Background info: The upper part of my car's ('87 accord) radiator developed a little leak some days ago, which unfortunately I did not spot until I noticed steam coming out of the bonnet one day while at a busy stop signal. So once the signal opened I drove the car to the roadside and opened the bonnet. The steam was coming out from the radiator cap. Quite honestly, it worried the s**t out of me (temp gauge went 3/4th near the top). , since I never had a car heat up on me like that before. Fortunately, the weather was pleasant and there was cool breeze blowing so I kept the bonnet open for a while and let the steam come out. Then I opened the radiator cap with the help of a cloth and put in some water while the engine was turned off, and still quite hot.
Afterwards I drove the car , and it did not overheat again, and worked just fine until later that night when I had to pick my sister up. before leaving home I had made sure to fill up the radiator and the reservoir , so I was rather surprised to see it heating up. (once again, temp gauge was above the halfway mark, but still a few points below the first white line near the top) Anyway, I again put in water after letting the steam die down and still the engine was turned off.
The next day, I took the car to a mechanic and he showed me the leak. It was the portion running along the front grill. He told me to either have it repaired or replace the whole radiator. Since the genuine radiators are rather expensive around here (roughly converted: more than $300) and I do not trust the workmanship of Pakistani mechanics I asked for sometime to think over it. He told me to keep a bottle of water with me in case of emergency, but that the leak was minor enough to not cause much trouble if I keep refilling between long intervals.
Following day, I took the car in for an emission test and while testing for high speed emissions, the radiator blew up. (They check for high speed emissions by keeping the revs high in a stationary car)
I was a little saddened by the loss of the radiator, but not really surprised. I figured the weakened soul just couldn't stand the high pressure building inside due to high revs. (The guy revved it to around 4-5ks. Temp gauge never went past the mid point). Glad it didn't blow up in the middle of the road though.
Now, the main question: It was after this happened that the guy at the emission check told me that whenever something like this happens, don't pour water into the radiator while the engine is turned off or you might end up with a cracked gasket or head. I was likereally? He said yeah. Then he turned on the engine and poured in the water only to find out that the radiator was not holding water one bit. Going in from top, and coming out from the bottom. I had the car towed and am now contemplating/saving for a new radiator.
Major concern: Now that that episode is behind me,
what still concerns me the most is, did I damage any engine part? The engine ran fine while the emissions guy poured in water, and before that. But since I am not much of a mechanical guru, as you must've already guessed by now, how can I tell if the engine's still unhurt?
Last question: I had my car towed with our Toyota Hilux, so my car's front tyres were not in the air while being towed. I turned the keys on the ignition to On to unlock the steering wheel. Anyway, I had the car towed through the normal route that I take to home, and I did notice that the steering kick back was noticbly subdued in this arrangement. Fairly smoother steering. So is this normal or is there something wrong with my car's steering?
Thanks a lot for reading this fairly long post. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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i thought I was the only one from pakistan on these forums :super: 
. i am not too sure if I want a used one cuz you never know if the used one will work properly. And when i think about it, the original radiator lasted 16 years..and if I put in new genuine radiator now, there is no reason why it shouldnt last 16 years..give ro take a year or two. So not a bad deal if u divide the 21k over the period of 16 years. 
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