i found my coolant leak but tell me this....

[meohmy01]

it is leaking from under the intake manifold. it is like a threaded plug. is it a freeze plug and is it repairable.

[BoredRec]

Ew, if it's one of those yer fucked....make sure it's not anything else before you decide on that. I've replaced manifolds twice because of it leaking there.

[meohmy01]

ok. i thought freeze plugs were replacable. i know it's leaking from some sort of threaded plug thing under the intake.

[Lester Lugnut]

Freeze plugs are replaceable, but it can be alot of work to do so.

To make absolutely sure it's a freeze plug, do this:

- Go to Auto Zone or any mass marketer and rent a cooling system pressure tester. It will cost about $75, but you'll get it all back when you return the tester.

- Put car on ramps. Let it cool down completely.

- Hook up the tester. In most cases you merely remove the radiator cap, attach an adapter to the radiator if it's needed, then connect the tester to the radiator. You then pump it up like an old style tire pump to about 13-15 lbs. You car has a 13 lb. radiator cap - you don't want to pump up much past the cap limit or you'll damage the water pump seal.

Now slide underneath and with a flash light, look up towards the location of the freeze plug. If it's leaking there, you'll soon see drippage on the ground. This tester will locate all spots where external leakage is occurring. Head gaskets are another story.

[meohmy01]

ok. i already did this. but it wouldn't hold more than 5 lbs for more than a second. but it did squirt out of where i mentioned. i have no idea if it is a freeze plug. i didn't think that they were on intake manigolds. and i have no idea how to remove it. all i know is i have to remove my intake manifold first. which im working on.

[cruznz]

it's actually on the intake manifold?.............probably a blanking cap....does it have a square head on it?.....

[meohmy01]

it is like an indented area that seems to have threads. just a round hed on whatever it is. im just desrcibing by feel.

[88' Accord Ltd]

I think the same thing went on my 86. Is the coolant leaking onto the oil filter? or in that area? When mine went it was a bitch to get off, but i bypassed it with a metal pipe in between the coolant line until i could get a new one from the junkyard.

[meohmy01]

yea. that's what it's leaking on to.

[88' Accord Ltd]

Yeah thats exactly where mine was leaking too. Its held onto the intake manifold by one bolt (10mm). I took it off and when i pulled the coolant hose off one end, a spring shot out! and it was broken right there. I ghettoed in a piece of pipe so I could at least drive it. It did actually drive ok with no cooling problems. I never did find out what it did though. It seemed like it was a check valve. But like i said before, it is a pain in the ass to get to that bolt.

[meohmy01]

ok. wouldn't it just be easier to replace the intake manifold? i don't drive this car so i don't have to worry about that.

[88' Accord Ltd]

No i dont think so, just replace the check valve thing. once you get it off its real easy to replace, and if you can grab one from the junkyard its even better. I actually just ran outside and got a pic of mine for ya. I never did bolt it back onto the intake manifold incase something ever happened to it again, so it was easy to replace.
http://images.cardomain.com/member_img_b/290000-290999/290159_16_full.jpg

[meohmy01]

i don't think that's what is leaking. i think it's the intake manifold itself. but im not sure. i already took back the pressure tester.

[88' Accord Ltd]

hmmmmm, well I would definately check that out just in case. It seemed like on side of my old one had corroded and it kinda just broke off, and was leaking out slowly and onto the oil filter. But make sure its not something else leaking beafore replacing the entire intake manifold. There are a lot of coolant hoses back there.

[meohmy01]

well i stuck my finger over that part of the intake and it stopped it. so im pretty sure that's what it is. it won't hurt to take the intake off and check everyhting out. it's like a 4 dollar gasket. i even bough a giant adgustable wrench for it. something i can beat with a 2 x 4 if i can't brake a nut loose. that is how i replace an o2 sensor

[cruznz]

the indent in it may be square,.....see if a 3/8 drive extension will fit in it.....

