[ridged4herpleasure]

I have a 2006 RTL with 85K miles. I'd like to check the radiator fittings. What's the best way to see those without a lift or ramps and not having to remove too many items?

thanks

 

[IanRTL]

You can see the passenger side one rather easily by simply looking down through the engine bay. The driver's side one is a little more difficult. You can get to it from underneath by taking off some of the plastic pieces.

Just as a note, you can't really tell the condition of the fittings by an external look. The problem occurs from within. If the exterior of the fittings are corroded, you can bet the internals are as well. Replacing the radiator with an aftermarket unit is about $150-200 if you do it yourself. Expect about $200-250 in labor if you take it to a dealership to have them install. I would insist that the OEM Denso radiator not be used because you'll end up with the same issue a few years down the road.

 

[bobcat20]

I changed a friends Ridge radiator -a 2006 with 100k miles -did it proactively as we didnt trust it after reading about so many failures and it did look about ready to go once we pulled fittings off -so I recommend changing it based on time more than mileage. I initially put in a spectra brand but it leaked so returned that and got a koyo -much better quality and only about $20 more.

 

[Slider]

I put a spectra in myself. 40,000 later still like new.

 

[Carsmak]

I have two other recommendations, If you have a small digital camera and a person with small hands/skinny arms (my wife & her Fuji P&S camera worked), maybe a cell phone with a selfie stick may work (first legitimate use of a selfie stick)

Another is a UOA as featured in this thread. This is how I confirmed I needed to change out my radiator. I purchased my first Radiator from Amazon, the second Radiator was purchased locally and pressure tested in my presence. I've seen members post recently of radiators purchased for as little as $75 to as much as $200.

 

[mtb]

Do these radiator connections fail on all Ridgeline after 4-6 years?... or did honda correct this mess? ...
makes you think twice before committing again to Honda yesteryear's workmanship which is no longer there!

 

[Carsmak]

Do these radiator connections fail on all Ridgeline after 4-6 years?... or did honda correct this mess? ...
makes you think twice before committing again to Honda yesteryear's workmanship which is no longer there!

I had thought that the failures were related to the '06-'08 system design, recently a post of a '09 or later was added to one of the threads below.

All the following threads are on Transmission/Radiator issues.

Radiator Failure @ Cooler Lines

Best Radiator Replacement

Pictures of Corroded/Rusted Radiator Fittings

Radiator Fail on 2006

UOA on ATF

Anatomy of OEM Denso Radiator

Poll(Never Posted) on Radiator/Trans Cooler Solution

 

[speedlever]

Do these radiator connections fail on all Ridgeline after 4-6 years?... or did honda correct this mess? ...
makes you think twice before committing again to Honda yesteryear's workmanship which is no longer there!

The radiator design is not exclusive to the RL or to Honda for that matter.

 

[legger99]

I was able to see my "fittings" with a long mirror as seen here:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1760345&postcount=76

but that didn't really show what the inside looked like:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1775729&postcount=250

 

[IanRTL]

^^ Plenty reason enough to justify changing out the radiator as preventative maintenance. An '08 with relatively low mileage - the fittings look pretty rough and could have "let loose" at any time.

 

[quickshift]

Just change it out and that nagging "what if?" will go away. I did mine and it's an 08.