Lude Generation

Not sure whether this is the right section to post this.

Had a new basic clutch fitted as the old one was kaput, then told my radiator needs replacing.

Got the car home and saw that the radiator and reservoir were apparently empty, bought antifreeze but decided to put tap water in just to see where and how bad the leak was, didn't want to put antifreeze in just for it to fall out of the bottom...got some radweld too thinking it could be a cheap temporary fix but haven't used it yet.

So started the engine, warmed it up...all speedo lights flickered for a second after about 15 minutes and revs dropped then returned to normal, 5 minutes later the engine just cut out. Radiator fan hadn't come on, no signs of leaks but the radiator is clearly knackered with nearly half the fins missing..

So restarted engine, started perfectly fine and continued to idle perfectly. Oh and prior to clutch and radiator issues vtec simply doesn't kick in. So I've got a sparkle yellow lemon but i'll be damned if it doesn't shine once more.

Any advice, hints, similar experiences?

Could be a air in the coolant system but that doesn't explain why it cuts out

Yep, revs dropping as it warms up etc is probably an air lock in the cooling system (you really do need to bleed them properly on a lude otherwise it has bad effects on engine idle).
Speedo cutting out etc would be loss of ignition live.
Considering you've had the clutch changed, I would carefully check all the wiring in the engine bay to make sure they haven't damaged anything / forgotten to reconnect something, especially engine earth's and battery terminal connections.

i had weird running issues after i did the top end rebuild on my H23A this turned out to be an airlock , if i remember rightly isnt there a temp sensor to do with the fast idle and this must have been where my airlock was as the revs where going up and down as parts of the engine where hot but where the sensor is it was cold hence the poor ecu was confused , once bleed no issues , please dont use radweld it will clog your heater matrix , i agree with wurly check all the wiring as there maybe a loose connector

If it makes any difference the radiator cap was off to allow air to escape, where and how else would I bleed the system? I'm a total novice mechanically other than petrol goes here, foot goes there, weeee! The revs were what I would expect, a little over 1000 initially dropping to just below 1000 as it warmed up, revs were steady as anything until it died. Any explanation as to the weird flicker of dash lights or maybe this was just it thinking of dying then not? Just second time it died with no flicker. I'll try to check for loose wiring, must admit I relied on a family friend for the clutch who did it as a favour so perhaps his mind wasn't fully on the job. Advice taken, I'd already decided against the radweld but nice to here confirmation as to my concerns about putting cement into the system. As to no vtec kick, that's the least of my problems so i'll save that for another day.

Thanks for all the replies, I know all you guys know so much about these cars, it's almost like eavesdropping on a group of French exchange students. I'm getting horny but ain't got a clue what y'all talking about

No problem, we're always happy to help and offer advice.

For bleeding, there is a bleed nipple near the thermostat on the back of the head.
If you're a novice, the one thing you must be careful of with he bleed nipple, is not to over-tighten - they are hollow bolts and shear really easily.

Baby steps....pictures would be good, where's the thermostat, what's the head? Seriously, I am at Key stage 1, learn the alphabet, differentiate between colours, 2+2 = 4. I don't ask or expect anyone to take their time to hold my hand and teach me how to pee standing up, let's face it, I'm 41 and still sit down so I don't miss the bowl. I'm assuming the head is basically the top of the engine. I've heard of the head gasket...

But you did say nipple, so my girl is going to have some fun tonight, been way too tired lately but I'm sure she'd thank you if she knew.

I really do appreciate any help and I know this isn't mechanics 101 school for idiots but sometimes these forums are a little scary for idiots like me who really would like to learn the basics which the experienced guy simply takes for granted. And you all love preludes and so do I, so at least we have something in common

Barefoot wrote:Thanks for all the replies, I know all you guys know so much about these cars, it's almost like eavesdropping on a group of French exchange students. I'm getting horny but ain't got a clue what y'all talking about

Where are you?




(And, more importantly, where are the exchange students?)

Barefoot wrote:Baby steps....pictures would be good, where's the thermostat, what's the head? Seriously, I am at Key stage 1, learn the alphabet, differentiate between colours, 2+2 = 4. I don't ask or expect anyone to take their time to hold my hand and teach me how to pee standing up, let's face it, I'm 41 and still sit down so I don't miss the bowl. I'm assuming the head is basically the top of the engine. I've heard of the head gasket...

But you did say nipple, so my girl is going to have some fun tonight, been way too tired lately but I'm sure she'd thank you if she knew.

I really do appreciate any help and I know this isn't mechanics 101 school for idiots but sometimes these forums are a little scary for idiots like me who really would like to learn the basics which the experienced guy simply takes for granted. And you all love preludes and so do I, so at least we have something in common

everyone learns fresh from somewhere, there is a great bunch of guys on this forum who will definitely direct you in the right way.

For the car cutting out it could also be a faulty distributor but hard to diagnose over the internet and being in canada not really an option to come there for help lol. However I will be in UK/Ireland 2nd week of december .

As others mentioned do not use any stop leak additives in the coolant system, it will cause more harm than good. All that crap goes and builds up on your water way's, water pump, seals, thermostat etc. Fix what is broken/leaking properly otherwise you are looking at more expenses.

You are correct about the head being the top of the engine. The block is called the bottom half, in between the head and block is the head gasket which has known to be faulty.

To diagnose a faulty head gasket you can do a compression test which you probably won't have the tool for and will need to take it to a shop, the other way to tell is if your exhaust smoke is white (not being racist) coming out of the tail pipe.

Looking at the oil cap if you see any sludge there could also indicate a faulty head gasket (this means oil and coolant mixing)

Engine cutting out could also be a faulty ignition switch which is also pretty common on ludes, if you loose power at the accessory position for whatever reason it will cut all power to everything to the ecu which then will shut off the car.



Lots of info here feel free to pm me if you like or we can keep going here haha.

Best of luck to you! Any car can be brought back to life with the right love

PS: Can find a lot of info on google. When searching say for whatever problem include the word PRELUDE in it, that will help narrow down the searches so for example:

Search for: Coolant leak prelude

doing this will bring up any results that has coolant leak and prelude in it.