Just blew my radiator in the desert :(

[badcompany87]

Hey nation, Im in a huge pickle right now.
Driving thru the desert in so cal and my car started overheating
As soon as I pulled over I just heard all my coolant flood out.
After it cooled and I popped the hood I saw the plastic part on top the radiator cracked.
I made it to home depot after adding coolant and patched it with epoxy. Do
You think this will hold for a 7hr trek home? Of course I'll avoid the desert roads. I called a few shops and was quoted $400! Any help would be grateful, thanks in advance guys!

[Dirty Dude]

It's anyone's guess whether the repair will hold. Something that would increase the odds for you would be to run the cooling system at reduced or zero pressure if possible. I'm thinking something like lever-venting cap with the vent portion opened. That presents its own side effects, though, like increased likelihood of boil over. Removing the thermostat if possible will make the engine run a lot cooler(assuming the system's cooling capacity is adequate) and reduce system pressure. It will also hurt fuel economy and should not be done more than temporarily.

$400 is a rip off for changing a radiator IMO. Autozone has one for $97, a gallon of 50/50 coolant is ~$10, a good t-stat is ~$10, and a radiator cap about the same. I just looked at my car and it appears that the radiator and fan can come out/apart with 10 and 14mm wrenches(don't quote me) and something to loosen the hose clamps(and maybe the splash shield?). My clamps are the worm-style that take a flat blade screwdriver/ or either a 3/8" or 8mm wrench. I would guess that the factory parts are spring clamps that require pliers. You know, if you wanted to try changing it yourself instead of limping the car home.

I would also be concerned about why the car overheated in the first place. Did the radiator fail and cause overheating, did overheating cause the radiator to fail, or was the thermostat involved? That kind of thing.

[speedy25]

The $400 price isnt totally ridiculous in the middle of the desert! Costs for everyhting out in the middle of nowhere are always higher.

Epoxy will hold for a while, but its not a reliable repair. It WILL come off...sometime. Make sure the new rad you get has the right cap. I encountered this when I replaced mine earlier this year. It had the same problem- plastic tank cracked.

-SP

[Dirty Dude]

Originally Posted by speedy25

The $400 price isnt totally ridiculous in the middle of the desert! Costs for everyhting out in the middle of nowhere are always higher

For a half-hour job and maybe $125 in parts, I think it is. Home Depot was mentioned, so it's definitely not that remote.

At the same time, I do know that being in a serious bind far from home puts you at the mercy of these places and sometimes you're forced to accept being at the disadvantage. Out of gas in Panamint Springs? Royal Dutch Shell welcomes your business.

[Hiro Protagonist]

That's still cheap though :P

Australia at the moment is about $1.40 a litre (so about $5.30 a gallon, dollar is close enough to parity) for regular, and that is in the capital cities. Go out of the capitals and look at premium/98RON and you're looking at $1.60+, which really stings when you're filling up the 78L tank in the Soarer with 98RON BP Ultimate at around $120 a tank and getting 17mpg.

[Dirty Dude]

Your being about 7,000 miles away from us makes any price comparison pretty well useless, not to mention the wage discrepancy or exchange rate.

[96coroll]

Yup right now gas is 1.26 for regular in toronto canada

[Black_Magic1514]

I just replaced my wifes radiator on her 95 corolla and it was not hard at all. Even if you are a person who doesn't work on your car often you can have this done in about 30 min. I ordered a radiator off of Ebay for $40 and already have coolant at the house. I understand you are in the middle of no where but all you need is a set of sockets, open end wrenches to tighten the nuts on the bottom that connect to the hoses that runs into your engine block and trans axle ( the location of where those hoses go may be wrong) pliers for the hose clamps and your set. If they have home depot they should have some chain auto parts store that will have the part.

[badcompany87]

Thanks for all your replies! I was able to barely make it to an autozone, that did not turn out to be any help. It was the size of a carry-out only pizza hut. There was one guy working, it took about 30mins in line to get to the parts counter. The radiator was a $100, I had looked it up on my gf's iphone when we were able to get service. I thought about replacing it, but that autozone did not carry tools, the next one was in the town over. I decided to just go with the service station. $400 was a hefty price, but I have a year warranty on parts and labor. I drove to San Diego the next day, and then back to Northern California the day after with no problem. When the radiator did blow, I did notice the coolant was brown -_-. I know I should've checked it. But in the end it was one hell of an adventure, and now I am closer and more financially invested in my car then ever. You live and you learn right? Btw, if any of you plan on driving through the Palm Desert Mountains, especially when it's 110 outside and you're going uphill, make sure your radiator is up to speed and bring plenty of coolant. I'm going back same time next year to conquer that mountain (with a new radiator of course). Thanks again nation!