93 Honda Civic LSi D15B2 Coolant leak

I once did a rad flush on my 85 nissan 200sx. I was fighting leaks for the next 3 months. I never recommend anybody use rad flush on an older vehicle. It gets rid of all of the gunk thats holding the cooling system together!

If your water pump is leaking out of the weep hole, replace the pump because the bushing is shot.

I would then do a pressure test on the system to find all the other leaks. Heater lines, heater core, and anywhere there is a clamp to metal surface are culprit. Also, once the system is empty, I would flush it with WATER ONLY to ensure you got all of the rad flush out of the system.

timtech wrote:

I once did a rad flush on my 85 nissan 200sx. I was fighting leaks for the next 3 months. I never recommend anybody use rad flush on an older vehicle. It gets rid of all of the gunk thats holding the cooling system together!

If your water pump is leaking out of the weep hole, replace the pump because the bushing is shot.

I would then do a pressure test on the system to find all the other leaks. Heater lines, heater core, and anywhere there is a clamp to metal surface are culprit. Also, once the system is empty, I would flush it with WATER ONLY to ensure you got all of the rad flush out of the system.

timtech wrote:

you need a new water pump - that seal is not repairable or replacable.

got to be /VERY/ careful using that chemical cleaner. this is an aluminum block - the caustic chemical in the cleaner dissolves metal. better to simply flush using fresh water. when refilling, use only distilled water to dilute the antifreeze. use a high quality long life fluid - the cheap stuff contains silicates which cause problems on hondas.

finally, when flushing, it's best to open the drain plug on the block as well as the radiator. otherwise, chemical containing] fluid remains in the block, much as water remains in the bottom of a toilet.

I am not optimistic air in the system is the problem, but for the record, did you purge the system of air per the manual's directions? This will include running the engine until the rad fan comes on twice. On my 91 Civic (same engine), getting the engine temp high enough in (mild) winter takes 40 to 60 minutes.

"timtech" wrote

I think I have got rid of all the cleaner now since all the new coolant has run out of it and I've been pouring water into the system whilst the engine is warm... and trying to 'burp' it of air bubbles at the same time. I figure if I manage to get the water to stop leaking I'll try coolant again.

Did the coolant again to the book letting it warm up lots (fan went on and off 5 times) - but it still leaks out of the water pump weep hole :-( - thinking it's probably the water pump gasket... Does anyone have any views on this "stop leak" fluid stuff? Cheers!

won't work - the pump shaft seal had gone. you need to replace the pump. ~$50.

typically, you replace the water pump whenever you replace the timing belt, because they don't last forever. and might as well replace the timing belt now that you are going to replace the water pump.

with reference to the timing belt/water pump job i talked about last post; it's likely that either the pump wasn't replaced when the belt was, or the belt wasn't replaced either. either way, your best bet unless you are selling the car real soon is just replace both now.