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Coolant leak found with blown thermostat.

Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:15 am
by CBurn20
I have had a 3rd gen 4WS si since 2001and been using her as my daily driver. Just recently have been taking the time to give some much needed TLC. I have done basic maintenance, oil, plugs, brakes, and she has treated me well. I just replaced my thermostat (see the pictures wow) and identified a cracked hose in my cooling system, but am not sure what hose it is. It is a smaller diameter hose 1/2-inch and comes off of a "T" junction just below my distributor and above the lower radiator hose. Is it a part of my heater assembly? Thanks, it is leaking onto the engine block and buning off causing coolant smoke.

Also, I am curious as to what engine I have exactly. It is a replacement from Japan, emissions pull. Stamp on block says B20A 5935111 is it a true B20A? It used to fly back when it had about 125k less on it, but now that the tranny has 245k I am happy to take my 12 mile drive to work each day :-)

Thanks!

Re: Coolant leak found with blown thermostat.

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:38 am
by spiffyguido
If the hose continues through the T junction to the firewall, then yes, it's part of your heater system. All coolant lines are interconnected, so you can replace any one of them as needed without issue. You'll just have to refill the radiator and rebleed it after the repair. Page 5-62 of the 1988 service manual has some diagrams and procedures that may help.

Yes, the engine is likely a true B20A if it came from Japan. That engine wasn't offered in the US. It's a desirable engine to have due to higher power output (thanks mostly due to higher compression) than the B20A5 in most USDM 3rd generation 'Ludes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_B20A_engine#B20A