New Mechanic
 

I found a new mechanic whom I like. My car has been overheating and turns out I have a cracked radiator. :( Mechanic advises against me from pulling a used one from an old Honda, but I think I could save a lot of money this way. He gave me the impression it's going to be expensive. Of course if I take it from an old Honda I have no insurance that the car didn't die from overheating.:eek:

An online search indicates he'll probably charge me at least $175 for the part: PartsTrain.com

Do you think it's a gamble to use an old radiator?

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Some unrelated things the mechanic said regarding the car:
1. The lurching backward on a hill when in gear is a sign of bad compression in the cylinders.
2. The O2 sensor throwing a CEL when it's not hot is a bad heat sensor in the O2 sensor. Going to try to get Global Automotive to replace it as it's still under warranty.

I would not recommend a used radiator, the plastic tanks are prone to cracking and there's a good chance the used one will have issues. Keep overheating your car and you'll blow the head gasket and cost you more $.

Not sure what you did to search radiator prices, but try ebay, but you should be able to get one for about $80 shipped. I just replaced the one in my CRX for about $70 and got one for a friend's Sentra for about the same price.

Thanks, I will see about using craigslist or ebay. Did you check the link in my post? It's right here: this is what I did for a rad search :)

that's a great price($85), and besides mrmad is correct, there are some things that should never be bought used. a radiator is one of them!

perhaps it was $175 for part and labor?

BTW, could you absotively not do the install yourself?

I have a couple of considerations, for you.

First, if you get one from a wrecking yard, you need to go to a Pick your own part type of place and look for one which has brass tanks, instead of the plastic garbage.

If it has brass tanks, then the chances are substantially higher it will be Ok. This is because the factory units were plastic. Additionally, the brass tanks are soldered, instead of using crimps and those rubber gaskets. The leaks I've had with the factory radiators have usually been either the plastic cracks or the gaskets give up, under any pressure. Consequently if you can find a used one, with the brass tanks, then that increases, greatly your possibilities of getting a tank that will be ok.

Second, look inside the radiator, by taking off the radiator cap. If the top does not look like it has a bunch of calcium (white material) or rust, then you have maybe a 50/50 chance it's ok.

I have replaced several radiators using used ones, but it is largely a crap shoot and unless your doing the work yourself, it just is not worth the risk.

Third, if you order a radiator, find out if they have one with brass tanks, instead of the plastic. If they have brass tanks, then the tanks are attached with solder, instead of a rubber gasket and metal tabs. I've ordered a couple of tanks, by mail or online and I found out that I could get one with the brass tanks for the same price as the plastic, from the same distributor, but I had to ask.

Good Luck.

heh heh heh. If I want my car to blow up that may be a good idea. But I want it to last as long as possible, so me doing the work myself seems like a baaaad idea. The thermostat also needs to be replaced. I'm told it may have been compromised by the overheating. I'm really mechanically uninclined.

I think I will go with a new one.
I think it's going to cost somewhere around $350+ for the mechanic to do it. I will know by tomorrow or Wedensday.

If your going to have a mechanic do the job, then I would let the mechanic get the radiator, for you. They will get something for it, but then if you have any further problems, the whole problem is theirs and not yours.

i think a new radiator is best, i fitted mine myself, wich saved me some bucks but i had my dad who's a mechanic to advice me so that prevents some screwups.

the good thing is that with the new radiator the car seemed to run much cooler, so i could get away with an almost full grillblock most of the time :)

I've been wondering if I won't take an FE hit with a proper cooling system. I think my engine may have been running at the threshold operating temp these last few tanks. We'll see tho. Yeah, thanks for the tips Gary. I think you are right--I'll just let the mechanic get the rad. Phooey, I'm sure he'll quote me $175+ for it.

