does anyone know about how much it costs to get a new radiator? the cost of the radiator + mechanics cost




and is it true that for blazers it is cheaper to replace the radiator than to patch it?

mine has a crack in the front i do believe

whenever i drive, the engine overheats and steam comes out of the engine bay and then i see cooliant coming around the side of the radiator

i need to know if it is worth to even get fixed


my blazer has only just over 100,000 miles, the AC does not work, and the transmission grinds if you hit the gas too hard
it is a 1998 4dr with 4wd

 

I got a replacement radiator from Radiator Barn.com -Click, already set to your information. I got mine about a month ago, and it was an exact stock replacement. Total cost is $139, which is cheap compared to the local parts stores, and theyll have it to you in 1-2 days.

 

i would say it should be worth getting fixed. mechanic's rates will vary no way to tell what that will cost - but theres no reason you cant get in there and do it yourself. it shouldnt take you more than an hour to do. you will need:

a bucket to drain your coolant into
a screwdriver to remove the hose clamps on your radiator hoses
a socket or wrench, probably 10mm or 13mm to remove the fan shroud (the top part of the shroud is all that holds the radiator in place)
a wrench to remove the two transmission lines.
fresh coolant to refill (50/50 mix of coolant and water)

the most difficult part will probably be just getting in there and finding where things attach. now go get dirty!!!

 

i am not exactly mr. mechanic

right now all i can do is little things like oil changes and tweakings

i also could not do the work till at least the end of the summer cause i am up at college (penn state) taking some summer classes and wont be back til august

so for someone of my skill how long would it take? and if you could even estimate the cost for a mechanic that would be awesome

 

if you can do an oil change you *should* be able to handle this in an hour, 2 at the most. i would imagine your biggest challenge would be having the tools (sockets/wrenches) at your disposal. and sometimes getting the transmission lines to thread back into the new radiator can be a PITA, but its just time consuming to get them to line up sometimes.
if you check out this picture it will give you a rough idea of what to do. take a look under the hood and see if you can find the parts:
the bolts you need to remove are in red (they run along the top of the radiator support, and also about halfway down the radiator along the back connecting the fan shroud pieces together on each side... you only need to take the top part off). the blue arrows are the coolant hoses, and the fuscha arrows show the rough placement of the transmission coolant lines. once all the hoses are disconnected and the top half of the plastic fan shroud is unbolted and moved the radiator will simply lift right out.


a shop will probably charge you at least an hour of labor (which is around $90/hr. in my neck of the woods), maybe more, plus they ususally mark up the price on the new radiator.