Ek3 Reducing Water In Rediator

[kosala02]

I have EK3 1999 model (Multimatic).Car running well. But reducing water in stock tank and when stock tank is empty reducing water in radiator. I cheeked radiator also. There is no leak in radiator and water hoses. I asked Honda mechanic, he told gasket is leak.is it possible. If you know something please tell me.

[The Stig]

Yes gaskets could be a cause.

Have you noticed that the heat gauge in the car is above the normal range sometimes ? cause sometimes overheating due to various causes can also lead to evaporation of water.

BTW are you just using water or are you using a coolant ?

[kosala02]

I have noticed every time heat gauge never above normal level. I am using water after check radiator. I went to Nuwaraeliya 1 month back, but never overheating. Only thing is water reduce in radiator.

[XBeat]

  On 7/20/2012 at 2:10 AM, kosala02 said:

I have EK3 1999 model (Multimatic).Car running well. But reducing water in stock tank and when stock tank is empty reducing water in radiator. I cheeked radiator also. There is no leak in radiator and water hoses. I asked Honda mechanic, he told gasket is leak.is it possible. If you know something please tell me.

Their is a simple observation to check whether there is a gasket leak.

01. Open the radiator cap (make sure that it is not heated up to a level to burn your fingers and the engine is not overheated. Use a piece of cloth to open the cap as a precaution)

02. Start the engine.

03. Fill the radiator up to the overflow drain level with water/coolant

04. Watch whether you can see little air bubbles coming out of the radiator.

05. If air bubbles are observable then it is an indication that the gasket is damaged.

You will need to replace the gasket and paste the engine head depending on the damage caused.

Generally gasket damages occur due to overheating of the engine. This may happen due to

01. Leaking radiator

02. Malfunctioning cooling fan

03. Evaporation of coolant from damaged radiator cap

04. You not checking the coolant level at sufficient intervals and not refilling it

The repair cost will depend accordingly

[maheshw]

  On 7/20/2012 at 3:15 AM, kosala02 said:

I have noticed every time heat gauge never above normal level. I am using water after check radiator. I went to Nuwaraeliya 1 month back, but never overheating. Only thing is water reduce in radiator.

May be it due to a leak in gasket as Stig state. But before enter to that check any leaks in water lines, jackets.Radiator cap.

Fill the water to proper levels & run. when the car reaches to average temp open the bonnet & ask someone to accelerator for around 2-3K.check whether there is any leaks. some leaks can be small as needles.(becarefull when doing this)

Did you notice any smoke than before while accelerating?

My 2cents.

[Mars Volta]

Start with Replacing the Radiator cap and see

[kosala02]

I changed the genuine Radiator cap, but still water reduces in radiator.

[kushan]

  On 7/20/2012 at 4:38 AM, Mars Volta said:

Start with Replacing the Radiator cap and see

Most probably this can be the cause for it, check your radiator cap is firmly fitted. I also had this issue, now I double check whether I have fitted it firmly.

[Ripper]

there can be tiny leaks from hoses or from the radiator itself.

if you're not using coolant, residue from such leaks would be even harder to spot.

if what others have said doesn't checkout...pop the hood up when the engine is running and the motor is hot and visually inspect to see if you can see steam leaks.

one of the great things of using coolant is the ability to spot leaks a lot better.... even when the leaks are small.

[jdnet]

A leak could occur due to a number of reasons. If you are using water you would not be able to spot it in many cases. Did the mechanic explain why he thinks it's a head gasket leak? did he check the hoses, water pump and cap? Also you could very well have a leak in one of the heater lines. I spent months figuring out a leak that turned out to be at the connections for the heater.

[kosala02]

Thanks machan..

[kosala02]

I put the coolant. But same issue, reducing coolant in radiator.i cant understand what is the problem.

[jdnet]

Do yourself a favor. Take it to Stafford and see what they come up with.

[kushan]

  On 7/25/2012 at 3:03 PM, kosala02 said:

I put the coolant. But same issue, reducing coolant in radiator.i cant understand what is the problem.

Do you normally parking your vehicle on a cement floor, or else use some old news papers and park on top of it, if theres a leak you can spot it from the stains of the news paper. Do it once you came home after a ride on your vehicle, Im sure you will see some coolant stains on the news papers...

[kosala02]

normaly praking cemnet floor.coolant not in cement floor.

[kushan]

  On 7/26/2012 at 8:42 AM, kosala02 said:

normaly praking cemnet floor.coolant not in cement floor.

hmm.. probably the radiator cap then..?, I too had this radiator cap issue, but now I double check whether I closed it firmly.

[kosala02]

i cheked the gascket.its ok,also changed the genuine radiator cap. but didnt slove the problem.every i have to put the coolant for stock tank

[kosala02]

When I put the coolant radiator is leak. Anyone know the place buy a Honda ek3 radiator and roughly price of that

[XBeat]

  On 7/30/2012 at 2:55 AM, kosala02 said:

When I put the coolant radiator is leak. Anyone know the place buy a Honda ek3 radiator and roughly price of that

as jdnet pointed out gaskets, radiator cap or the radiator are not the only places a leak could occur. there fore better to show it to stafford or any good radiator guy to check the leak before jumping into conclusions.

[kosala02]

I checked radiator twice, they said not leak there. But when car is normal temperature coolant coming under bottom of radiator.

[kushan]

  On 7/30/2012 at 2:55 AM, kosala02 said:

When I put the coolant radiator is leak. Anyone know the place buy a Honda ek3 radiator and roughly price of that

You can repair the radiator for around 1500, But I advice you to buy a new one. Genuine Honda will cost around 60K at Stafford, but you can buy a good one (Thailand) from Tech motors around 20K or from C.T. Lionel around 12K (UAE Manufactured).

Reparing is not good, since it wont last long, probably in another month it will leak from different place. I was raparing like that and realized its not going to end, so bought a new one from C.T Lionel around 12K.

Edited July 30, 2012 by kushan

[Sylvi]

Members,

Today most of automobile Radiators are made with Aluminum top and bottom tanks are high temperature PVC. The tanks are fixed with rubber gasket by pressing with a special Aluminum sealing arrangement They are not advisable to repair unless you have a very good Radiator repairer.

All old Automobiles had Radiators made with Copper tubes. Two top and bottom tanks were made with Brass and soldered with lead. They were repairable used to last very long time

Browns had a very good Radiator repair department which is no more.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[kosala02]

is recon radiators good??i checked in maruchi and japan lanka,they told price is 18k.its ok

[Sylvi]

  On 7/31/2012 at 3:29 AM, kosala02 said:

is recon radiators good??i checked in maruchi and japan lanka,they told price is 18k.its ok

'kosala02',

I don't think any one do reconditioning Radiators. Most available in used spare parts dealers are removed from vehicles and they are as it is.Cannot comment about the price. Don't you like to try (Thailand) from Tech motors around 20K or from C.T. Lionel around 12K (UAE Manufactured). I think they are new Radiators.

Sylvi Wijesinghe.

[Amila G]

I saw once my mech repaired a leaky radior in a cr42 using a mixture of superglue and dirt (very fine dust) Said it's the only way to repair those plastic radiators. Don't know how effective it is but you can try it until you find a replacement. But don't blame me if it failed