Does anyone know anything about car radiators?

[nevadamoon]

SO we're driving home today from a meetup and the radiator sprung a pretty good leak and now our only car is out of commission.      I'm not too upset since it was really important we got where we were going (though, we were concerned our car wouldn't make the trip, guess we were right?    ) but now I really don't know what we're going to do.  Husband thinks he knows someone who can spot weld the hole, but I don't even want to think what it's going to cost to replace the radiator.     The car is pretty old as is, so I don't know.  It's just frustrating, and I needed to vent.   

Also, uh.. How dangerous is it to drive it around short distances?  We've been stopping every 10 minutes to refill it with water (that was how we got home) but it's really the only way my husband has to get to work, and if we can't get it fixed until payday.. Yeah.  Not good.

[italianqt]

The leak is in the radiator itself, not in one of the hoses?

[trubandloki]

You can probably get an after market radiator for not near as much as you think.  If nothing else call around to your local junk yards, they might have the right radiator for your vehicle for not much at all.

I would not continue to drive it very much with a serious leak.  If it was the middle of winter maybe, but not this time of year.  You are just begging something to over heat.

Like italianqt mentioned, check the hoses.  They are an easy fix and frequently are what goes first.

[whtnyte]

I agree with the junk yard search mentioned. You can usually get one very cheap from them. Price may very depending on whether you have them remove it from the vehicle it's in, or some yards will let you pull it out yourself for even less money.
Also as said, with the heat his summer it's just NOT worth risking your enire engine for short trips.
You don't know any one with a car you can borrow until yours is fixed?

[forkyfork]

Dont drive it or you wont have any car at all. You can blow your head gasket and water will get in the engine oil and that will be the end.

You really should check your oil now before putting any money in the radiator because you could have already blown it.
The oil will be a creamy brown, like coffee with creamer.
It also may only show as foam on the dip stick without the cream color.
If you blew the gasket depending on how bad you can still drive it by changing the oil every week but your taking a chance on getting stranded somewhere. I drove a car about 6mos that way.

Usually its cheaper to repair the radiator if its in a spot they can get to without removing it.

Do not put any of that stuff in it from the auto parts store.

If you have a transmission cooler with transmission lines going into the radiator then that runs the bill up even more. Also those radiators are more expensive to remove and put back in.

I wouldnt use a junked radiator with a tranny cooler in it unless they took the time to seal it after taking it out. Dirt and moisture will ruin your tranny. Hopefully you dont have a tranny cooler in your radiator.

Either way, calling around will get you your answers.  Some vehicles the radiator is incredibly expensive new or used so repairing them is best.  The only way to know is compare costs.

As far as getting to work. Ask around hopefully someone can come and get him.  As a boss I would get him.

[nevadamoon]

The leak is in the radiator itself, not in one of the hoses?

Definitely not from the hose.

Had a friend look at it today, and the core is bad.  It's going to need to be replaced completely, though it's not going to be as expensive as we first feared.  (Of course, it's still pretty bad timing.    )  Friend said we just need to keep fluid in it, and it should be fine as long as we don't push it.  Friend also works with a company that rebuilds radiators, so he's going to help us get one at close to cost, but it's still going to cost to put it in and  all.

forkyfork -  He works 2 jobs, and neither of the bosses are going to really help him with transport. 

whtnyte- We're new-ish to the area (or rather, just haven't met many people) so about the only ones we know are family and some other random people.  Don't even know anyone with more then one car, and we don't have a credit card which also complicates renting a car/etc.

[italianqt]

The heater core that's near the steering column? There is a way to temporarily bypass it and all that does is limit heating inside your car....which shouldn't be a bad thing this time of year! Then you could save up to replace it.

[nevadamoon]

No, the core of the radiator.  Idk anything about cars, that's what my husband called it.

[pinkie1205]

The leak is in the radiator itself, not in one of the hoses?

Definitely not from the hose.

Had a friend look at it today, and the core is bad.  It's going to need to be replaced completely, though it's not going to be as expensive as we first feared.  (Of course, it's still pretty bad timing.    )  Friend said we just need to keep fluid in it, and it should be fine as long as we don't push it.  Friend also works with a company that rebuilds radiators, so he's going to help us get one at close to cost, but it's still going to cost to put it in and  all.

forkyfork -  He works 2 jobs, and neither of the bosses are going to really help him with transport. 

whtnyte- We're new-ish to the area (or rather, just haven't met many people) so about the only ones we know are family and some other random people.  Don't even know anyone with more then one car, and we don't have a credit card which also complicates renting a car/etc.

I don't know if this will help but when we rented a car in Orlando we didn't use a credit card.  We had to give them $150 security deposit I guess, then another money order for the daily fees.  I'm not going to lie, it was pretty expensive (probably pretty close to $500) but we got the deposit back as soon as we returned the car and they sent us a check in the mail because we took the car back early.  Does your husband know anyone at either of his jobs that would be willing to give him a ride?  Maybe he could tell his boss the situation and his boss could find him a ride. 

Make sure you keep the fluid in there!  I had a car that would do the same thing, as soon as I put fluid in it would go all over the ground.  I ended up selling the car anyway.  My brother said it was the head gasket but I swear it was just a radiator  leak.

[nevadamoon]

well, if we had that kind of money, we could just get it fixed.  We could have had it towed when it broke initially, (and the insurance would reimburse the cost of the tow) but we didn't have the cash or a way to charge it.

We've been keeping gallon jugs in the car full of water, and he's been able to drive it to and from work so far.  Luckily he only works one job tomorrow, and maybe a total of 3 shifts before Thursday when we can hopefully get it replaced.  Of course, it breaks the week that almost all the bills are due.     I might check too and see if my dad can front us the money, since we really can't go more then a week before this is fixed and I don't know if we can afford it this week.  The van used to be his (it's seriously like, a 17 year old van  )  so he might loan us the money, or he might just lecture us that we weren't taking care of it right.

[rats_have_rights]

http://www.barsproducts.com/C16_R6.htm

http://www.barsleaks.net/how2works.html

[forkyfork]

http://www.barsproducts.com/C16_R6.htm

http://www.barsleaks.net/how2works.html

Anything like this is bad stuff. It can wreak all kinds of havoc in the cooling system and make it even worse than it is by clogging the little tubes the coolant flows through.

[rats_have_rights]

Yes, this is the court of last resort.

Either you can replace the radiator, or have it repaired.

If you can't do the above, you use this stuff to limp along until you can.