joeanoker

I was just informed by mechanic after having car inspected that my 96 needs a new radiator. There has been drops of anti-freeze on garage floor, and pressure test revealed the leak near petcock valve. What is the cost of a new radiator and what should i be looking at as far as hours required to install radiator and flush out system. Job seems to complicated for my feeble mechanical ability and dont mind paying for it to get done but dont what taken to the cleaners for either.

LoneStarV

Lots of choices on radiators. Stock replacement ones can be had cheap if you shop around. Or you can get an all aluminum one if you want to spend more money. Easy to put in. Drain, disconnect hoses, and transmission lines if you have an auto. taking the shroud off around it is a bit of a pain. Just be sure to bleed all the air out when you refill it.

92ragtop

The majority of the time will be spent taking off the shroud. The rest is easy. Some tips for your mechanic:


1. There are three small screws on either side of the lower front part of the shroud. Very hard to see and to get at. Only the two easier ones need to go back in.

2. The A/C hard lines do NOT have to be disconnected in order to manouver the shroud off. It takes some doing though to actually get the thing off.

383vett

Try tightening the petcock first.

Goldcylon

Yep

zr1fred

Very easy. Rockauto.com $110, Autozone $156.

joeanoker

i was under the car when it was on the rack, petcock was fine, there is a seam near it and thats where leak is.

zr1fred

Very common to crack about 1/8" along the seam. It usually doesn't leak under pressure, only when it cools down. You 'll probably notice swelling in the plastic ends.

1Asterisk

http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_11...p/viewall.html

There are a few "how to" articles on swapping the radiator. I did it a year or two ago on my 96. It's not all that difficult. The hardest part is getting to the screws on the lower front. There is an exhaust pump thing (I can't remember the name obviously) on the lower front driver's side. If you remove that it makes it a little easier to get to the screws.

You should drain the system by putting the car up and removing the knock sensors under the engine. That will flush everything out. Then get some distilled water and put a little more in it to flush out some more. Then refill with distilled and your antifreeze once you get your radiator on.

I don't know how much the job costs, but I did it in an afternoon. I replaced the radiator hoses while I was there as they don't cost all that much.