Top Tank's of Preludes can split and leak coolant!

g'day people,

dunno if many already know this but the top tank of a prelude radiator is plastic and can split and leak coolant, this happened to mine only 3 months after i bought the car. it cost $240 to repair, which i didnt think was to bad considering it was spraying coolant all over my bonnet, requiring me to wash it off with soapy water every time after a trip. the bloke who fixed it said it was common on these cars after about 10 yrs or so, my car is 12 yrs old. he said it shouldnt need replacing for approx another 10 yrs.

cheers,

James

yeah theyll do that

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Originally Posted by CUL8R

yeah theyll do that

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you wouldnt think honda, being of such high quality would put plastic bits in their engines would you? you'd expect it more in european cars.

lol pretty much all OEM raditors have plastic tops....

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Originally Posted by nuborn

you wouldnt think honda, being of such high quality would put plastic bits in their engines would you? you'd expect it more in european cars.

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the plastic is not even in the engine. the top tank is plastic on standard radiator's from honda. and there are european cars that are much "higher quality" then honda's.

These plastic top tanks last anywhere from 5-15years.. and its not only preludes that it happens to. it can happen to ANY CAR.

for $300 you could have got new one...

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Originally Posted by nuborn

you wouldnt think honda, being of such high quality would put plastic bits in their engines would you? you'd expect it more in european cars.

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european cars are much much better built then hondas...
honda only has good motors

i remember my mate telling me that the 92+ model honda prelude are the least reliable anyway.

dude thats gona happen to ne car once it gets old...and 12yrs aint young for a car

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Originally Posted by 94vtirozguy

for $300 you could have got new one...

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ok so i could have paid $60 for nothing, is that what your saying? my radiator is back to its original condition, that is, it now has no problem and neither would a new one, so whats the difference? that is cheap for a radiator, but i think it'd would hav been pointless in my case.

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Originally Posted by zco

the plastic is not even in the engine. the top tank is plastic on standard radiator's from honda. and there are european cars that are much "higher quality" then honda's.

These plastic top tanks last anywhere from 5-15years.. and its not only preludes that it happens to. it can happen to ANY CAR.

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i guess it depends what particular cars ur talkin about in the end, for example, i know that the golf, from about 92 to 96 were a bad batch with heaps of plastic bits in the engine and shockingly unreliable. i only kno this cos i was thinkin of buying a vr6 model b4 i found out how bad they can be, and its also the reason their so cheap! the idea of a big 6 in such a tiny car flicked my switches, can u blame me?

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Originally Posted by [ricer]

european cars are much much better built then hondas...
honda only has good motors

i remember my mate telling me that the 92+ model honda prelude are the least reliable anyway.

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i wouldnt say that.....landrover? compare that to say, a subaru outback, as far as quality and safety goes, their at opposite ends of the scale. i'm not sayin all european cars are bad, but u cant go past japanese reliability.

the plastic tank on a radiator has about a 10 to 12 year life for OEM radiator, ( which is awsome life ), but it will crack on day, its a bit like how your tyres ware out, just normal ware and tare.

Yeh this happened to me.

Top tank got multiple hairline fractures in it, and eventually one of them gave way.

I didnt bother fixing it....i just paid $300 for a new one. Figured the extra $60 was worth it for the warranty.

I just noticed a hairline crack on mine, just like you guys described, its not spitting out much but its starting to get noticable, Since its plastic is it possible to glue it?

Or just get a new radiator? where can i pick up a new oem radiator, is it $300 for radiator or $300 with installation?

Yep, it this does happen and sometimes the crack is very hard to see.

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Originally Posted by treeplant

I just noticed a hairline crack on mine, just like you guys described, its not spitting out much but its starting to get noticable, Since its plastic is it possible to glue it?

Or just get a new radiator? where can i pick up a new oem radiator, is it $300 for radiator or $300 with installation?

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Glue will not hold. The water in the system is under pressure, so it will eventually come out.

Good time to upgrade to an aftermarket radiator. :cool:

Not isolated to Preludes, our CD4 Accord also had the same problem. Using an aftermarket one now.

i had a brand new top tank put on my stock radiator for about $200.

How much more am I looking for aftermarket? Most importantly what are good places to start my search? Thanx

aftermarket radiator?
look into a koyo.
should be able to pick one up for around the $500 mark.

$240 sounds abit steep, It should be around $150 for a new top tank and radiator flash. The plastic starts to age and will need replacing, alot of cars have plastic top tanks on the radiator.

And bottom tanks.

with the price radiator repairers over here charge for a repair for top or bottom tank, you are better getting a brand new one for about $300.

Ok I think ill just get a new radiator, for a car thats over 10 years old I think its a good investement to get the whole thing, cant be bothered wasting a day for my car to be done and any resonable repairs I rather do myself.

I am in south east melb, do any of you know any good places I can get a new oem radiator for my 4th gen lude?

I will do a ring around 2moro but any help and info would be appreciated, im set for $300 anything under would be a bonus, thanx for the help so far

I rang around a few places, the price is around the $400 mark. One guy told me there is 2 different types of radiator, another guy told me there is 3, they have to see to be able to know which one it is, I asked him doesn't it have a part number on the radiator that i can tell him over the phone, he said no, he has to see it, hmm i work all week so dont have time to drive around and waste time. How many different radiators is there really that the 4th gen lude uses?

I just want to go buy a radiator and install it on the weekend and I have this funny feeling these guys just want me to come down so they can talk me into getting it installed flushed.

I saw some on ebay for 200 + 50 shipping but its ebay and from China, what you guys think is best thing to do?

Give Red Devil a call if you have them wherever you are. They usually stock alot. Should be about 250 for a new aftermarket one.

Guys this has happened to me - anyone know any places in Adelaide that are good for Honda repairs and radiators, second hand or new ?

i think i have the same problem. is it the plastic bit on the right?

is the top tank the thing on the right on the engine.. its still connected but separated by this black thing?

No the top tank is the actual top of your radiator. If you look carefully at your radiator you will notice that the top of the radiator is clipped/glued onto the rest of the radiator body where all your pipes are. Also you will notice the top tank is plastic while the bigger bottom part of the radiator is aluminium. Top tanks usually get hairline cracks around or near the cap where you fill coolant so if there is leaking there good chance of top tank. Once your top tank goes you do not need to change the whole radiator as the bottom aluminium bit 90% of the radiator is still ok, just the top tank needs to be changed, but you will need a professional install for this. Cost me around $250 removing radiator and brining in to the shop myself so they can fit it on with 1 year warranty. Most places wanted $300 for top tank fitting and $400 for a new radiator, maybye Melb is just expensive.

Top tank is plastic, middle core is aluminium or steel, bottom tank is plastic.

Happened in my old Delsol CRX. Went so quick and POW! headgasket gone in like under a minute. I am going full aluminium in my S2000.........

Didnt you notice the heatguage going up and steam comming from the engine? thats when you are supposed to turn it off before something like that happens lol

Until i secure a replacement, how do those 'crack repair kits' work? Waste of money?

What are the crack repair kits?

Best way is to get is properly repaired/replaced asap.

Just don't use that crap that you add to the coolant.

I have located an aftermarket Radiator. Pickup tomorrow.

Should be a pull out drop in job yeh?

Yeh its very easy. You'll be fine.