I originally planned on posting this on 02/20, but following military service, a 3 week cold, and starting a new job, things got delayed three months… and in the end… for naught…
Repair?
I got into what was thankfully a minor accident on the highway about a year ago. Both of us just drove off after filling out an accident form.
My car kept going, no issues, so I didn’t think too much of it.
I brought it into a garage at one point, and they said that it’s fine, so I just kept chugging it along.
However, in November, I brought it in for a general checkup, and the damned thing was overheating just getting out of their lot. I brough it back, and they said don’t worry, it’s fine! The AC still works no problem! My man, the engine is overheating in front of your very eyes.
I called the local Honda service center, who said I would have to wait 3 weeks. So 3 weeks I waited. I bring it in, and a day later I get the estimate. 2’800 for chaning one radiator. I said fuck it, as long as the work is done. A week later, they said that they couldn’t get the parts: not only was there nothing in the country I was in, but there was nothing on the contitent.
At this point, it was the end of the year, and I was out for vacation, and so would the garages. I waited until early january.
After new year’s, I called three other garages who said they wouldn’t work on it as it was too old. One even said that they just weren’t comfortable working on it. I finally reached a garage that was willing to do the work, they just needed to check if they could get the parts. A week later, no answer back, so I call; they hadn’t even checked for the parts yet! A week after that, they finally say they can get the parts, and say it would cost 800. The radiator alone, according to them, was 350. I have no idea where they found this, they wouldn’t say, but if it was an original radiator, there is nothing nearby that’s less than 500. Any aftermarket ones are around 100.
So I said fuck it, if all these garages are gonna be cunts, I’m gonna do the damned work myself.
Where I looked
I got some mechanic family members, so mostly with great help from them.
Day 1 (possibly 02 / 04 although I’m not sure, maybe 02 / 10)
A banana for breakfast, and down I went on the car.
I disconnected all the tubing, electrical, etc. Took me a good hour and a half, as I was missing a few key tools. I did have to take off the front fender to be able to reach some of the bolts holding in parts of the frame / radiator.
However, I couldn’t remove the upper frame. The upper bolts were just too tight, and my tools are sub par (Ikea and Temu, what do you know). My 10mm douille was pretty much stripped and wouldn’t work for any high-torque applications. More importantly, I was worried I would basically strip the bolt, meaning that I wouldn’t be able to remove the frame without cutting it. Unable to remove the frame, I couldn’t shimmy out either fan, so they blocked the radiator, so I couldn’t do the replacement.
I ordered some better tools for pickup, but most importantly a few penetrating oils / greases. I’ll be damned if I can’t change this radiator.
Day 2
I had other obligations, so I was only able to work on it in the afternoon. I did pick up my order early on, so I could apply the penetrating grease a bit before I headed out. By the time I got back, it was time for dinner. I then had other calls, so this will go into another day…
Day 3
Bright and early… I say at 9h… So I ain’t no early bird, sue me.
After a bit of fucky wucky, I finally was able to get the bolts loose, and move the upper frame… Except that I couldn’t, the frame is actually attached to the lower frame as well. And the passenger side fan is connected with like 3 other things.
Finally, after a bit of finagling, everything was removed. Unfortunately, there was still the A/C radiator which was so horribly bent that it blocked the new radiator.
So, again, this will go onto another day…
Day 4 - 5
Too busy and ain’t in the mood. Damn I be a moody bitch when I don’t sleep. Or sleep too much. Or too little. Or just anything that has to do with sleep.
Day 6
Time to bend the A/C radiator!
First off is draining the A/C, not that bad. As it’s parked in an underground garage, I brough it outside so that the freon could dissipate. No need to breath in refrigerants.
After bending the AC radiator as best I could, I put everything back together with the two new radaitors. Was very quick, now that I knew what I was doing; got it done in less than an hour. However I needed to bend some of the frame and mounts to be able to jostle in the overflow reservoir. And in the end, I couldn’t hook back up the AC radiator. Too bent, and I just couldn’t bend it enoguh to not risk damaging the new engine radiator.
Notes on refrigerants
They are TOXIC and you need to be careful. I don’t generally trust WebMD but here is a good enough overview. Note that many refrigerants like Freon are much heavier than oxygen and air, so will stick to the ground. They are, however, thankfully, quickyl dispersed and unstable in atmosphere.
Day 7 (monday 17th)
Time to flush the engine cooling system & fillerup!
Do NOT use additives like anti-leak, they can clog up the system even more. This pretty much defeats the purpose of flushing, which is to avoid clogging or buildup. Also, use 50% antifreeze, 50% distilled water.
Day 8
So time to actually flush it.
Coolant goes into the reservoir, flush goes directly into the radiator.
It’s flushed… but it still overheats… Neither fans seems to be spinning… it may just be the fans… but if it isn’t that, it’s something much worse: actual engine problems.
And even better, I can’t do any work in my garage anymore! Apparently, god forbid you open the hood of your car in this damned country. Some neighb-hole had complained to parking management. Parking management said it was “dangerous”, and when I told them what a load of shit that was, they said it “was a bother to other people”.
This isn’t a public parking, it’s the building’s private one. Whatever, huff a fart directly from my sphincter.
Day 9
Got a new radiator for the AC, connected it.
Day 10
The fans just dont seem to want to spin…
03 08
An easy way to check for fans is hooking up a multimeter and checking if any current is actually going to them. If not, it could be any number of other problems.
The issue might be that the circuit is broken, and that its linked throught the horn. I doubt that’s the case, as if I remember correctly, the horn is on a different fuse. So just connect the battery and see if can honk horn, if not reattach old one. If fans still dont spin, then do individual fan power check.
04 27 day I don’t remember
Finally got to checking the fans… a damned month later It’s not that hard; connect a multimeter to see if they are getting power.
Aaaand the fans aren’t getting power. I may have not run it long enough, but they should start automatically with the AC on full blast. Regardless, the temps were already getting up there, so they should have been getting power.
2025 05 11 - worst has come to worse
I finally give up.
I did what I could (for a non-mechanic), and it does seem to be dead. The engine overheats, almost instantly going to red. Even if there was more I could do, I can’t because some pansy can’t stand to see a hood up.
It could be something electrical in the engine, but given the rate of overheating it’s most likely something in the engine itself. If it was just a head gasket, it wouldn’t be that bad, but then I’d expect to see flotsam in the oil engine. Either way, a bitch to debug and outside of what I could do.
And a slap to the wallet. If just changing a single radiator was over a grand, fixing an engine would be a wollop. Any repair I could get done would cost about as much as the car itself.
2025 05 12 - drop off & last goodbye
Early morning to drop it off to try and avoid morning traffic, but even that was stressful. I only had ~15m to do, with only one intersection that I would have to wait at a bit. By the time I got to it, the engine was already in the red.
I turned it off, as gen II CR-Vs are known for just shutting down at a certain point when too hot.
However, it wouldn’t start back up: too hot. Apparently, the temperature threshhold for turning off and turning on isn’t the same. So, there I was, stuck and blocking traffic while the engine cooled off.
After about five minutes, it started back up again, and I was able to get through the light and to the dump.
To my great chagrin.
2025 05 18
A week after dumping the CR-V off, I’ll be picking up my new car tomorrow. There’s no doubt it’s nicer and newer, but it just isn’t the same.
As goofy as it sounds, I did really like that car. It lasted me almost two years without any issue. Got me to work. Had plenty of space for easy shopping or heading out with friends. Visibility is unmatched, given it’s like a fishbowl. I did a 2’000km road trip with it, and had a blast.
It was a great bargain; it’s a shame to see it go.