Hey how's it going? My brother has a 1992 Chevy Camaro RS it's a v8 and 2 months ago the car was over heating really bad. We took it to the shop paying $600 which they said they replaced a fan, water pump, drained all the black coolent out. They didn't say anything about the radiator related to the over heating tempurture problem. I went back today cause the car was very smokey, leaking coolent, and the temp was over red lining. If you can please tell me what the problem is and any info that would be great. The mechanic says it's the radiator but, shouldn't they have fixed that? I just want to know if fixing the radiator is a part of what I payed $600 for. I feel like I'm getting scammed in a way and I paid way 2 much, or I talked to some friends and they told me that it could of been a little hole that started out and now it's big. I'm not saying that all car shops do this but I know that some do scam people by putting holes in there vehicels or damaging their cars in a very small way, then it get's into a big problem so they come back. But if you can help me in anyway it would be greatly appreciated.

p.s.- I'm a newbie about cars, so is my bro. We don't know 2 much and if you can please leave some comments, or any suggestions that would be great.

Thank you for your time,

Antonio

 

its unlikely they did anything to the radiator, if there had been any leaks in it you would have seen coolant dripping out on the ground every time you parked the car, or at least noticed having to add more coolant than normal.
the radiator was probably fine at the time. dirty coolant probably means the cooling system wasn't maintained as it should have been, ie; regular flushes & new coolant every 2 years or so.

$600.00 sounds kind of high for just a flush, water pump & fan, but it depends on what parts they used, the labor rate they charge, how they flushed it out, & if they did anything else to it, such as hoses, belts, thermostat or any other work.

if the radiator is bad, you can probably replace it yourself & save some money.
be aware, because it overheated there could be other problems, such as head gaskets, cracked heads or block problems.

 

Check for the air dam under neath the car.

 

If the coolant was indeed black, then the radiator is probably clogged. I'd change it & the thermostat @ the same time. Autozone should have the new radiator for ~$110, I'm guessing. After two gallons of coolant, a quart or two of tranny fluid, a new rad, a thermostat & gasket, you should be coming in @ around $150 and maybe 90 minutes of your time. Just be sure to pre-soak the transmission line nuts with PB Blaster or the like a day or two ahead of time to make things go smoothly and replace the new tranny lines VERY GENTLY. You can mess up the brass threads in the new rad very easily if you overtighten the lines.