Hey guys.....love the forum! I think I have a serious problem, though. I recently purchased an 84 Dodge van with a 318 in it. The guy (friend) I bought it from said he has never had any problems with it over-heating, so I haven't been paying much attention to the temp gauge very much. Anyways, I was driving around for a good while today in a lot of stop and go traffic thinking everything was fine, but when I got home and turned her off, I heard a loud "woosh" and water began flying out of the front of the van. I let it chill for a while, then took the radiator cap off and sprayed some water in there. After about 30 seconds water leaked all over the ground......damn. Guess I have a busted radiator. (I'm very limited mecanically) I went and looked at advanceautoparts dot com at new ones but I'm not sure whch one I need. There are a few different sizes on there. I'll probably get the one without AC because I'm pretty much broke. Oh yeah, I crawled under there hoping to see a busted hose or something but no such luck. Is this that terrible or should it be relatively easy to fix? Sorry for such a long post......any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much!
van-nut
08-17-2007, 10:10 PM
Scottay -
Welcome to DT!
:dtrocks:
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Try to confirm the source of the leak before laying out any money for parts. That would really suck to buy a new radiator only to later find out that something else was the culprit. If it is leaking out as fast as your pouring it in, it should be pretty easy to find - maybe get a helper to pour water in while you stay under it to watch where its comming from.
Pete
Mad Joe
08-18-2007, 10:25 PM
Don't be so quick to assume it's the radiator. My guess? I put my money on the bypass hose and if it is, you should be back on the road for less that $10. I cross my fingers for you.
Mad Joe
08-19-2007, 10:56 AM
Another possibility is the water pump. That would still be better than the radiator.
Let us know what you find out.
scottay
08-22-2007, 07:55 PM
Yep....it was the radiator. $300 and I'll be back on the road tommorrow. Oh well, At least I've got a new radiator! HeHe.....thanx for the input guys. :D
Dodgevanman
08-23-2007, 08:14 AM
$300....you got off pretty cheap. Good deal.
stev
08-23-2007, 01:31 PM
Scottay,
Don't be a stranger, visit these forums more often, they can be a great help and saving$ too!
alloro
08-25-2007, 12:46 AM
Here's the place to get radiators: radiator dot com
Mine was $100 less than the local parts store and they delivered it right to my house within 2 hours.
