water leaking from the headgasket or freeze plug

[blueranger]

i have a honda accord i paid 100 dollars for... and it has started leaking water from the rear of the engine... probably the head gasket or freeze plug...

1. has anyone ever tried just teightening or retorking the head???

i know this is an ancient taboo but has anyone ever tried it?


I bought some of this stop leak stuff that has copper in it and is suppose to repair the block.. so i will report back and tell you if it works....

83 300sd/ 94 300te / 87 300e / 87 honda accord/ 96 dodge minivan

[boneheaddoctor]

Not familiar with the Accord engine...the B and D series engine has a tube from the water pump....a water cooled oil cooler back there and numerous hoses....wash it down well let it dry the fire it up and look close with a flashlight...you may find a stupid simple problem.

Honda head bolts stretch when installed....you would want to be carefull tightening them even more.

Retorquing stretch bolts is a hopeless task. Since they are tightened by rotation angle, torque readings mean nothing.

Have you tried www.hondashop.com? Seriously though, I found a very good Honda site a few years ago when working on my daughters car. If memory serves me correctly, it was www.honda-tech.com.

Good luck,

[Kestas]

Larry is correct. Tightening stretch bolts will only stretch them further - you won't get any significantly additional clamp force.

[madbch300e]

I had a 78 accord I bought in 83 for $200 because it had a bad head gasket. It had 80k on it. I used K&W metallic block seal, and got another 50k on the engine before having to actually replace the head gasket. When I did, it took me 4 hours in a parking lot. I then got another 100k miles before selling it.

Just be sure to follow K&Ws directions, especially flushing the engine completely. I reccomend removing the thermostat temporarily to make it easier for the copper to travel through the system. If you know what cylinder is leaking, remove the plug from it so that the copper can penetrate the leak more easily. Also, after running the engine for the required time, be sure to remove the plugs, drain the system as much as possible (lower radiator hose a Plus), remove radiator cap, and let it dry out for a couple of days. You will have much better luck that way.

If there is water in your oil, be sure to flush, and change oil and filter.

Good luck

[blueranger]

i started to throw the car away but i bought a jar

or cargo radiator seal... i ran a google search and found a gov document
where it was tested and said it worked for 50 days in an industral setting..

so i tried it... i followed the directions to a T...
It had copper particles, and fiberglass rods in it.... and it appears it
fixed the hole in the head gasket.... It says let it sit for 12 hours so we
will no tomorrow morning... i think it worked...

the 100 dollar honda lives again...