New Radiator at 154K Miles ...

[cfg83]

Hello -

I got a coolant light last Monday on the way to work. I thought "no big deal", and topped off the fluids (coolant and oil always in the trunk!). The following Tuesday, the coolant was low *again* and I thought uh-oh, something's wrong. I pulled over and saw the fuild leaking. I let the car cool off, topped off the coolant, and called my mechanic. I got the car to him at 11 AM and was out by 4:30 PM. There was a crack in the plastic part (see below), the upper driver's side facing the airbox. The cost was $360 total, but I don't mind because the OEM radiator lasted 154,947 miles. I am OK with that ($0.0023 per mile). Here are some pics :

The OEM Radiator


The Crack. My Mechanic said this was the "typical" location. Manufactured August 11th, 1998.


The New Radiator, Manufactured December 1st, 2007


The Specifications of the new radiator


The new hoses


If I had known that I was going to need a new radiator, I would have tried to get one from a Saturn dealer ahead of time. But since I have a 35 mile commute to work and didn't want to drive to and from the Saturn dealer, I just wanted to get it fixed ASAP. I never overheated to the point of damaging the TStat, so I know the engine was never at risk. I basically "took the day off" and had fun watching it get fixed. Since radiators are "typical fixes" in older cars, I feel good that I have a new one because I won't have this "old car worry" on road trips.

PS - Thanks Wolfman! The Radiator Fan Switch was extra insurance on the road to my mechanic.

CarloSW2

[DonP]

Your mechanic is right. This is the typical radiator end tank crack, at about the typical time in the car's life, around 10 years, give or take a couple years.

[2NDSOUT]

Your radiator going out at 154K, sounds about right; for a 10 year old car.

My radiator went out in May 2005 at roughly around 275K miles.

The design of the Saturn Radiator was one that was faulty in my own opinion. But the crack on the driver side at the top is where they usually go after constantly being heated/cooled over a period of time.

Mine was an aftermarket from a parts place in California that I bought for $85 and replaced myself. You saved yourself a bit of money by getting the aftermarket one. I've not had any issues with mine at all, since it was replaced.