I have a 89 trans am 305 tbi, the car had a cooling issue and was told it was the thermostat sticking, so I purchased a new one and put it in. Car ran great for about a day than coolant started to leak from the hose, so I got a new hose installed the new hose drove it around for about a day with everything running fine. Well I go out for a drive today and I notice the temp gauge getting fairly high so I pulled over and popped the hood and now I blew a hole/crack whatever in the passenger side of the radiator. Is my luck really that shitty or could there be a underlying issue? I am getting sick of throwing money into this car. I was told it could be a blown head gasket and to check the oil to see if it was milky but the oil was ok. What else could the issue be???? Thanks in advance any help is appreciated!

 

Plastic piece?
That is the overflow // recovery tank.
It is possible that with age it has had a crack in it for some time.

Also, did you " purge " or " bleed " air from the system?

 

I am assuming you are saying that the passenger side of the radiator is called the overflow/Recovery tank? I know that next to the radiator on the passenger side is the overflow. Just asking to make sure I am understanding you correctly. I am assuming this will be a no no... I did not purge/bleed air from the system, I guess that is something I SHOULD have done and just got lucky not doing that in the past with other cars?... How is this even done and could that have been a cause in the radiator giving out?

 

DOH!!!

I think I understand.... There is a crack // hole in the side of the radiator itself!!?!! Are the sides plastic, or is the radiator all aluminum, or brass/aluminum?
The plastic sides do get stressed & can give into stress cracking.

If it's plastic sides, it's time for a radiator replacement.
If it's not plastic, a radiator repair shop should be able to fix it.

To bleed // purge air from the system, let the engine idle to normal temp with the radiator cap off-- this let's trapped air find it's way out of the cooling system. While it's idling & the thermostat opens, carefully look in the rad to ensure you can see the fluid flowing thru the top few tubes inside the rad.
Be careful, the fluid will be hot!!
It may even flow out the top of the rad when the thermostat opens.
Turn the engine off. Refill to correct level, let it cool down awhile, check fluid level, put the cap on. You may want a new cap too.
Don't drive with a hole in the rad if at all possible.

 

The sides of the radiator are plastic, I am on a budget so far the cheapest I have found is another plastic-sided radiator for 140$. Is it advisable to get on that does not have plastic sides? Yes the crack is in the radiator itself on the plastic. Thanks for the advice on purging the air, that probably would have saved me 100$....