OH MAN, so sorry that's happening - ESPECIALLY on Christmas. The fluid looks to be transmission. The area its spewing from suggests the fluid heat exchanger connections at the bottom of the radiator came apart. Search the term "SMOD" on this forum. SMOD = "strawberry milshake of death - which happens when trans fluid and engine coolant mix. That mixture is death for a transmission. You'll find lots of discussion about this problem.
Judging by the blood trail, the engine has already been running and that thing may already have been shot through both lungs. Unfortunately, prepare yourself. At a minimum you're looking at a new radiator, full cooling system flush, and full trannie flush. Worse case, could be new radiator, new engine and new tranny. Depending on how long it ran will determine how much you pay.
My thought was the trans fluid didn't appear foamy or strawberry colored, so I was thinking he caught the problem before a significant amount of engine coolant was blended by the trans. That was his first post and he hasn't responded - I'm hoping he didn't do what others have described: "I kept pushing on the gas pedal but it wouldn't go".
I started the truck for maybe 5 minutes while I cleaned all of the snow off and did not notice if it was leaking or not at that point. I pulled out of my driveway and made it maybe 500 feet down my street until I remembered I forgot to lock the house. I did a u-turn and headed back to the house to lock it up. When walking back to my car from my house I could smell something was not right. I then looked under the truck and she was bleeding really bad. I immediately turned the truck off. I then did some research on this forum and determined it was probably ATF fluid and I would need a new radiator. I turned the truck on once more to back it into my driveway so a tow truck wouldn't have any issue loading it on the flat bed. The video I took was right after I turned the truck around and shut it off. I couldn't believe how bad the leak was. I am guessing this just happened that morning because if it had happened in my previous trip I don't think there would have been any ATF fluid to spew out if the leak was that bad; plus I don't remember seeing or smelling anything prior.
This makes me feel better. I did not know about that. I will try asking them if they can use different oil with an additive IIRC next time I get it changed. I had the timing belt, tensioner, and water pump done at 110k. I wish they would have asked if I wanted to oil pump seal replaced! Ugh. Good call on the plugs. I did change them myself just over a year ago. Thanks for the help.
Yes, the timing belt service was completed by a Victory Honda back in Sandusky, OH at 110k. They also replaced the water pump and tensioner, but they never said anything about the oil pump / seal. Since I now live 1700 miles away from that dealer I don't think driving my truck there and back would be worth it. I really hope I am OK with the transmission. I really think I am because of how little the engine was on after the incident. Fingers crossed. It just blows my mind how Honda would design their products like this. Why not use a a separate trans cooler/heater? Or design the radiator so it has 0% chance of coolant mixing in the the ATF. I have always viewed Honda as above the pack when it comes to reliability now I am starting to get a bad taste in my mouth. Thank you!
The RL has a separate transmission cooler in front of the radiator. The part that is in question is a tranny fluid exchanger that sits inside the bottom of the radiator. Its primary function is to heat the tranny fluid as quickly as possible (using the surrounding coolant) to get the tranny to operating temp. This design is not limited to the RL or to Honda for that matter. Many other makers employ this design for all sorts of vehicles. The design itself is not at fault - it's Honda's use of material. There is a mild steel belleville washer on the fittings of the exchanger that keeps proper tension on the fittings. That washer corrodes and expands over time and causes the threads to let loose. You were just lucky enough to catch it as it happened. I think your engine and tranny will be just fine with the flushes and I would move forward with having it done. I had my radiator done by a dealer because I figured it may eventually be a recall or TSB. I wanted the documentation that it was done by a shop. I paid $150 for the aftermarket radiator and $250 in labor and coolant for the install.
