I saw that the car was over heating a couple of time on the Hwy and when I stopped on the shoulder , it used to cool down in a few minutes and yesterday , thermostat started to go up to the full and it didnt cool down like before and I saw that the coolent was leaking .

I had to tow the car back home in order not to over heat the engine . I went an indy mechanic and was told it could be the radiator or water pump and water pump will cost more as they have to also replace the timing belt .

Is that true ??? Is there any way for me to find out if its only the radiator that needs to be fixed ....

Any one please help this newbie....

 

i would do a cooling system pressure test to see where its leaking from also check the rad hoses see if the water pump is building pressure in the hose and as far as costing more to replace the belt it should only cost extra for the part the pump is ran off the timing belt and shouldnt take anymore time if u were just replacing the pump how many mile you can also test the rad for leaks by plugging the one side and putting in air on the other side and you can spray it with soapy water and if it bubbles somewhere u got a leak

 

wut?

 

O.K
I put some water into the radiator and immediately I see that the water is leaking from the top of the radiator and I see that the top plastic portion with the cap that is attached to the metal portion of the radiator has a leak with the rubber seal broken .

Do I have to replace the radiator to fix this or just the top portion.

If radiator has to be replaced , how hard is it . I see that there are soem hoses and electrical connections and about 4 bolts on top that needs to be removed to replace the radiator . Is it harder than that ?....

Any help is appreciated...

 

From what you are saying, is just the radiator cap bad? if so, that's pretty cheap and easy to fix.

Replacing a leaking radiator is also straightforward. The job is pretty much what you describe.

 

its more of the part that runs the length of the radiator below the cap .
if I replace the radiator , Would that come with the fan as well ?. Because I think the fan is dead because the coolent might have went into it ...

Where is the good place to get a radiator other than the dealer ....

 

The fan is separate. Before replacing it, check whether the connector is flooded with coolant. If so, blow it out with an air compressor. Also check for a blown fuse. Finally, run wires directly from the battery to the fan to check whether it works.

I'm pretty sure you can pick up a radiator from a local auto parts store. Just make sure its a good match to avoid fitment problems.

 

If your going to replace the radiator its a good idea to replace the cap as will.

 

O.K

With All your help , I installed the Radiator and the car worked fine for about a week and the
temp keep going up once in a while . I checked for any leaks in the new radiator and didnt find anything and the fan works as well . I even touched the hoses from the readiator and they are hot which means the coolent is moving .

Any ideas why I am having troiuble with over heating again after changing the radiator ?.
Is the water pump dead now ?. How hard is it to test that and how to do that

 

Did you properly bleed the cooling system after all of the work was done?

Bleeding the cooling system:

-Park car on inclined driveway with the engine higher than the rear.

-Turn the heater **** to MAX heat.

-Top off the coolant in both the radiator and reservoir.

-Place radiator cap on loosely.

-Let the engine idle until the the radiator fan turns ON twice. Given the tendency of the engine to overheat, watch the dash temp gauge to ensure that the engine does not overheat during the bleeding procedure.

 

I followed your instructions and everything looks good so far and no over heating .
The only odd thing was , when the fan came on , during bleeding , it only stayed on for 10 seconds and I am guessing thats because its only parked and not actually driven on the road .

I will keep you posted if anything else comes up and thanks a lot for all the help