Radiator looks all nasty, is it leaking? help,

So today i was driving back from school and i smelled something, i check my muffler, no smell but when i go to the front pop the hood and i see this all over my radiator...looks like anti freeze.

Out of both times my corolla got crashed the radiator worked fine and was never replaced, both fans still work and my temperature needle has never been above or moved from the middle, never had any overheating problems with the car, everything works good, engine still feels the same. just want to know if its my radiator or the cap itself, my dad pointed me out that its been coming out of the cap...if you need more pictures let me know...






Added: Oct 13, 2011 5:50 PM



drove around the block and took this pic...i think its the cap

Check the cap area for damage, check the cap it self for damage, otherwise you need to replace radiator.

sweet forums up, anyways...

i did not see any damage to the radiator cap itself, i drove the car prob another 30 miles through the city after i noticed this through traffic hour and the needle did not move from the middle or an inch. also the day before i found out about this the CEL kicked in....can this trigger a CEL if anti freezer got into something in the engine?? i always check the anti freezer levels since ite been pretty sunny this week...

ok, i cleaned all around the radiator cap location, cleaned it good, drove around the city for 20miles, stop n go...and found out that its leaking from the top side under the cap towards the inside of the car. check engine light still on...fuck this sucks...
Added: Oct 14, 2011 5:14 AM


also the noise at 11seconds happen when i accelerate from a complete stop...makes it sound like a old car...



and this ticking noise also....as i said before the engine runs fine but i have my check engine light on, cant test it till 2mrw

i was told to replace my spark plugs, when are they suppose to be replaced? cuz i dont ever remember replacing them...

I use NGK V-power copper plugs in mine, feels the best, and are cheap as heck...

ticking noise can be from a hydraulic valve... usually what I do for that is... throw half a quart of cheap ATF fluid into the engine and drive it around for some 100~ miles (usually for me that takes about 4 days) and change the oil...
fixes it for a whiiiiile... also... yours doesn't sound that bad anyways... 1zz-fe's are tick-ish

the noise at 11sec mark in the first video... dunno what you're saying it is... I don't notice it, it's probably the O ring before the cat being long gone...

Before anything Id say try a new cap. I think that'll do it.

The "old car sound" is coming from the car because it is an old car.lol I agree with saber, 1zz's are tick-ish. I noticed mine was tickin today too harder than usual. Its most likely cuz it was cold.

Also, fyi, the CEL will stay on till it is cleared.

to clear it remove the battery, wait 5~10 seconds, reconnect...

oh and your engine is a 1zz-fe with vvt-i... I think those use iridium plugs... those are supposed to last 80,000 miles or more...

+1997 use iridium plugs

no... 1999 on wards use iridium with the coil-on-spark plug design change and easier to ID which 1zz uses it, since it also has vvt-i...

http://japansparkplugs.com/boutique/1491-large/4x-k16tr11.jpg
THOSE are the ones that mine calls for... which is irrelevant to the thread, but it's good to know

uh no... 1998 and up use iridium, cuz mine is a 98 and it uses iridium plugs. When I said +1997 i meant cars newer than that age NOT 1997+

ok, ima try the NGK V-power copper plugs, and i just ordered a TRD cap, hope it works cuz it aint cheap....

and the 1st video at 11 sec when i accelerate it makes it sound like an old car, is there a way to make it shut up or at least sound ok? or is it really because my engine is old?

your engine uses Iridium NGK ones...
mine is the 1st version of the 1zz-fe, uses copper sparks, sorry for the mistake

k, will get some iridium NGK...

as for the cap,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RADIATOR-CA...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item336b2101cd

hope its the genuine one cuz i be seeing hella fake ones...ohh and my engine has 204xxx miles on it, at least 150k was highway driving, my dad used it to go to work, 100miles every day....same gas mileage and runs the same it just has that noise when i accelerate...

I got the same cap you have right now, the 1.1 bar for civic radiator cap...
been working perfect for years...

corolla stock one is 0.9, TRD cap is 1.3

what measurements are these?
Added: Oct 21, 2011 12:34 AM
and yeah 200k miles definitely falls under old car category.lol but you might be able to do something about it. we wont be able to help you since none of us can pin point the sound but im sure if you talk to a lot of people about the sound, one of then is bound to be right on how to fix it. (personal experience)
Added: Oct 21, 2011 12:36 AM
My guess would be a leak somewhere in the exhaust manifold. Im sure the problem is after your engine so look that that section or piping.

bars... 0.9 bars is around 13psi... 1.1 = 16ish 1.3 almost 19

Wow, I didnt know about this. I feel like a noob.
Added: Oct 21, 2011 12:47 AM
Damn it, now I want one. I dont have money fort that shit......... FML

Feel any sort of improvement senior mack?

not really... I changed mine cause I got a new radiator and saw the civic 1.1 4$ cap fit mine just perfect... I'm not really sure I'd pay 30~ for a radiator cap

so i just did an big discovery, both my fans wont turn on...its causing my radiator to heat up very fast but i dont see how my engine did not overheat or the needle move and inch, i noticed this morning when i turn on my car the temperature needle would not move for a while and now it moves like in 3 min, i had the engine running in park and had it for about 30min and both did not turn on...is there a fuse for this? im most likely now going to replace my fans...