radiator questions
pyroskater6912
Wagonist
so i found my leak, so rather than start another thread i'm changing this one up a bit
i need a new radiator, i've got a crack along the top of it. are there any brands or online places to pick up a new one for a decent price? and how hard is it to replace a radiator?
old problem is down there, but smaller since i figured it out...
well finally after getting ol' smokey back from getting inspected and a new dizzy, seems like i've run into (hopefully) small issue.
while the car runs 10x better now, and made it 200 miles to school without a hitch, after a stop and go style trip today, i notice steam coming from under the hood. i know the car is leaking coolant, i've found some sitting underneath it, but for the life of me i cant figure out where. when i popped the hood, there was coolant on top of the radiator, (think around the top near the black plastic for the fan shroud).
the overflow tank was much lower than it should be/was last time i checked, but inside the tank, there is grime and black stuff all over the inside of it, to the point where you cant tell where the fluid is at. now i'm not sure, but i cant see that being a good thing.
and one final question, what brand of coolant do you guys suggest using? the quick links sticky mentions that you need to use something thats safe for aluminum parts, and if i'm probably going to flush the system here shortly so i want to make sure i put the right stuff in it.
edit: forgot to mention even with all of this, i stay at normal operating temps according to my gauge.
i need a new radiator, i've got a crack along the top of it. are there any brands or online places to pick up a new one for a decent price? and how hard is it to replace a radiator?
old problem is down there, but smaller since i figured it out...
well finally after getting ol' smokey back from getting inspected and a new dizzy, seems like i've run into (hopefully) small issue.
while the car runs 10x better now, and made it 200 miles to school without a hitch, after a stop and go style trip today, i notice steam coming from under the hood. i know the car is leaking coolant, i've found some sitting underneath it, but for the life of me i cant figure out where. when i popped the hood, there was coolant on top of the radiator, (think around the top near the black plastic for the fan shroud).
the overflow tank was much lower than it should be/was last time i checked, but inside the tank, there is grime and black stuff all over the inside of it, to the point where you cant tell where the fluid is at. now i'm not sure, but i cant see that being a good thing.
and one final question, what brand of coolant do you guys suggest using? the quick links sticky mentions that you need to use something thats safe for aluminum parts, and if i'm probably going to flush the system here shortly so i want to make sure i put the right stuff in it.
edit: forgot to mention even with all of this, i stay at normal operating temps according to my gauge.
Comments
but i feel like an idiot, i took it out for a drive today, and as soon as i saw steam i pulled over to have a look, as soon as i went to grab the hood latch i had coolant on my hands, and low and behold...
dont know how i missed that at all, but i guess when coolant was squiring out of the crack there i finally figured it out.
so i'm thinking i need a new radiator
New radiator:You can get them from Ebay or Rockauto.com .A prob you may run into is you might have to mod the fan to fit.Nice thing about Rockauto is every so often they have a blow out sale.A friend got a new Wgn. radiator for $80 shipped.
Radiator coolant:Like you said get one that's good for alum.I use Prestone just 'cuz they've been around for decades.On newer cars there's now like 5 different kinds of coolant in which case ask dealer.We don't need to worry.Ours are old enough.Current thinking is to use Distilled Water(local grocery store.Cheap) with the coolant.