Motoring Discussion > Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine
Thread Author: Lygonos Replies: 7

 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - Lygonos
Wife arrived home last Friday evening - "something wrong with the heater - only blowing cold"

Spring clip holding the hose on the bottom of the radiator had disintegrated, and the car had poured out all of the coolant.

Pulled the dipstick (plastic) and it was scorched but not melted for the top few inches suggesting an very hot cylinder head had occured.

Refitted the pipe with a pair of jubilee clips, refilled with coolant and so far no sign of CHG failure.

Today have purchased a year's Green Flag cover just in case...!
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 4 Dec 20 at 10:43
 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - No FM2R
Lucky.

How old was the clip?
 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - Lygonos
>>How old was the clip?

59-plate car, so 11 years.

Checked other clips - all rusty on surface but good metal beneath and plenty of 'spring' left in them.

The underside of the FRV is a scabby rusty mess* - was a car designed for the Asian market I suspect, so not terribly resistant to salty roads.

ibb.co/M6m3sgT

Brake and fuel lines look ok on brief inspection. Will have a thorough look under it at the weekend when I have time and better light


*Though it looks a lot better now after I rust-killed and undersealed it in February or March.
Last edited by: Lygonos on Thu 3 Dec 20 at 21:50
 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - Lygonos
ibb.co/QJTCMjY - how it looks now.

 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - No FM2R
You never see anything other than surface rust in Chile, and very rarely even that, whatever the age of the vehicle.

I guess I tend to forget because it would not have occurred to me to check such a thing.
 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - Lygonos
>>You never see anything other than surface rust in Chile, and very rarely even that

When I think of Chile I envisage lots of dustbowl Atacama style arid lands.

But it does run down almost 3000 miles and range from sea level to 22,000ft so it has something for everyone!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Chile
 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - No FM2R
Interesting is to lay a population density map over the weather map.

 Honda FR-V 3+3 MPV - Rust almost killed the engine - Lygonos
3 weeks later not using any coolant, starting and running well.

Think I've gotten away with it.

Had fun earlier changing a front ARB drop-link.

Usual rusted bolt nonsense - ended up using a junior hacksaw.

Nice quiet car again rather than knock-knock-knock from the suspension! Front lasted well, don't remember doing them before, though the rear links only last 2-3 years.

Less than £15 for a Moog brand part from ECP - Honda expect over £80 for the part alone.
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