This one on ebay is an all aluminum one for $85. https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Car-...3756.m14.l1318

See if your mechanic will allow you to buy it an he install it for you. If not, changing a radiator is very easy. Drain it by removing the drain plug on the bottom, remove the hoses, disconnect the connectors to the fan(s) and then there's a couple 10mm bolts holding the clamps on top of the radiator and the whole thing lifts out. You then take the fans off the old radiator, bolt them to the new one, slide the whole thing back in, bolt the clamps down, and reconnect the hoses (probbaly want to replace them at this point) and connectors to the fans. Then fill it up with 50/50 anti freeze, start it up and let it warm up with the rad cap off and keep topping it off as the thermstat opens. If you think you're not mechanically inclined, this is a good place to start to realize working on a car is pretty easy.

:thumbup: [QUOTE=1993CivicVX;109929] I'm really mechanically uninclined.

You could always go to Auto Zone and pick up a service manual for your car. They are less than $20. and most of them give step by step instructions to do about anything you need to do to a car. When you have a problem get it out and study it before starting and if you are still not comfortable with making the repair yourself you can have the service manual right there with you while doing the job or if it's something you don't have the tools to do such as major engine or transmission repair then you can always get a mechanic. Just remember most mechanics are now getting $75-100 dollars per hour. You can save yourself a bundle of money and most things are not that hard after you study it a little bit.

Changing the radiator on your car is extremely easy. The thermostat is only slightly harder. You really don't need a good mechanic. If you're not willing to do it yourself, any shade tree mechanic will do. Sometimes you can get an auto parts store employee to do it for you on the side.

Oh, man, this is very frustrating. $505 is what it's going to cost. This is includes a new radiator, new radiator cap, and a new thermostat--(he didn't mention replacing hoses.) This isn't even an estimate. This is what he is charging.

Let me ask you this. How does installing a new radiator compare to doing the rear brakes? Because I found doing the rear brakes (drums) on my VX to be daunting and outside my ability. My friend and I didn't manage, and he was doing most of the work because I didn't know what to do.

Thanks guys for the encouragement, but I'm just not sure this would be a good idea.

Wow, maybe I should start doing mechanical work on the side if I could get $500 for replacing a radiator.

It really isn't bad at all to change a radiator. For that kind of money (and he's probably only putting in a plastic tanked radiator), I'd take the plunge and do it. I think you'll find it is not too bad. Rear brakes can be confusing cause the whole thing seems to fall apart and then you have to fit it back together and fight some springs to do it. I find rear brakes are a PIA.

Just give yourself the time to do it (hopefully this isn;t your only vehicle so you aren't stuck while you're working on it) and post some questions if you run into any issues.

I've never done radiators, but I doubt they can be as confusing or intimidating as rear drum brakes. Possibly more physically difficult due to having to take a large item out of a small space.

Rear drum brakes, though...You open them up and there's a million springs and linkages and swivels and mounts and assorted small parts, and no indication of how they come apart nor how they go back together.

Some radiators are real easy, drain the coolant, undo two hose clamps, pull off hoses, undo two bolts pull out rad, slide in new rad, push on hoses, do up hose clamps, refill coolant. I've done it in half an hour before.

Rear brakes, a handy thing to have are some long nose vice grips, good ones that don't twist or scissor, then you have purchase on the spring without worrying about having to keep pressure on the handles to keep hold of it, and you can pull it into place much easier. Worst thing I find about rear brakes on Marvin is cleaning, regreasing and re-torquing the bearings, the brake bit of it is half an hour a side tops, even if it cusses you, but it takes another half an hour a side or so fussing with the bearings. Unless that is you don't buy all new hardware and spend half an hour cleaning up and lubing the self adjusters or something coz you're cheap.

what about installing the new thermostat? What's involved there?

Oh yes, round here the wreckers are stupid on some stuff like radiators, I can get a NEW one with decent warranty for $80, and I've had this conversation with wreckers before
RW: How much for a rad?
Wrecker: $60
RW: pshphwhat?
Wrecker: I know what they're worth!
RW: So do I, see ya.

Any part that has wear/lifespan issues, not like a light lens or something, I won't pay more than about a third of it's new cost, it's just not worth my time installing something that might only have 6 months in it.

