I am to take a road trip within the next week, but recently my vehicle had been running hot and leaking coolant. I only discovered this problem when I turned on my A/C. I diagnosed the problem that the seal on my radiator was giving way when too much pressure built up and that’s what caused the cool…

If you are planning to replace the radiator before is better. My opinion yes you will be risking it.

To paraphrase Dirty Harry: Are you feeling lucky, friend? You might make it, but then again, you might not. If you need radiator repairs, get them done first and have a pleasant 20 hour drive. If you wait, it might be a 100 hour drive and you will have to pay for hotel and food while you wait.

Your radiator might not need to be replaced. The pressure builds up as the temperature rises and the coolant expands. Too high and the radiator cap allows coolant to escape. Was it overheating and that’s why the “seal” leaked? If the car’s temp gauge (or a red light on the dash) didn’t show it was …

Mustangman, coolant didn’t come out the top though. it came out the side. When I used a pressure test kit on the radiator, it got to around 10psi and coolant just sprayed out the side of the radiator again. Like I said, it never happened until I used my A/C. I haven’t used my A/C since then, and it …

This one’s easy. Replace the radiator before the trip. You know it needs replacing. Why risk a major break-down on a long trip like this? Let’s put it like this. What if a pre-flight inspection revealed that the engine in the aircraft had a major oil leak. Would you climb on board that plane a…

Definitely replace the radiator before making any trips… or even driving to work too many times. A small leak of that type can instantly turn into a hemorrhage, and even if it doesn’t the failure of the system to hold pressure will result in the system boiling over. Pressurizing is done to raise th…

Your radiator is clearly toast Replace it now I recommend going to one of those mom and pop radiator shops They usually have radiators for all the common vehicles in stock, and they often have the lowest prices. Sometimes by a large margin

The good news is that you know exactly what the problem is. Many posters here aren’t so fortunate. :smiley:

Get it fixed properly by a qualified shop. In my area there are at least 4 shops that specialize in this kind of work. Make sure the whole system is checked out; don’t tell theme to just replace the radiator.

Need an opinion

Maintenance/Repairs

trbrown716 July 3, 2016, 2:55am 8

Yeah, on mine the coolant is spraying out right where the clips clamps down on the radiator to form the seal.

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