[galewing]

Board, I now know why my local dealer tried 2 or 3 times and one
85 miles away tried and failed to stop antifreez smell at start up.
Smell would go away after riding.
To find the leaks I used the Mityvack to pressure test to 15 psi.
A (Y) fitting between alternator and water pump and three other
hoses leaked. Several clamps that could easely be tightened by not
removing any thing were damaged by over tighting. System will now
hold pressure over night with only 1 psi drop @ 15 psi.
My guess is that pressure testing and removing what ever it takes
is just not going to happen at a Honda dealer ship. galewing

 

[Hokie]

Board, I now know why my local dealer tried 2 or 3 times and one
85 miles away tried and failed to stop antifreez smell at start up.
Smell would go away after riding.
To find the leaks I used the Mityvack to pressure test to 15 psi.
A (Y) fitting between alternator and water pump and three other
hoses leaked. Several clamps that could easely be tightened by not
removing any thing were damaged by over tighting. System will now
hold pressure over night with only 1 psi drop @ 15 psi.
My guess is that pressure testing and removing what ever it takes
is just not going to happen at a Honda dealer ship. galewing

At $5.50 an hour you won't find any honda (lawnmower) tech to be able to spell it much less know how to do it. (90% of the Honda dealers)

 

[Blind Yak]

You have identified the best way I know of to find leaks. The fluid is not under pressure until the engine is hot, or very hot. When the engine is hot, the leaked fluid evaporates very quickly making it dificult to see and locate the leaked fluid. Getting the whole system under representative pressure without getting the engine hot allows the leaked fluid to be observed instead of evaporating. You have to see the leaked fluid to locate the source of the leaked fluid and know what to fix.

 

[Silver Ghost]

To find the leaks I used the Mityvack to pressure test to 15 psi.

Okay I'm confused. I thought you could only draw a vacuum with a MV.

:? :?: :?

Am I missing something?

 

[Rocky]

Board, I now know why my local dealer tried 2 or 3 times and one
85 miles away tried and failed to stop antifreez smell at start up.
Smell would go away after riding.
To find the leaks I used the Mityvack to pressure test to 15 psi.
A (Y) fitting between alternator and water pump and three other
hoses leaked. Several clamps that could easely be tightened by not
removing any thing were damaged by over tighting. System will now
hold pressure over night with only 1 psi drop @ 15 psi.
My guess is that pressure testing and removing what ever it takes
is just not going to happen at a Honda dealer ship. galewing

Galewing,my 04 suffers from the same symptoms as you described,and from what I have been reading here and other 1800 threads,that the culprits are the hose clamps under the gas tank..

Is this where yours were leaking,and if so did you replace the clamps or loosen/re-tighten them??

You did have to remove the gas tank to get at them right?

I too am rather curious as to how you pressurized the system with a Mity-Vac??

 

[galewing]

To those who asked, The (my) Mity-vac has a pressure port; where
air exits when pulling a vac. I added a clear hose and a gauge on a T
and connected a clear hose (tubing) to the over flow outlet.
To acheve 15 psi I used my thumb to press plunger (piston) down on each
stroke. Not easy!
Yes I removed the shelter, tank and alternator. I removed the alternator to replace the two bearings.
I am now into checking valve clearance. All are .001 or .002 tight @ 56K.
Tight being less than .006 or .009. galewing

 

[Jchefboyardee]

I had to fix my leak also, it was at the y pipe but i didn't have to completely remove the tank. I just raised the tank enough to reach the clamps! Once that i found the leak, i did the refresher Fred's video course before starting.