Thermostat, typically, unless it's at the bottom of the motor, drain some coolant, like a quart, sometimes you don't even need to bother with that if it's clearly the high spot of the system, but stick a tub undeneath to catch the few oz you lose anyway. Then undo hose clamp, take hose off, carefully if you didn't drain much and hold it high. Undo bolts on housing, two or three, might need to break it loose if it's sealed on, so block of wood against the housing and tap it with a hammer, pull it off, might need to wriggle the thermostat loose if it's scaled in, use pliers, scrape old gasket/sealant off housing and block, get it chemically clean with brake cleaner, acetone, alcohol etc, if you've got a RTV free gasket, just drop the new stat in, put the gasket on, put the housing on, torque the bolts to spec, (Prolly around 15ft/lb) if it's intended to be used with rtv, put thin bead on block and housaing, loop around the holes, assemble with new stat inside, tighten it down finger tight, go have tea or lunch (leave half hour at least), now torque it. Black RTV has always been "no fail" for me. Refill coolant, run and test for leaks.

How much would someone be willing to pay for my car? I doubt the head gasket has been warped but no guarantee on that. Just curious what someone might be willing to offer me--I'll prolly just bight the bullet and go ahead with the repair.

Advance auto parts under $100 for a radiator, less than 1 hour time to change it. Your mechanic is a thief.

regards
gary

agreed! i've done 2 or 3 rad installs; i have yet to finish a drum brake install. never again will i EVER start one either.

so yes, generally speaking, a rad install is MUCH easier than drum brakes!

C'mon there's less parts in rear drums than in the model kits you give 8yos for xmas. Just find a good pic of everything. Not really a first time wrenching project I guess, but if you've changed a few other things yourself, you'll cope if you keep a clear head and don't get flustered.

You think that might have been where we went wrong? :rollseyes: we did not keep a clear head and we got very flustered.

[stirkethru]Is it possible to do the thermostat first and then the rad? Maybe I'll tell the mechanic to just do the thermostat--then I'll do the radiator, thank you very much.[/strikethru] "We're brutally honest" what does that mean? What is the definition of an honest mechanic? Overcharging to me doesn't seem like honesty.

Well some "professional" mechanics accomplish that attitude by not giving a damn, if it's your car, and you need it fixed yesterday, you sometimes have to try hard to achieve that state of mind. :D

I've taken radiators off and I've done rear brake jobs. Changing a radiator is nothing compared to rear drum brakes. The only thing to watch when you change the thermostat is notice which way it goes into the housing if you have never done one and don't put it in upside down. It's not hard to tell the difference in the top and bottom of the thermostat. Changing the thermostat is simple since you are going to have the coolant drained anyway just take the thermostat housing off before you refill the system. If you ever have to do brakes again and you don't have a service manual and run into a problem just take the wheel and hub off of the other side to see where everything goes. That can easily be done if you have a set of jack stands or some blocks to rest the car on. That is the way I changed my first set or rear brakes years ago. I still don't like doing rear drum brakes but I'd rather spend an hour of my time than to pay someone $75-100 to do it for me. There is no way I would pay anybody $500. to replace a thermostat and radiator unless I was near death and couldn't find anyone else to do it for me. You can do it all yourself in a couple of hours and even after buying radiator, radiator cap, thermostat, thermostat gasket, new hoses and anti freeze probably save over $300. I've never had any formal mechanical training, but the first thing I do when I buy a new car is buy a $15-20 service manual from a parts store. The only thing I can remember having paid anybody to do on my cars in the last 10-15 years is put a clutch in for me. Then a friend of mine that worked for a Ford dealer service department done it for $125. on the side. I furnished the parts.

Car was overheating.

Why was it overheating?

Under what conditions was it overheating?

How many times did it overheat?

Did it run hotter the faster your drove? Thats a radiator.

Did it run hot when you are sitting still? thats a cooling fan.

If it has run hot enough many times it could be a head gasket, and all the radiators on the planet will not help.

Thermostats usually go bad in the open position (but not always). When that happens the car runs too cold, or overheats within a couple of miles of when you start it.

How about telling us the symptoms, as precisely as possible.

Were you loosing coolant.

Did you see lots of bubbles in the coolant if you had it running with the cap off (head gasket).

Steam in the exhaust (head gasket)

The pressure from a blown head gasket could have cause the crack in the radiator.

Was it leaking coolant, or was coolant just vanishing mysteriously?

