Alright, a few days ago i smelled coolant so i checked my tank and it was empty, i filled it up and the next day it was empty again. My car hasn't been overheating at all, so i figured maybe there's a leak somewhere. i poured some water on the top of the radiator when it was warm and it started bubbling in a tiny spot where the plastic top meets the aluminum. so there's a small hole at the top; sounds like this is a pretty common with honda radiators eh? go figure why they have plastic tops .
Anyways my question is this: is there an easy fix or temporary fix for the hole, or do i need to replace the whole radiator right away? i found a supposedly OEM radiator on www.radiators.com but has anyone out there ever gone through them? just wondering cause they are like half the price of any other ones... ALso, I guess it's ok to drive as long as it doesnt overheat right??? its just a pain to keep fillin it up every other day with coolant. thanks for the help guys-

 

You can fix it temporarily with JB Weld or Quick Steel, or a similar hardening epoxy type material. Just make sure you clean the area well before patching it, otherwise it'll keep leaking.

 

Yeah I thought of tryin that with jbweld but will it work, since it's plastic?? thanks for the reply-

 

For a temp fix you can use Bar's Stop-Leak, available at just about any parts store. It's a suspended copper mix that plugs most cooling system problem areas, once you replace the radiator, you should do a complete coolant flush, however, b/c once your hole is plugged, should you develop another, it would be better to know it than to have the stop-leak do it's thing again and leave you unaware [at least that's how i'd prefer it]. Any 'ole parts or radiator store should be able to get you a suitable replacement, I haven't had a problem with any radiator I've gotten that was aftermarket any more than I have from one that was 100% OEM.

 

You also don't want that stuff collecting inside the block and blocking your collant passages.

 

sounds good i'll try that, hopefully it'll last for a bit while i save up some $$$ to replace it- thanks guys

 

yeah i used jb weld it works on mine and i have a 2inch crack on the top plastic radiator. It hasn't leak but i put like 1/4 of the tube on the radiator.

 

alright i just finally put in a new aluminum radiator, jb weld did work by the way, but i finally scraped up enough $$ to get a new one. anyways my question is, there's 2 fans behind the radiator.. one is a little bigger than the other one. is one of them supposed to always be on? or do they both just come on when it gets too hot???? thanks, just want to make sure they're working right

 

On a Vig, one fan (the fan on the passenger side) comes on whenever the radiator can't handle the heat transfer. The other fan (on the driver's side) only comes on when the A/C is on. And then, only when the radiator can't handle the heat transfer.

Check out the Acura Vigor Club -- there's an article on their Timely Topics page that describes this in more detail.