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So it could just be the housing itself and not the radiator...........you might be looking at $50............or maybe even just a gasket. Did this Mechanic SHOW you where it was leaking?
No cause I had to work so I left the car. I did take it to another place, same diagnosis. Both parts need replacing.
Also, the reason is not normal wear and tear. It's cause I didnt check the weather and drove into a blizzard in boondock nowhere Minnesota with no street lights or reasonable roads. I couldn't see and drove into a ditch, damaging the otherwise perfectly fine radiator. You can actually see why if you see the car, it looks like I hit a freaking boulder behind the bumper, which is where the radiator is located. There is most likely a dent or hole where the bumper is shoved inward. Hard to describe cause the actually bumper cover is otherwise fine, minus a few cracks.
No cause I had to work so I left the car. I did take it to another place, same diagnosis. Both parts need replacing.
Also, the reason is not normal wear and tear. It's cause I didnt check the weather and drove into a blizzard in boondock nowhere Minnesota with no street lights or reasonable roads. I couldn't see and drove into a ditch, damaging the otherwise perfectly fine radiator. You can actually see why if you see the car, it looks like I hit a freaking boulder behind the bumper, which is where the radiator is located. There is most likely a dent or hole where the bumper is shoved inward. Hard to describe cause the actually bumper cover is otherwise fine, minus a few cracks.
So i'm guessing no car insurance.......? or the deductible is $1000?
So i'm guessing no car insurance.......? or the deductible is $1000?
My car insurance isn't covering me driving into a ditch, so deductible or not I'm not bringing it up with them cause nothing good comes out of it on my end but a higher rate and even worse driving history.
It's a 2015 Chevy Sonic LTZ. Apparently I'm actually paying for labor mostly, the radiator is located directly behind the bumper cover. Otherwise I could afford parts easy. Though the radiator was damaged for months, yet survived a trip to and from Indiana so it can't be that bad but im not sure. The mechanic never specified.
I recently went thru this same thing, but my truck is a 2000 Dakota. I would be surprised that your Sonic's radiator has a hole in it and it could be leaking because the water pump is going or gone bad. Mine ended up the water pump. I did put StopLeak in the radiator as it was an older truck, and the holidays were upon us and I was trying to buy a month's time....NOT! Still, it only cost me $225. for a new water pump to be placed and that is with replacing some hose, too.
If it was my Sonic, I'd take it to a few other mechanics, as that price you have been quoted is very high.
Personally, I'd just get the radiator replaced. If you need to keep going for a while and it's such a small leak that sealant MIGHT work.. I'd just make sure I kept it topped off and let it leak until you're ready/able to have it replaced.
My figuring here, the stop leak won't prevent the hole from growing.. If that happens, whether you dump sealant in there or not.. Either way you're going all the way to the place where the car overheats.
My opinion, and that's all this is.. On a vehicle that new.. Ride it, keeping it topped off rather than dumping 'questionable' things into the radiator.
If this were a '79 Pinto.. Sure.. Throw a salad in there if you want.. If it works, great, if it doen't.. Oh well. But.. This is a ~2 year old car.. I would not be putting anything even remotely questionable into it.
No cause I had to work so I left the car. I did take it to another place, same diagnosis. Both parts need replacing.
Also, the reason is not normal wear and tear. It's cause I didnt check the weather and drove into a blizzard in boondock nowhere Minnesota with no street lights or reasonable roads. I couldn't see and drove into a ditch, damaging the otherwise perfectly fine radiator. You can actually see why if you see the car, it looks like I hit a freaking boulder behind the bumper, which is where the radiator is located. There is most likely a dent or hole where the bumper is shoved inward. Hard to describe cause the actually bumper cover is otherwise fine, minus a few cracks.
Go underneath with a flashlight, find the leak/s. Start where the metal lines connect into the radiator down low. Those bend/break easily. With quotes over $1,000, I'd be suspicious of both mechanics. Those are dealership rates.
As previously mentioned, JB Weld may be your best friend at this point.
Go underneath with a flashlight, find the leak/s. Start where the metal lines connect into the radiator down low. Those bend/break easily. With quotes over $1,000, I'd be suspicious of both mechanics. Those are dealership rates.
As previously mentioned, JB Weld may be your best friend at this point.
It's not just two at this point, it's five now. I called two after quoted the first time, then three more. I just got off the phone with one, so it's sorta six but he isn't willing to give me a good quote since he can't see it but he said 'just guessing, I'd say in the 700-800 range or 1000 if we're fixing the thermostat too.'
So at this point I'm just going to get the parts and do it myself. Only issue I'm having is ID'ing my thermostat housing but once I do I should be fine.
That bit about the concrete-like mess inside the engine block? I'm pretty sure that any product that you put in the coolant to plug a leak can also cause coolant channel blockage. I wouldn't mess with any of them. However, the JB Weld (make sure you get the hi-temp product) will work for a time - maybe a week, maybe a month, maybe 3 months. If the radiator caps are plastic, it won't last as long. If they are brass, it will last longer.
There's no reason it can't last a lot longer than 3 months, if done properly and if used on an appropriate repair. Subsequent posts by the OP make it clear that JB Weld would not be the right answer for his problem, but for small repairs like hairline splits or even small holes, it can last years. I had one last 2 years before I sold the car, and another last 2 years before I had to replace it. That second repair has lasted about 8 months now, and still seems solid.
If you prepare the surface properly, and cure it properly, JB Weld can last longer than a lot of older cars.
I wouid say pour in the sealant and trade in the car. I've never had a car that was successfully repaired, at any cost, after it overheated.
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