Did it overheat when the coolant was full?

regards
gary

And you guys never have screwed up working on your own vehicles or getting someone to do it cheap? All the people I have had help from either didn't know what they were talking about or did something wrong including myself. It's been nothing but a head ache, misinformation and improper car mechanicn work. And yet I keep hearing all these DIY success stories of saving hundreds of dollars. It took my friend and I 2 weekends to do the failed brake job (about 15 hours) which had to be done by a mechanic in the end of the day anyway. What's so infuriating about all this is they told me it would end up costing me more trying to do it myself and they were right. One good thing that did come of it is we fixed the E-brake without having to replace it--the cables were seized and we were able to free them up. That's partly why it took so long. Except I broke my e-brake again 6 months later when I pulled to hard up on it. If I had someone I could trust to help me do the job I would--but I don't think I will venture this project on my own.

Thanks Gary for this post. These are the same questions my new mechanic asked me. From what I told him he said he couldn't tell if the head gasket was blown or not. (So I might be throwing $500 away)

I will try to tell you everything that happened as succinctly and clearly as possible. In September or so of 2007 I met someone on this website who offered to help me find the culprit for a sticking idle. We didn't find the problem, but he removed a bunch of hoses trying to isolate a vacuum leak. One of the hoses he removed was the rad hose. So I hypothesize he may not have tightened it down properly. (Although I'm thinking this is probably not the cause of my problems.) In February of 2008 I went to a Bruce Springsteen concert. This means lots of idling and going nowhere. I don't believe I've ever heard the fan come on. Leaving the concert, more idling waiting for the traffic to go somewhere out of the mullti-floor parking garage. I notice the temp needle is way up there and then the engine is smoking. I go super slow EOC to a gas station, but it kinda takes awhile to find a gas station. I believe I saw the needle go into the red at least once. At the gas station I find out the rad hose is completely off the radiator. I get a flat head screwdriver and successfully tighten it back down--put anti-freeze into the coolant in the part where you remove the rad cap (not in the tank) and slowly make my way home. On the way home the temp needle kind of wobbled above where it normally is (a little below the middle of the gauge) I think by the second half of the trip (hour drive) it had settled back to normal. I think once or twice shortly after that fluid came out of the radiator cap, and I had to refill it. Then for a long time I had no more problems. Then I lend my car to a friend who said he shifted at around 3000 or 4000 rpm. Says he gets to his house and the engine is steaming. He didn't check the temp gauge... I open the hood fluid had splashed about again (out the rad cap I assume.) I gingerly drive it to a mechanic who is too busy to make an appointment. He puts some hot water into the radiator (so as not to crack anything in the engine) Car seems to be doing alright again so I actually brazenly made a trip to NYC. No problems. Temp gauge stays where it should. Then I make another trip to NYC. Was a bit careless on the ride back about keeping my speed down - did 70mph for awhile but was drafting behind a truck so that should keep things cool. Anyway, engine overheats sometime later. I saw the needle in the red and I did not see any steam or smoke coming from the engine. Turned off the engine, put what little water I had in the car in the rad (again, in where the rad cap is, not in the tank) I go ever so slow to the gas station up the road and the needle never goes red but is kinda up there at times. I open the hood and see some steam coming out of the part of the radiator that the rad hose connects to. This I had not noticed the other times. I put in a quart of anti freeze and continue on my hypermiling EOC way. Of course, EOCing so much means the coolant isn't doing its job for those first ten seconds or so while the engine has to move it around again each time I turn the motor on. Mechanic recommends I leave it idling if I'm going to hypermile versus turning the engine off all the time for this reason. Needle is going up and down the whole ride home about 40 miles. I add more anti freeze that I had at my house and then drive to this new mechanic. He then asks me a series of questions trying to establish the likelihood of a blown gasket. Also, when I arrived at the mechanic, the small steam leak on the rad hose was now cracked and in obvious need of replacement. The rad hose, strangely, came right off--like it was loose and requiring no effort.

To answer your questions Gary, not sure that it ran hotter the faster I drove. I'd probably say not. When it was overheating, I might say idling was worse for the overheating. Speed didn't seem to have much bearing. But it also didn't seem to cool things down much either.

