Anyone know of a place I can get just the end caps for my radiator? They're cracked, but the body doesn't leak....can I buy new ones or will I end up in a junk yard searching?

 

I'm no radiator expert, and have definately not attempted to replace end caps on one, but am fairly certain it isn't something you would want to do. There would have to be significant challenges in ensuring a perfect seal. I would advise just picking up a new radiator at the local parts store. Mine was just over a hundred bucks including lifetime warrenty.

 

You'd be better off to try to find a whole radiator at the junkyard, you won't be able to change the tanks without specialized equipment... Or, if you have the money, buy one like he said with a warranty.

 

True. And it's not that I don't have the money for a new one...it's the simple fact that I don't know what all is still wrong with this car, and I'd like to keep my hundred bucks if I'm going to find out I also need a head gasket or something. I've done everything fairly inexpensively so far, maybe it's time to spend a little more $$$.

 

Go to www.acdelco.com and put in car info. you can buy the side tanks and they are not hard to replace if you are careful. In lieu of that just take it to a rad shop, they can fix it for probably less than half of the cost of a new rad. Stay away from the chain store units, they are junk. All the lifetime warranty buys is the probability of having to replace it in a few months. Most reputable rad shop are GM certified for repairs to thier units.

 

I can say that modine radiators are good units... you can get them at advance auto parts...

 

Thank You! I looked up the end tanks...but I can't find a price, I'm gonna call my guy at carquest and see if he can price them for me, or if they sell them. Maybe autozone too...who knows. BTW, the Advance auto parts here treats me like sh*t, so I won't buy anything from them. But thanks for the advice.

 

You need to go to an AC Delco parts retailer.

 

Oh man, I hate those cheapassed plastic tanks. Mine have cracked and have had to be replaced several times. Every couple years. The local rad shops charge me like $200 to fix the damn thing.

If you're gonna have yours fixed, take out the rad yourself, it's easy, then the rad shop won't charge you to r&r the thing. Plus then you can go to Wally's and buy new antifreeze yourself and refill the system, and pay less than the rad shop charges.

To hell with all that though, next time I have a cracked tank, I'm getting a whole new aftermarket rad with metal tanks. I'm finished with that plastic crap. AC Delco can take those things and shove 'em. It's a recurring problem, trust me, been there, done that (several times).

 

Just for the record, I've had about as many all metal radiators leak on me as I have plastic endcapped ones. Guess that means I should invest in a quality one...

 

Mike is right, if you are replacing the side tanks every 2 yrs I would be angry with the shop doing it not GM. It's not common at all. My 89 went 12 yrs before it needed a rad, I have 4 GM cars all with plastic rad tanks and have not had any problems. Is the rebuilder using Delco side tanks or aftermarket. There is a lot of junk being put into rebuilding auto components and there are different grades of the glyco-styrene used in the tanks. Better rad shops are GM certified for remanufacturing, usually they will last as long as a new one.

 

Tremo: I noticed you're in California....this car used to live at Camp Pendleton, which was when it had serious overheating problems. I think that's probably when the radiator cracks started. It's been sitting for so long now that they probably just got dried out enough to split. But anyway, my point is...living in Ohio, I've only had to fix the radiator on one car, and it had 175,000 miles on it when the plastic cracked. Maybe you've had problems with the plastic tanks because of the heat and lack of humidity....I'm no expert, that's just a thought. But I do agree that I can flush and fill my own radiator since I'll have it out of the car anyway. Now the challenge is to find an AC Delco parts dealer...all the local shops only have spark plugs and oil filters. They tell me I'll have to go through a car dealer, so I guess that's my next stop today.

 

Yeah, I'm in California, a bit east of Sacramento in the foothills. It gets 110* here in the summer. The car's cooling system is maxed on those days. It runs close to 220 on days like that. If I can get it on the freeway for an extended period at 65 mph, it will cool down to 190 or so. It never gets real far below freezing here though, so I'm a little weak on the antifreeze mix, to try to get a bit more summer cooling. Plus the water wetter.

I'd like to burn a custom prom for the damn computer to turn on the fans at about 210. How hard/complicated is all that prom stuff?

Argh, you're going to go to the dealer? Bend over and grab your ankles. Those guys are by far the most expensive.

 

Dealer markup is not something I look forward to, thats why I still haven't stopped in one. Plus, the daily driver failed E-check monday, because the service engine light was on....so i go to fix what I think is wrong (IAC) and find a MASSIVE vacume leak coming from the EGR....there are no bolts, no gaskit, nothing to seal the entrance to the manifold whatsoever. So I go to get the gaskit, and a new one for the throttle body - yeah, still waiting for the one that goes on the EGR tube...hope it's the right one when it comes in. But anyway, I'll be at carquest tomorrow and I can ask the (f-body wise) guy there what he thinks I should do with the TA.