.

9/3/2008 3:10:48 PM

did i miss something? you're back in nc?

9/3/2008 3:42:21 PM

I'm sorry if I used the wrong technical nomenclature, forgive me. Either way, the car was fine today. No leaks of any kind. Perplexing.

^^I'm on my third radiator. This one was installed less than two years ago, and has less than 20k miles on it. No freaking way it needs to be replaced!

^Indeed I am Kevin! As of August 4th. And you better believe I'll be getting back into local motorsports. Just need a few months to get settled and get a new (sports) car.

9/3/2008 5:39:09 PM

Quote :

"fyi, its not called a fuckin petcock because its on a cooling system dumbass, it called that because its a type of valve"

its a pet cock on a cooling system, its not a drain plug.
pet cocks are also on fuel tanks on motorcycles.

when you drain the oil in the motor or the tranny you are removing a drain plug.

PETCOCK- {Pet cock}. [Perh. for petty cock.] (Mach.) A little faucet in a water pipe or pump, to let air out, or at the end of a steam cylinder, to drain it.

DRAIN PLUG-A fitting at the bottom of a valve, the removal of which permits draining and flushing the body cavity

if you notice 4 valve ford engines have a pet cock on the top most point of the cooling system, as well as most chrysler front drive cars on the pass. fender

9/3/2008 11:39:01 PM

this seems worth repeating:


this would be a petcock



this is a drain plug



fyi, its not called a fuckin petcock because its on a cooling system dumbass, it called that because its a type of valve

9/4/2008 12:29:54 AM

Quote :

"^Indeed I am Kevin! As of August 4th. And you better believe I'll be getting back into local motorsports. Just need a few months to get settled and get a new (sports) car."

autox in sanford in october. i've been thinking about trying to make it to this one. it has been about a year and a half since i've made it to an event..

edit: plus, i'm curious to see how the a4 quattro will do out there.

[Edited on September 4, 2008 at 12:28 PM. Reason : edit]

9/4/2008 12:28:07 PM

Eh, there's no freaking way my GS-R is getting thrashed about in an autox next month. This car needs a lot of routine work to be done to get back in shape. Plus I think the shocks are getting worn out (110k miles or more on them). Valves need adjustment as well, spark plugs perhaps...blah. Wouldn't be competitive in the least, if nothing broke

9/4/2008 5:57:40 PM

So this shit's happening again.

Over the weekend when I was at my parents house a little bit of coolant leaked out. Not sure how, but I just topped it off and disregarded it. And it was fine after that, including driving 180 miles back to Raleigh (from charlotte). Well today when I drove after work to Food Lion I noticed a little coolant leaking from under the car. Then when I got home all this steam came out from under the hood. I popped the hood and couldn't tell a lot b/c it as dark out. However there was coolant dripping down from the bottom of the radiator, or at least it looked like that. A lot came out. I'm pretty sure it all came out actually, but it wasn't a flood like all at once, more like over an hour. I'm pretty sure its the radiator or a hose connection to the radiator. All the coolant was dripping from the very front of the car (and this with the car in a slight incline with the front being higher than the rear).

I'm gonna fill it up in the morning and go to work (and bring extra water). If its the radiator I will be beside myself, I had that shit replaced 2 years ago for the 2nd time.

I might have to start my new car search this month instead of next month, I'm sick of this crap.

12/2/2008 11:08:27 PM

Is it possible its coming out of the reservoir's overflow? My Escort started dumping a good bit of coolant through the overflow randomly after I replaced the water pump at about 215000 miles. I ended up just leaving it at the level it was at and ignoring the low coolant light, never had a problem with the coolant coming out after that. It went another 11000 miles with the coolant light on before the engine bit the dust.

12/2/2008 11:20:34 PM

2 years isnt a bad lifespan for a radiator. They arent built like they used to be.

12/2/2008 11:50:00 PM

^^its not the overflow reservoir. thanks for the suggestion though

^time for you to find me a car.

12/3/2008 7:05:40 AM

when you replaced the radiator did you use a Honda part or an auto zone special?

12/3/2008 7:08:55 AM

^my mechanic in NYC replaced it last, and I'm pretty sure he used an OEM part.

I just checked my car's log, this radiator was installed in 7/06 and about 23,000 miles ago. For the radiator to crap out again so soon seems like complete bullshit to me.

Anyone know a good shop or someone that wants to install a new radiator today?

12/3/2008 8:33:50 AM

might be bullshit but sounds about right. i've gone through them that fast before.

12/3/2008 8:41:26 AM

There's a Tire Kingdom 1/2 mile from my office down on Airport Blvd. They quoted me labor of $140 and am calling me back on the price of the radiator. Unless it's outrageous I'm taking it there. That way it can be taken care of without me missing any time in the office.

$360 for everything, I'm going with it...

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 9:15 AM. Reason : good deal?]

12/3/2008 9:05:36 AM

doesn't sound bad to me..could you get it done cheaper? probably..but if it gets done fast and you don't have to deal with it then it's worth it.

12/3/2008 9:22:39 AM

overpressurization issue? did they replace the cap when they replaced the rad?

exhaust gas leak?

12/3/2008 4:25:39 PM

I have no idea if this is the case, but:

On my dodge, i had some kind of a coolant leak, probably leaked 1-2 cups, enough for a good puddle. I thought, well i will drive it home then i can go about fixing it, but it didn't leak. 1 month later, same thing , temporary leak, leaked a ton, but quit for another long while. Then the water pump finally shit the bed totally one day at a gas station a couple weeks later. I think it had to do with the stars lining up perfectly for there to be a leak through the bearings of the water pump, but it had to be perfect so it only happened every once in a while. [\pure conjecture]

12/3/2008 4:37:22 PM

So they said that whoever last worked on my radiator replaced the cooling fans too close to the radiator. they said some mounting clips were bent, and the fan housing was resting against the radiator instead of sitting 1/4 inch off the radiator. Ultimately over time it wore a hole into the radiator. They showed me the old radiator.

They also said I should replace the driver's side cooling fan (where the rubbing happened). they said the bearings in the fan are shot and the fan's loose and the blades can come close to the radiator. Its the original fan on that side so I believe them. I'll handle that myself some day with a junkyard special (if I hold onto the car long enough to care).

12/3/2008 6:08:08 PM