I can't imagne the center secton leaking water into the exhaust housing and burning up coolant. Unless there is just some huge *** crack internally. (I've seen stranger ---- before) But you dont need to block off the holes on the center section. Unplug the 2 coolant lines and run them into each other and see if its still doing it. My guess is you had a bum head gasket. I've seen it on several Boosted Hondas. Its hard to see where the HG is leaking especially on the metal tri layer gaskets. A good indication of which cylinder it is, usually is the cleanest. Like the top of the piston will be cleaner than any of the others.

Jeff

 

about a pint a week. I am going to unhook the coolant lines tomorrow and see what happens.