1998 Honda Accord coolant in engine

BEEVANG

MEMBER
1998 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
AUTOMATIC
144,000 MILES

About two weeks ago a hose leading from the radiator to the motor busted. My husband and I fixed the hose and refilled coolant to the radiator and it ran again but then the next day would not start. Turns out the spark plug wires melted onto the spark plugs and we've also fixed and repaired that. It will start and crank and everything but my husband says that theres water or some type of fluid we believe to be coolant from when the hose popped in the engine. We know this because there is a liquid dripping from the muffler when we step on gas. What I want to know is if there is liquid in the motor and my car still runs is it safe to drive still and if so for how long?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

Coolant can not get into places in the engine where it doesn't belong from an external leak. If it could, you'd have a problem every time you drove in the rain. What you're seeing is water dripping from a drain hole in the muffler. That is normal. In fact, you had better be seeing that. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are the byproducts of a properly-working catalytic converter. Most manufacturers put a drain hole in the muffler if they want it to last longer and reduce the tendency to rust out. That water doesn't cause a rusting problem if the car is driven at highway speeds long enough to burn that moisture off. Mufflers tend to corrode a lot sooner on cars used for mostly short-trip driving because the exhaust system doesn't get hot enough to vaporize that water.