S2000 Under The Hood S2000 Technical and Mechanical discussions.

Need Help with Coolant Leak

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Old 03-13-2010, 03:37 PM
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Default Need Help with Coolant Leak

Hey Guys,

I did a search before posting and didn't find what I was looking for.

I have an 01 S2000 with 65k on it. It's bone stock. Anyways, I was just out driving it and saw a little steam coming from under the hood. I pulled over and checked it out and there was coolant under the hood. On that foam part between the radiator and radiator support. Also it was on both the left and right sides of the radiator. The cap is on all the way and I can't find any other signs of a leak. Luckily the car never got above 3 bars on the temp gage.

Anything you can suggest for me to check would be greatly appreciated.

-s
Old 03-13-2010, 03:59 PM
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it could be many things. I first thought of a leaky cap but you said it was on both sides of the rad. Could be a pinhole in the rad core, or one of the hoses. You have to get the car fully warm and look around with a bright light.
Old 03-13-2010, 05:27 PM
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I may have to get one of those pressure testers and see if I can spot a leak.

-s
Old 03-13-2010, 07:06 PM
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I pulled over and checked it out and there was coolant under the hood. On that foam part between the radiator and radiator support. Also it was on both the left and right sides of the radiator.
Seems to me like you have a cracked radiator plastic upper end tank or a bad radiator upper end tank seal. In either case, you could replace the upper plastic end tank and seal, but it will eventually break again. Cracked upper or lower plastic end tank is extremely common.

I suggest purchasing an all aluminum radiator to prevent cracked plastic end tanks.
Old 03-13-2010, 07:57 PM
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Hmmm im having a little leak too but my fluid drops down.below the oil filter. I know its rad coolant because only my rad coolant goes down. Dunno about any hoses down there but i dunno
Old 01-19-2011, 10:00 AM
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Sorry for the grave dig lol. I searched google and this was the exact problem im having. Driving down the interstate and i see this liquid coming out of the side of the hood and it wasnt raining so i pull over and theres dried up radiator fluid residue all over the intake/hood/battery/engine bay in general and the little foam in front of the radiator was DRENCHED. It looked like it was sprayed but i couldnt figure out from where since it was everywhere. I immediately refilled the resorvioir and made sure it was at a correct level after the car was on. Today it did it again and when i looked there was a fresh splatter right over the radiator cap on the bottom of the hood. Its an 01 and the car only has 76k. It doesnt overheat or anything, but this is driving me crazy. I looked online and im just gonna replace it with an obx aliminum radiator off eGay for $200 unless anyone has any advice on the issue.

BTW this is my first post!
Old 01-19-2011, 05:30 PM
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sounds to me like the rad or rad cap. If it is just the cap it can run down the sides of the upper rad and make it look like the actual rad is leaking.
Old 01-19-2011, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by MasterForce,Mar 14 2010, 12:57 AM
Hmmm im having a little leak too but my fluid drops down.below the oil filter. I know its rad coolant because only my rad coolant goes down. Dunno about any hoses down there but i dunno
coolant hoses connect to the oil cooler at the oil filter base, could be a small leak at one of the connections there.
Old 01-19-2011, 05:41 PM
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I'd suspect a cracked radiator like mentioned above as this is a common issue with the Honda plastic tanks , it could be a leaky cap but I would think that would be easy to see if that was the case.

If it is a leaky rad go with a Mishimoto aluminum rad, I just got one from GTMotoring.com, great rad for relatively low dough, almost 3 x the thickness of the oem rad, impressive piece and is a race proven rad unlike the OBX and isn't much more money than the OBX (which I usually associate with junk).
Old 01-19-2011, 05:55 PM
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got my mishimoto new for $185 from bonehead performance ebay store


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