Never saw what the coolant looked like when the car was running.

Never saw steam in the exhaust.

I believe it did overheat when the coolant was full.

The mechanic concluded that he was unable to tell if the gasket was blown or not--and that doing the radiator, cap and thermostat was a diagnostic test. He certainly didn't seem to think it was unlikely that it was a bad gasket and made it perfectly clear I could be dealing with that. But that it depended on how the car had been treated in its life--if it had been abused.

Whew!

From reading your info it seems like you ran the car for some distance without any coolant in the radiator, which can definitely cause a blown head gasket.

The best way to proceed would be to put a radiator in the car, even a decent looking used one. If the head gasket is blown any other repairs will be money lost.

Dont worry about the thermostat or anything else until you get a radiator that is full of coolant. make sure the coolant is 50/50 water and anitfreeze, even if the coolant is used, not new.

Start the engine and let it warm up making sure the coolant level is full. if it doesnt overheat watch the coolant at the filler neck with the radiator cap off.
As the engine warms up the thermostat should open and you will see coolant starting to move across the top tank. Do this with the cap off of course.

If you see the coolant moving that is when the thermostat has opened. It should be opening at your normal operating temp. On my car that is slightly below the half way point on the guage.

Watch carefully with the engine idling and see if you see a lot of bubbles with any steam coming into the top tank of the radiator (under the place where the cap goes). If you see a lot of bubbles and some steam it means the head gasket is probably bad. If you dont see any bubbles and the temperature stays in the right place, shut the engine down and let it cool off, then top off the radiator before you restart the engine.

Fill the white plastic overflow jug (the one the small hose at the filler neck goes to) halfway full with coolant. When the engine is warm (you see coolant flowing at the top tank, put the radiator cap on and drive the car very easily for a short distance, and see if it stays cool. Whatever you do don't drive it anymore if it gets hot. Saty close to home on your drive so you can get home quickly.

If it doesn't get hotter than normal, shut it down and let it cool off again, then make sure the radiator is full, and there is coolant in the plastic overflow bottle (about half full).

The system is designed so that when it is working properly, the plastic overflow bottle will catch the expanding coolant when the engine gets hot.
Start the engine again and watch the overflow bottle as it warms up. Keep an eye on the temp guage also. If it warms up and the level in the plastic jusg goes up significantly you should be OK for another drive to see if it runs cool. Take it easy for now with any hard running and see if it stays cool. Avoid any EOC for the time being.

If the system is full, when the engine cools down the level in the overflow jug will drop as the engine cools down. If it does not you have an air pocket that you need to get out. You can keep letting it cool off and add coolant to the radiator (where the cap is located) or you can bleed the system by opening the small bleeder that is right where the top hose connects to the engine (thats the thermostat housing). The bleeder is 12 millimeters.

With the engine running and the radiator cap off (coolant full and engine not overheating) loosen the bleeder and let coolant come out of the small hole in top of the bleeder until you see no air bubbles.

Let it cool off again after making sure the radiator is full and the recovery jug is half full. the level in the recovery jug will go down as the engine cools off, which tells you the system is working properly.

Test drive again and see if it stays cool. If so drive it some distance at moderate speeds and waht the temp very carefully. If it stays in the correct range, you need to let it cool down again, and make sure the overflow jug level drops so you know its feeding coolant back into the radiator. this tells you the system is working properly.

If everything seems Ok at this time drive the car normally. Check the coolant in the radiator and in the recovery jug before you start the engine. The levels should not change and their should be no visible leaks of coolant.

If you head gasket is bad you will either see bubbles in the coolant after you know its full, or you will notice coolant is disappearing and you keep having to add coolant to the system to keep it full.

It may be best to let the mechanic do this because it can get somewhat complicated, but a new radiator is less than $100 and the labor to install it should not be more than 1.5 hours. that doesn't work out to $500. Buy the radiator yourself if the mechanic will let you do that.

he should not like putting a lot of money in your car only to find out the head gasket is blown and you will be spending a lot more money.

