1999 Integra, 62k, no rust visible.
There is coolant leakage from the top edge - I had several acuras and never had this issue - leak is minor that there is no coolant on the floor (ground) - but I can see it on the top edges as I open the hood.
Are there any quick fixes? Are there any coolant additives that will seal? Is it recommended?
Since I bought it in 2004, I changed the coolant 2yrs ago - would I have done something that might cause this - I checked the connections and all seems fine. Acura dealer told me of the leak - they didn;t tell me of any loose connections.
Radiator leaks can occur at the seams between the plastic tanks and the aluminum core. The sealant used at these seams breaks down over time where a leak developes. The vehicle is almost ten years old. So it’s not that unusual for a radiator to develop a leak after that amount of time. You could try a stop-leak product. But I find black pepper works just as good as anything you can buy. Or replace the radiator.
Tester
Never heard of the black pepper trick. Care to elaborate?
This an old and well-known trick. Tom&Ray have mentioned it several times on-air. Remove the radiator cap and add about a teaspoon or two of ground black pepper. The pepper lodges in the hole and swells when the water hits it, expanding to fill the hole. But carry extra pepper and a jug of water with you.
OK, similar to the egg trick, but probably less harmful to the water pump.
No fault of yours and the cure is radiator replacement. They don’t last forever but they are an easy repair and a good investment.
I don’t know about pepper, but stop leak products are great for clogging your heater core. Get a new radiator.
Did you know that every new vehicle that comes off the assembly line already has a stop-leak product in it?
Tester
There ya go, boiled eggs with pepper. Yum. You guys are making me hungry.
Since I did the oil change in Feb, this issue developed - I called them back and told me of a smell - it is still there - they told me that the smell go away - would it be possible the mechanics (appeared inexperienced) (& big in size) might have put their weight on it and resulted in cracking?
They told me that they looked for work on my Car and could not find any.
One think for sure was that there was no issue when the oil was changed and the smell developed from that (& still there) time I left the place and those staff were new to the job.
They actually put the sum bolt on before removing the oil Filter! I would have removed both and then installed them!
Sounds a lot like what I just went through with my 00 S10, the jug had cracked, I replaced with a new radiator, but depending on price someone (a shop) could just put new jugs on it. For mine, at a local shop, new=$325. re-jug=$250. myself=$165