Hi, I am new to this forum and was looking for some advice / technical help. We have a 2000 Chevy Blazer with 61K miles on it (bought it from the grandmother in '07 with 20K miles) and it started leaking a lot of coolant on the way home last night. The leak was coming from the left front wheel well. I did some investigating under the hood and it appears its coming from the the right side (looking towards the car) of the radiator. I notice what appears to be hairline crack in the plastic casing that is there. I am not that knowledgeable about cars, so i have no idea what that part is called. I attached some pics so you can see what I am talking about. I am wondering:

What is that part called?

What kind of cost are we talking about to replace that part, assuming I am correct about the origin of the leak.

What is the chance it is something I can replace myself?

Will I be able to drive the Blazer to the shop 8 miles away with it not overheating?

Also, as some background, the upper and lower intake manifold gaskets were replaced two weeks ago to fix a oil/coolant leak. I am assuming this is unrelated to that, as coolant was not leaking from the right side of the car and was a slow leak.

Thanks in advance for any help that can be provided.

 

That would be the radiator, if your not mechanically inclined to do this yourself with proper tools, don`t do it, theres too many things to mess with and can cause more problems if not done correctly. Do u know of any friends of friends that are mechanics and could help you out with it? Otherwise pricing for a radiator job could be diff depending on where ya take it and what shop labor is and if they honestly charge you the time they actually worked on it and not by the book, just so they can make the extra buck off ya. Not sure what state ya live in or what auto part stores ya have, but most places you can price check online for parts ya need. good luck let us know what happens...

 

Yep its the radiator. I just replaced my last weekend. If you are close to MA I can help you to replace it if you want.

 

I am actually in MD, so that probably won't work, but I do really appreciate the offer. I have a friend's dad who owns a shop, so that is where I am taking it. Just figured, if its something straightforward, I would try and save some money. I don't think I want to try and do a radiator myself.
What are my chances of being able to drive it to the shop?

 

How far is it to the shop? Take is slow an watch the temp. Oh an yea MD is a little far. It is pretty straight forward but the cooler lines can be pain.

 

It is a little under 9 miles from my house to the shop. When I parked yesterday, it had just started leaking and leaked for a good 45 seconds before it stopped. Smoke came out of the hood, which I assume is because coolant is hitting hot engine parts and causing steam. I just hope I can make it!

 

mine was cracked and leaking and i drove it 175 miles to where it is now with the engine apart... no problems or overheating

 

You should be ok with that short distance. Yea the steam you were seeing should have been just that it hitting hot parts.

 

Make sure the coolant if full and take it there should not have any problems

 

Isn't the piece on the side just the oil cooler? Do you have to replace the whole radiator for that? Just asking, I've never done one...