radiator leaking=

[jamesmetairie]

04 ce with 92k miles. radiator leaking . anyone else have radiator go out at 90k miles?

[JasonA]

It's probably a cracked plastic end tank, or a leak where the end tank joins with the aluminum center core of the radiator. Not all that common, but it's bound to happen with these multi-piece radiators. Can you tell exactly from where the leak is coming?

[jamesmetairie]

can,t see the leak spot exactly. it runs out from a spot where there,s a lip below the drain plug area. it puddles on top of the splash pan. when you look down you can see it there. the leak is so minimum there,s barely a loss of coolant in resevoir noticed.the car does not over heat. i had it pressure tested on a cold day and it was not losing pressure and not leaking at that time. radiator shop said perhaps on a cold day it contracts and stops leaking. ??? i,ll probly just reoplace radiator. we,ll keep you guys posted. this car is like a endless money pit so far.

[JasonA]

How long have you owned it?

[jamesmetairie]

my bro was gonna trade it in on a new camry. usually i help him sell his old car . this one had dirty interior and had a loud hum from the rear and a busted windshield,etc. so we figured it wasn,t gonna be worth much more than the dealer offered $5500. so i bought it for that price. + tax. then 4 new tires and 2 new rear wheel hubs and 1 new windshield and now a new radiator. and also alot of noise on start-up. but tensioner don,t look bad. maybe something else is giving up. i search and buy cars all the time with 90,000 miles for around $2000. this car is killing me. way too much $ invested in it now. bad luck = some jackazz is probly gonna hit it and cost me total loss.

[JasonA]

In my opinion, it's unfair to blame the car for the stuff you've already replaced...you knew that going in (the windshield, the rear wheel hubs, etc). The only additional repair it's required that you didn't know about is a radiator. Eh...90k miles is probably a little early for a radiator failure, but if it's the only problem you'll have in the next 90k miles, you'll be doing fine. Don't blame the car for money you know you had to spend going in (obviously the radiator is an exception).

By the way, if the dealer offered $5500 on trade for this car, I think that was excellent to get as a trade value.

[bbsgarage]

I would have jumped on 5500 for that.