as i was driving in my accord a couple days ago ('92, lx, 5sp) i could smell coolant. i figured it wasn't me and kept driving. later on that night when parked idlingin neutral my thermo started climbing up towards the rad. i put the car into gear and drove down the street a bit and it went back down. upon inspection i noticed coolant leak all along the underside of the rad in random spray patterns the entire width of the rad. the rad itself doesn't look in the greatest shape, but i can't pinpoint a leak and all the hoses look ok. that night i filled the resevoir up to the max line and by this morning (2 days later) it was back down to the minimum. the car seems to heat up in neutral or lower RPMs. reving the engine to about 1500 at a stop light seems to cool it down, and downshifting around town when it climbs seems to help. i'm 99% sure it's my rad, but I want to be absolutely positive before dropping the money as I don't have a whole lot right about now. An OEM rad is out of the question, unless i can find one at a wreckers in good shape. does anyone have any feelings on chinese aftermarket rads?

 

also forgot to mention that i have to have the heat cranked to max and full open to keep the temp down as well.

 

I had a leaking radiator on my 93, but it was right on top where I could see the antifreeze bubbling through a hairline crack (probably woudn't have seen the crack if it hadn't been bubbling up through it). I got a replacement from oreillys for about $135 that had a lifetime warranty and it's given me no problems in about 2 1/2 years/ 65-70K of use.

 

pressure test and find the leak. if it is truely leaking all over (highly unlikely) then you need to replace anything that is leaking. Chances are that it's leaking from the lower hose connection from your description.

 

Many times the top or bottom "tank" will seep where they are crimped on to the radiatorcore.
Good aftermarket radiators are around $100-125, that would be about $600 cheaper than replacing a motor that has been over heated.
also be sure your radiator fans cycle when the engine is around 1/2 temp

 

you can buy a cooling system pressureizer from sears for about $40. Hook it up to the radiator cap and pressureize the system to whatever the specs are, then look for a leak. bear in mind it may be a hairline fracture. dont forget that adding coolant to the reservoir doesnt fill the cooling system! you have to add coolant/water to the radiator! be careful when opening the cap though, the last thing you want is a torrent of boiling water flying in the air and spraying all over you.

 

chinese aftermarket...? [sm=badidea.gif]

 

i'm gettinga shop to do a pressure test on it tomorrow. hopefully it's just a hose...although the rad itself doesn't look like it's got too long of a life ahead of it.

 

my shop teacher once bought a car from his friend for like $100 or something like that. ran fine. He took it into the shop class and pressure tested it. once he got to full pressure the rad burst and fluid started spraying everywhere, it busted a bunch of holes in the rad. Lesson for anyone thinking of doing a pressure test: dont do it if nothings broken. this is NOT aimed at axlrose. you should do a pressure test.

 

there's nothing wrong with doing a pressure test in my opinion. you just cannot exceed normal operating pressure(about 15psi)