help me here, is my mom being screwed over?

[mark2kay]

well i know most of u guys here a mechanic pros so help me out here.

my moms ford contour has beenn giving alot of problems lately,the latest thing now was antifreeze kept leeking out,the guy supposedly patched it up or something, which stopped leaking temporly but it started again, now she had to go to other machanic cause of leaking started in nother state.

now he says he have a PLASTIC radiator? and that it has holes and cant be sealed, he says itll cost bought 450 to fix. there may have been a miscommunication between mechanic auny,mom, and phone but...

can cars even have plastic radiators and are we being ripped off?

thx for ur help

[chandler]

the end tanks on the radiator are plastic , cant be repaired, sorry dude

[912.0turbo]

It cant be repaired like he said but 450 dollars is too much for a new one I think.Maybe 200 or little more but I dont know too much about contours.:pface

[mark2kay]

ok i did some googling i came up with this

"Leaks in plastic end tanks can be filled with epoxy, covered with fiberglass and epoxy, or hot-air welded using nylon plastic filler rod. Welding plastic takes some skill and requires careful surface preparation to get good adhesion. The leak must first be "V" ground and sanded, then cleaned with wax and grease remover to assure a strong bond. The other alternative is to simply replace the damaged end tank. But the job is harder than it looks because the end tank must be pressed down on the core with about 150 lbs. of pressure while the header tabs are clamped in place. Radiator shops have the proper fixtures for doing this, but many underhood repair shops probably don"

im assuming that what first mechanic did,i tried googling for end tanks and it founf all other parts like radiator and radiator fans but no end tank.

he said it about 450 installed,he charging fo part and labor =(, they said something about a part costing 200, but i cant find part online

[bruinbear714]

Brand new aftermarket radiators costs about $100-$150, and takes less than an hour of the mechanic's time!

If he's charging $450 for it, either he's getting ripped off in buying his radiators from a supplier, or he's ripping you off in labor charges, with the latter being most likely.

[DammitBobby]

One word JBweld!

[mark2kay]

im not trying to find a radiotor, i need the end tank or whatever, the plastic part, not metal part.

that metal part i find online, not the plastic

is jb weld even on east coast?(assuming he some user good w/radiators

[JDM]

Don’t forget that he has to drain and refill the radiator. That adds cost and time. Also if it only takes him an hour that’s just a bonus, according to most mechanics a radiator replacement is more then a one hour job. If the deal includes a new radiator and a refill, id say about $450 is an average price. It’s not a great price, but in a pinch I don't think it’s getting ripped off.

[marshun]

dont do the jb weld and all that. replacing a radiator is really really easy. i suggest that you do it and get a brand new radiator for around 200 bucks.

[Supafly]

im not trying to find a radiotor, i need the end tank or whatever, the plastic part, not metal part.

that metal part i find online, not the plastic

is jb weld even on east coast?(assuming he some user good w/radiators

you won't find individual end tanks anywhere. it is possible to replace but more work than it's worth to change it. get a new or junkyard radiator and toss it in. it's a pretty easy job overall.

[AZhitman]

I agree with these guys.

Here's a good resource: http://www.radiatorbarn.com - Free shipping, and FAR lower prices than I could find ANYWHERE else.

Wish I could get them on board as a sponsor...

[Nathan]

There is a plethora of good, cheap, online radiator suppliers just like the one AZ listed. The radiator will get there quickly and if you pay more than about 150 bucks for the radiator alone, your paying too much. Unless he takes upwards of 4 hours to do the work, 450 bucks is too much. 300-350 would imo be fair considering around 2 hours of labor and the part. Even that is higher than I'd want to spend but oh well. Also, you wont find JUST the end tank, you'll have to buy a whole new radiator. However, it'll probably cost you less this way anyway since oem replacement radiators are cheap and replacing them is rather easy.

[Anand]

replacing a radiator is pretty easy... check the leak yourself and see if the leak is on the plastic or the metal.. if it ismetal, you can buy one of those leak stop bottles for about $10 and those work great..

My dads rad leaked and I put one of those bottles in and it stopped leaking for a good 2 years... then it wore out,

I flushed the rad like 3 times to get all the old stuff out.. refilled it, and put another bottle in.. plugged the leak again.... my dad sold the car..

so take it for what it's worth!!

If you go with a brand new radiator, install it yourself.. it is very very easy....

1. Drain rad2. take rad support off3. take off hoses4. pull off old rad5. replace and reverse steps 4-16. fill7. make sure you take all the air bubbles off8. you're done!

[bruinbear714]

Don’t forget that he has to drain and refill the radiator. That adds cost and time. Also if it only takes him an hour that’s just a bonus, according to most mechanics a radiator replacement is more then a one hour job. If the deal includes a new radiator and a refill, id say about $450 is an average price. It’s not a great price, but in a pinch I don't think it’s getting ripped off.

$450 is a LOT, considering most mechanics get radiators for under $100. THat leaves $350 for labor - if go with the normal rate of $50/hr for mechanics, that's a 7 hour job. Which mechanics do you know take 7 hours to change a radiator?

It doesn't take long at all to do a radiator, unless you count letting the car cool down as being part of the labor.

[JDM]

Its common practice that mechanics always state more time for the jobs they do. That’s how the good mechanics make more money. For example say the standard amount of time is 5 hours. If the mechanic is skilled enough he could do the job in say 3 hours. The extra 2 hours is like a bonus for being experienced. And at least in my area a radiator is going to be more then $100. $450 is not a great price, but I really don't think it is a rip off either. It seems on the higher side of the average price. Also a good shop will charge more sometimes because they do good work and use good parts. You get what you pay for alot of the time. J-Spec worked at a well known shop in my area, if he sees this I'm sure he will back me up.

[Chingon]

I don't know in contours but in the s13 it's a 20 min job w/tools and rad in hand.

[tonynalli]

here is a little trick that i used when i had a crack in mine. it worked for over a year till i replaced it with another one. but put pepper in it. my dad told me it a quick fix that lasts a long time.

[yellow_jacket]

As others have stated, fixing the radiator is not worth it. By the time you pay the radiator shop to pull the tanks off, buy new ones, and install them you will end up with one expensive radiator.

As for the price of the install. The shop is probably getting the radiator at about $120 then adding their markup to it(usually about 20%). And while the 240sx radiator may be very easy to change, Fords are not always that way. There are some of their vehicles that the front bumper must be removed to replace the radiator. This will greatly multiply the time required to R&R the radiator. Not to mention drain time, pulling it in the bay, run time(there is no bleeder so the car must be run @ idle until it hits operating temp) and cleanup time. If you want a good estimate of how much this should cost, call a couple of shops. They will quote it to you buy looking up the book time and cost of the parts.