Radiator Wrap-up
Figured I'd post about the radiator work, just in case anyone was interested in trying it someday.
Technically, the replacement was easy. There weren't any real snags as far as what we needed to do, but as always with car repair the problems lie with actually doing it. We only started running into trouble when we needed to get at the hoses underneath the radiator fan, so we decided to take the fan out first, which meant getting at some bolts we couldn't see. Luckily, we had the replacement radiator nearby, so we could very clearly see where the bolts were in comparison to other stuff, so we were able to get a socket wrench in there and get the fan out.
Originally I was concerned that the automatic transmission hoses would leak out too much fluid. It turns out that, yes, some fluid gets lost, but it's such a small amount that it barely moved the level on the dipstick, so we just didn't bother with it. We dropped in the new radiator and picked up some new coolant, filled it up and took it for a drive. After a quick run around the block, we were pretty convinced that everything was cool. All in all, the fix probably took 2 or 3 hours.
I really liked being able to work on the car with Jane and Chris, and it was great going up there to see them. I'm glad that we're only a few hours apart. I was also happy to be able to move to another component of the car. Now I have an even greater understanding of how the engine cooling system works so I can carry that knowledge to my own car (and the warranty's up soon, so I'm about to get a bit more proactive with Lydia's inner workings).
Technically, the replacement was easy. There weren't any real snags as far as what we needed to do, but as always with car repair the problems lie with actually doing it. We only started running into trouble when we needed to get at the hoses underneath the radiator fan, so we decided to take the fan out first, which meant getting at some bolts we couldn't see. Luckily, we had the replacement radiator nearby, so we could very clearly see where the bolts were in comparison to other stuff, so we were able to get a socket wrench in there and get the fan out.
Originally I was concerned that the automatic transmission hoses would leak out too much fluid. It turns out that, yes, some fluid gets lost, but it's such a small amount that it barely moved the level on the dipstick, so we just didn't bother with it. We dropped in the new radiator and picked up some new coolant, filled it up and took it for a drive. After a quick run around the block, we were pretty convinced that everything was cool. All in all, the fix probably took 2 or 3 hours.
I really liked being able to work on the car with Jane and Chris, and it was great going up there to see them. I'm glad that we're only a few hours apart. I was also happy to be able to move to another component of the car. Now I have an even greater understanding of how the engine cooling system works so I can carry that knowledge to my own car (and the warranty's up soon, so I'm about to get a bit more proactive with Lydia's inner workings).