If you get the cooling system to work properly and not loose coolant your head gasket should be OK, but the drive you mentioned with the radiator hose completely off the radiator really worries me. The pressure from a blown head gasket can pop the radiator hoses right off the radiator is the gasket is blown bad enough.

If you can afford it in this type of situation it may be better to let the mechanic do the work, if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself.

My fear is the head gasket is blown and you may even have a cracked head or toher problems related to driving without any coolant. the cooling fan probably would not come on when there is no coolant in the system.

The radiator is easy to replace. I really don't know how to advise you perfectly in this situation, but it iw probably worth a try to see if the head gasket is OK.

regards
gary

Drum brakes on my crx were very easy once i figured them out. First one took an hour, second one took less than 10 minutes.

Your mechanic has a boat payment coming up.

If your radiator is cracked coolant must be leaking from it right? i know i could smell coolant for about a week before mine started spewing it and then i replaced it...was pretty easy, original radiator lasted 260,000miles.

I think we have all probably had screw ups when working on our cars, but that is part of the learning process. I wasn't telling you to do your own work it's just that I thought it was something that someone even with minimal experience could do. The main thing is taking your time to watch what you are doing, that is usually when you run into problems when you try to get into too big of a hurry or take short cuts. Yes, I had a screw up a few years ago changing spark plugs one of them was seized in the aluminum, but it had to come out. I got it out but took the threads out of the spark plug hole. I went to an auto parts store and bought a tap to re-tap the hole and it was too large to fit down into the pocket where the plugs went. I was really pissed off, but then I got to thinking a spark plug ripped the threads out of the hole why can't I take the other old ones and put as much pressure on it as I possibly can and try using that as my tap. I would run it in a little piece then back it out clean the threads on it put it back in run it a little further and continued to do this until I had the threads re-cut. Probably 8-10 years later and no further problems with it. I guess the biggest thing I learned from that experience was use lots of anti seize from now on. This would have happened even with the best mechanic in the world changing the plugs and they would have told me I needed a new head and charged me hundreds of dollars to fix it instead of trying what I did in 15-30 minutes. If I were in your neighborhood I would gladly come give you hand. I used to be scared to death to try something that I had never done afraid of what I would screw up, now I get my service manual out study it for a while get the general idea what has to be done and then take it to the garage with me for reference in case I need it. I would check to make sure the cooling fan is working. I had one go out once and it caused my car to overheat a couple times when I would have to set and idle for long periods of time. I would at least get estimates from a couple more reputable mechanics before letting this one do the work. Good luck.

I am hurting this morning from a mistake I made 20 years ago, that damn near cost me my life.

Compared to that one the rest are minuscule.

Mistakes are the price of admission into the world of experience.

Henry Ford went bankrupt 3 times in 10 years. Ten years later he was worth 25 million dollars, a lot of money about the time of WW1.

Should I gloat about the 1000's of brake jobs I have done?

Would it help me make a point?

The important thing is you figure out exactly what is wrong so you can sit down and make a rational decision about what to do and if it's worth the cost.

There is no other factor that is relevant.

regards
gary

it seems your new mechanic does not have the ability to perform a block test. if you have a relationship w/ a reputable garage you might go have this simple test done.

the test takes only a few minutes and again, if you know the mechanic, he/she might only charge a minimal fee. even charging a half hour labor could be worth it to find out if your gasket is blown or not.

personally i think a maintenance and repair manual is worth looking for, especially if the car is haveing some issues already. a good one will tell you how to diagnose certain problems, and it will tell you exactly wich bolts need undoing and in what order.

it's really helpfull to understand how things work together in your car, even if you have a general understanding of what's going on.

it can be very helpfull to know if a certain task is withing your capabilities and if you have to right tools to preform them; but even if you have someone else do it (who's chargeing you) it's nice to know how long it'll take them.
and if you're going to give it a shot haveing a manual can take away the uncertainty wich would otherwise lead to mistakes etc...

All you need for a block test is a compressed air source that you can use to shoot air into the radiator overflow hose fitting (remove the overflow tube).

A gun type air blowing nozzle works best. Give it a brief squirt of air up into the overflow fitting (rad cap on) until that the top rad hose feels pressurized and wait to see if it deflates again. Don't overdo this shot of air or you will blow your rad hoses or even your radiator.

