Magical Coolant

[GeoffM]

My coolant is magic!
It keeps pulling a vanishing act.
It's not in the oil. It's not on my driveway.

I think it might be my radiator cap.
Occasionally I'll get smoke from under my hood.
I've seen spray marks from that area before.
Can a radiator cap actually leak that much coolant?
I thought it would just come out the overflow tank.

[toycar]

Hate to break it to you, but its probably getting burned somewhere.



Usually this is not a good sign.



Best of luck. I would start with the obvious. Most of the time this means that coolant is leaking through the head gasket and is being burned in the cylinder.



Sorry for the bad news man.



On the plus side a head gasket jobby isnt that bad at all, Im sure you can do it. Once its done, the car will run like a flippin dream.

[GeoffM]

I don't think it is. When I did the compression test a month ago I got 170 across all cylinders.
Nothing in the oil, or smoke out the exhaust.
(Cold air it smokes).
It's gotten warm a few times since then(Not all the way pegged), but still runs like a top.

[10thAnnivCB7]

Mine dissapears from now and then. It's not in the oil either and i got a 2 month old rad cap from honda so i hope you figure it out.

[Accrdwgnguy]

Leaky hose is possible. Maybe a bad seal on the water pump or t-stat.

[toycar]

Leaky hose is possible. Maybe a bad seal on the water pump or t-stat.

This



Start with the obvious. There is coolant that runs all over the engine. Maybe its leaking from your heater core, and you haven't noticed a moist spot on your passenger side floor.



Start with the obvious was all I was saying.



I hope its not the HG.

[GeoffM]

Are there any other signs of a heater core?
My floors are soaked, but there is a water leak on my drivers side (from rain) and it's winter, so everything is wet anyways.
No smoke from the vents, and I don't have a sense of smell. I asked others to ask it it smells sweet, but nothing.
I moved lots of hoses when I did the motor mount. I don't see anything wet though.

[toycar]

Are there any other signs of a heater core?
My floors are soaked, but there is a water leak on my drivers side (from rain) and it's winter, so everything is wet anyways.
No smoke from the vents, and I don't have a sense of smell. I asked others to ask it it smells sweet, but nothing.
I moved lots of hoses when I did the motor mount. I don't see anything wet though.

Hmmm. Id be looking into this.


Really inspecting the core and the hoses is the best way to figure it out. Wet floors is a dead give away that something is going on though.

[GeoffM]

After rain, I can feel the water drip onto my left shoe.
I've also caught rain coming in from the top of the rear drivers side window.
I'll inspect the hoses when I get home. I massaged them a lot when I did the mount. Hopefull it's still alright.

[oyajicool]

If the heater core is leaking, I bet you would smell the coolant for sure when you open the door considering the cabin is closed for most of times while parked.

Have you checked intake manifold and such for presence of coolant and coolant stain? I thought Accord has tiny hoses and devices that coolant goes through.

I had a Civic which had leak from around there and it was hard to find that leak.

[GeoffM]

I wanted to replace all of the hoses under the intake when I did my motor mount, but I lost
my 2nd (higher paying) job right before I was to order them.
Kind of put it on hold. I'll get them once my new job starts paying, or if one's actually leaking.
When I had one out, it was on the ground. I stepped on it and though it was a piece of metal.

[oyajicool]

There was a neoprene/pre-formed hose on intake manifold on the Civic, which was a slow x2 leaker. I used longer generic hose there with a loop to imitate the shape of neoprene. So far so good on that installation still after 8 month.

[GeoffM]

I guess it just depends when my paycheck comes in. My lower paying job is at Autozone, so I get cheaper parts.
I'd prefer Honda hoses though.

[Losiracer2]

do a block leakdown test to rule it out. I took my car to honda when I couldn't figure out where it was going, they did a compression test which didn't reveal a leak, until they did a block leakdown.

[wed3k]

itll still run fine with a small head gasket leak. f22's have a thin head and like to warp easily and with a factory mls head gasket, theyll leak just as easily.

either keep adding coolant or have the head checked out, ive yet to see one crack and even seen them as bad as .020"

but remember that consuming coolant will prematurely wear o2 sensors and cats