[meohmy01]

there is no indentation on the plug thing it self. the plug is indented into the intake manifold.

[doug]

at about 8 oclock postion on the freeze plug you'll see a crack. I think this is your problem.
http://87accord.com/image/accord%20094.jpg

[meohmy01]

that's it. exactly. how do i fix it?

[meohmy01]

im trying to get my intake manifold out. i got 6 nuts off but i can't ge tthe last 3 under neathe. any tips?

[offthahook]

Originally posted by doug
at about 8 oclock postion on the freeze plug you'll see a crack. I think this is your problem.
http://87accord.com/image/accord%20094.jpg
God damn that is a nice photo. Not really, but for repair purposes, it just owns!

[meohmy01]

just wanted to post this to make sure you guys didn't forget about my problem

[njpeter]

gettting a replacement freeze plug should be no big deal, but the entire cooling system can be suspect of problems in that case. I'd change the head, cause the other plugs could be ready to go also.

that was the picture of your manifld was it?

[meohmy01]

no that's someone elses. and i can't just change the head. money doesn't just magically appear. you know what im sayin?

[PhydeauX]

Originally posted by meohmy01
im trying to get my intake manifold out. i got 6 nuts off but i can't ge tthe last 3 under neathe. any tips?

A crow's foot (http://www.sears.com/sr/product/details/productdetails.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0274860885.104 7867872@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdiadchklhmlklcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=TOOL&prod_id=00904363000&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT) and a good swivel (http://www.sears.com/sr/product/summary/productsummary.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0274860885.104 7867872@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdiadchklhmlklcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=SEARS&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=00919491000) (get one for an impact wrench not for a regualar rachet (http://www.sears.com/sr/product/summary/productsummary.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0274860885.104 7867872@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdiadchklhmlklcehgcemgdffmdflh.0&vertical=TOOL&fromAuto=YES&bidsite=CRAFT&pid=00904435000)) will do the job. Its never an easy task to get those damn manifolds off, its easier if you take the head of first.

andy

[meohmy01]

well i got the swivel thing and i got an impact wrench. but i have no crows foot. my car seems to be having some trouble with white smoke out the tail pipe. so im guessing it is going to need a cylinder head. is that a difficult task on the things? any pointers?

[PhydeauX]

The cylender head is always a pain in the ass. Mainly because you have to undo the vacuume nightmare. The exshaust manifold and loosening the timing belt tensioner are also a hassel. Compression test it before you go pulling the head off. Feel the freeze plug and see if you can tell what happend to it. If its been pushed out then you might have to think about looking at the rest of the cooling system for damage. If its got a hole in it then its just rust and all you should do is flush the cooling system. Freeze plugs are usually galvanized or some how or other protected from rusting. If it did rust out I'd guess that it was due to a bad coating and the others are more then likely fine. Freeze plugs usually only pop out due to freezing. The radiator cap will blow or the head will warp well before overheating will cause a freeze plug to blow.

Don't use an impact wrench on the manifold. Use a swivel designed for an impact wrench on a regualr rachet. The regular style swivels like to bind up when you put torque on them and the crows foot will just pop off the nut.

andy

[meohmy01]

well it doesn't feel rusty or different from the one on the other side in any way. it's leaking from the seal around it.

[njpeter]

yeah, I know money can be tight, but I noticed what looked like a rebuilt 3g head with a starting bid of a $1 on ebay last week. I picked up a complete engine and tranny last month for $150. (granted it was an exceptional del, but if you look, you can find em.) Money may be tight, but so is time. I cannot afford to do the same job a few times anymore, so I tend to leverage time with money. freeze plugs can run a few bucks each, I dunno how many are in the head, but I figure at least 4, then making sure you get them in right with no leaks is not my idea of fun, I get pretty streesed the first few minutes after wrapping up a job like that, I don't need to tell stories about my early days under the hood, having had to redo some major work due to careless mistakes.