Foo - Car Conundrum...........

Last Friday I took my 1986 Honda Accord, with 240K miles on it, to the shop I have been going to for almost twenty years and two different cars. I have never had any problems with the work they do and it is considerably cheaper than the Honda shop, and within walking distance. I asked them to check the radiator and they ended up replacing it. Bearing in mind it is a 22 year old car, and the radiator looked pretty bad inside, I didn't consider it unreasonable.

Today I was running some errands and parked at a Best Buy in a sloped parking lot with the right side of the car lower than the left.....and the overflow reservoir is on the right side.

When I came out there was a spot of anti-freeze on the ground the size of a shoe box top. I looked and couldn't see where it was coming from and gingerly drove home with no problems.

At home I crawled underneath, as far as I could considering it is a very low car, and still couldn't see any leaks. I also put some cardboard under the car, and after an hour, can't see any spots on the cardboard.

Is it possible that the shop simply overfilled the new radiator and the combination of driving across town and parking on a sloped parking lot made it overflow?

Considering my income level, or lack thereof, this has me very concerned.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

More than likely overfilled, if it's no longer leaking. Check it again later. Check your cap too.

The mechanic I see has a 10,000 mile warranty on all parts and labor. Perhaps your mechanic does as well? Might be worth a check in if this continues.

yep, just sounds like it was overfilled. a lot of mechanics will do this intentionally (especially with Hondas) because it's easier than going through the car's coolant bleed procedure (which is usually a PITA), it'll suck in any needed coolant from the bottle or burp out any excess (saving the tech time).

sure, it's nae best for the environment, but who cares about that anyway?

240,000 miles is pretty darn good.

I wonder what modern cars made as of today could even come close.

240,000 miles is pretty darn good.

I wonder what modern cars made as of today could even come close.


I live in a duplex and the neighbor across the wall has a Nissan with 360K miles on it and it runs great and even looks great, whereas mine has a pretty ratty finish.

Hopefully I can afford another car in the future and hopefully it will be my third and last car since I got 21 years out of my VW Beetle, and have driven this car for about the last 16 years of it's 22 year life.

But I am a realist.....and I'm concerned.

Thanks for the comments.

240,000 miles is pretty darn good.

I wonder what modern cars made as of today could even come close.

My '93 accord has 280,000 on it now; no engine work done except that it is on it's 3rd timing belt, normal maintenance.

My '93 accord has 280,000 on it now; no engine work done except that it is on it's 3rd timing belt, normal maintenance.

how many clutches? and brakes?

I wonder what modern cars made as of today could even come close.
Toyota Corollas should hit 300k easy
Probably camrys too, ditto with accords & civics

VW TDI diesels will 300k without breaking a sweat

how many clutches? and brakes?

Original clutch. Well, I should be fair, it did have the master cylinder replaced a few years ago. Second brakes.

Thanks folks, and keep those thoughts coming.................especially anything I need to be concerned about.

My '93 accord has 280,000 on it now; no engine work done except that it is on it's 3rd timing belt, normal maintenance.


I just noticed that you said your mileage is 280K and not 180K, but only it's 3rd timing belt?

My manual indicates it should be changed every 60K.

Hope things hold up.........for both of us.

280,000K on the 3rd timing belt is normal. They are suppose to be changed every 90k. Most likely the shop overfilled the radiator, so that was leaking out of the expansion tank. Also check out www.3geez.com, a lot of valuable information on these Accords is there. I am a member there...I have an 89' Accord:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e58/russian03rustler/car%20repair/S6301196edited.jpg

Think a FJ cruiser can hold up as long as your Accords, TDIs, and Camrys do?

The disadvantage of domestic full size trucks is that around the 100-150k mile range, it seems that both the engine and the transmission have to be rebuilt... and my vehicle is nearing that stage.

280,000K on the 3rd timing belt is normal. They are suppose to be changed every 90k. Most likely the shop overfilled the radiator, so that was leaking out of the expansion tank. Also check out www.3geez.com, a lot of valuable information on these Accords is there. I am a member there...I have an 89' Accord:
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e58/russian03rustler/car%20repair/S6301196edited.jpg



I stand corrected............sort of. I went out to the car and checked the owners manual and it doesn't say what the timing belt change interval is. I also went to 3geez, and registered there but still couldn't find the answer in print.

Can you point me to something that gives 90k as the timing belt change interval. Otherwise I have paid shops a lot of money I didn't need to.

Back to the original question......any more thoughts on the radiator issue would be greatly appreciated.

I believe my owners manual says 100k for the timing belt change, or at least my mechanic does. And of course they recommend a water belt replacement, which I always do.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_do_you_change_the_timing_belt_on_a_Honda_Accord
They say 90k. I changed the belt early last time because I had a cracked and leaking cam seal, so the leaking oil had saturated the belt with oil! Given that this is an interference engine, I see no reason to take risks. That document says your car is 60k

Not really pertaining to your car, but I just noticed that '03-'07 Inline accords have a timing chain, not a belt. That is great.

My 1997 Integra:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3206/2290830027_31b3b7a71d.jpg

367,xxx Kms. Original motor, clutch, transmisson. Other things have had to be fixed like radiators(2), brakes, clutch slave cylinder, wheel bearings and the like. Also, three timing belt. I just changed the original water pump at the last timing belt change. It wasn't even leaking. I've had it since '98 whne it had 18,xxx on the clock. I'll have to do some body work on it, I'm thinking I'll get it professionally painted and drive it for another ten years.

240,000 miles is pretty darn good.

I wonder what modern cars made as of today could even come close.

probably w/ worse gas mileage too.

I searched as well and I couldn't find the info you are looking for. I know it's there somewhere.You can just inspect the belt, but most of the time I see people replacing them around 90K. In fact when I was researching Gates belts, they said their belts last 90k+.

Edit:

According to this website, which supports my 'facts', under normal use they are to be replaced at 90k.
http://catalog.autohausaz.com/autohausaz/detailw.jsp?sid=1gleemvf5h54r0bkunau0n55&partner=autohausaz&year=1989&make=HO&model=ACC-LX4-001&category=A5000&part=Timing%20Belt