Hence why I've decided to go ahead and offer up my left nut instead of trying to do these sorts of things on my own. Hopefully the gasket is still in good shape and I won't have to lose an arm and a leg as well. Thanks guys for all the help. If it turns out I do need a new gasket, I might just roll up my sleeves after all as my coffers only run so deep. ;)

If it were my Honda I'd change the thermostat and the radiator. Honestly sounds like a bad thermostat, and that would cause most of your symptoms.

The thermostat is 2 or 3 bolts and a gasket. If it's like the CRX (Civics are Civics at heart), there's a rubber gasket inside - very easy. Radiator is pretty easy too.

Find a DIFFERENT mechanic. This guy sees you coming. Bet you can get it done for half of that $505, parts & labor included.

$250 premium to have the job done right, to avoid all the stress and head ache of worrying about whether I'm going to wreck my car trying to fix it--and all the time required--is really no biggy. Or were you saying bring it to another mechanic and have them do it for $250. Well, the car is now at the mechanic and I can't drive it anymore now that the rad is cracked (at least I don't want to) so he's got my you know what right where he wants them (in a vice grip). Nah, I think he is an honest mechanic that charges $100/hr labor because he is an experienced mechanic. But, yeah, my last mechanic was very fair about price, but he was so difficult to talk to and deal with I couldn't bring myself to go back to him. The other mechanic I could have gone to also isn't interested in engaging in dialogue about problems with my car, but is also fair priced--but he is so busy all the time I want someone I can talk to. This new mechanic wanted me to explain to him in detail about the problems. My brother recommended the mechanic: said he was fair and honest, so that's what I got for the time being. But maybe he did see me coming so to speak. He told me when I came to his shop that he is brutally honest but expensive. He was also the only mechanic and person to offer an explanation why my o2 sensor is throwing a CEL (bad heat sensor) only when it's cold and why my car rolls backward when it's in gear on a hill (bad compression). Sooo.... here's hoping $$$ premium is going to mean peace of mind and long last automobile down the road.

Oh, by the way, I got the mechanic to tell me the cost of the radiator. I was right on the money. $175.

For a moment I am going to tell you exactly the same thing I would tell you if you were my customer.

Your car has overheated several times, and has been run with no coolant in the system.

How long it was run without coolant is critical to any diagnosis. Without coolant your engines life is measured in minutes. EOC may actually have saved you.

We do not know the extent of the damage at this point. The cooling system has to be functional in order to verify that you can keep coolant in the system. If the head gasket is blown it will not be possible to keep coolant in the system. It could be even worse than that, with the possibility of a cracked head or block.

In many cases bad head gaskets can pass air pressure testing, and only create a problem when the engine is hot, and things expand. If there is coolant in the oil you are in trouble. If combustion gasses are escaping past the bad gasket you are faced with a difficult choice.

You can attempt to replace the gasket, only to find out that there is a cracked head or block, and more money is spent and your problem is not solved.

Brutally honest appraisal of the situation probably is not what you want to hear, but the other option is carrying you down a pathway of expensive repairs with the possibility of having to replace the engine to solve the problems.

Even if the head gasket is OK and the block or head is not cracked, overheating can cause the engine to burn a lot more oil.

I know this thread may make me seem like an Ahole, that is not my objective. What needs to be done to solve your problem is not certain at this point. i hope its the easy fix without complications.

Aluminum engines absorb heat about 4 times as fast as cast iron. If you get it fixed by replacing the radiator and thermostat, you should make sure you keep a daily routine of making sure you are not loosing any coolant. Never take the radiator cap off when the engine is hot, and make sure you use 50-50 antifreeze mixture, because it allows your engine to run as high as 256 degrees without damage (Mercedes quote for their alloy block V8 engines) with 10 PSI caps (if memory serves me correctly).

I really wish you luck and hope you get it fixed without serious consequences.

My brother had his 455 Olds jet boat engine rebuilt and it had a cracked block which was not discovered, and he dumped $2500 into the thing and the oil became mud in 2 minutes.

regards
gary