Trying to figure out what is wrong with the cooling system on a car can be very difficult. There are a million different places on the cooling system which might spring a leak: hoses, seals, gaskets, couplings, and, of course, the radiator. One typically dries the exterior of the system (as best one can) and turns on the car to observe What Happens Next. And then one is able to pinpoint the source of the leak when it starts dripping or spraying or exploding all over the place.
Ruby was being a puzzle before, dripping on the driver side but not showing any obvious cracks or holes or anything to give a hint of the source. But after Deb drove it home on Thursday, something changed drastically. Now the whole lower finned section of the passenger side of the radiator was dripping fluid.
My theory is that the overpressure from the steam finally blew out a weak spot and made the crack or hole bigger than it had been. I'd checked the radiator before, completely pulling it from the car and testing it by filling it with water to see if anything leaked. And nothing did. But that was not under any kind of real pressure. Now that it had been under high pressure and high temperature, it was leaking like a sieve. So, naturally, I bought a new radiator.
And hoped that it was the only source of the leaks.
Replacing radiators is a snap on the Subaru. Especially when there's nothing to drain, since the fluid had all (or mostly) boiled away. I kept pans under it anyway, of course; no sense being careless. So I removed the fans, loosened the hose clamps, pulled the hoses (both water and transmission fluid), then pulled the radiator straight out. Popped the new one in and reversed the removal process, and had it all back together in about half an hour, including the fluid fill.
Crossed my fingers and turned it on. Ran it for ten minutes or so, til the gauge showed full temperature for the water. Watched. Waited. It never rose above the half-way point.
Success!
Next step was taking the car to the muffler shop for an exhaust repair. If you remember, this is the car that lost three feet of pipe one day (for an as-yet undetermined reason) and I'd patched another pipe onto it with limited success. She'd been spitting loud and we were ready to quiet her down.
So we dropped her off at the shop and let the guy do his work. Got a call less than an hour later from the shop owner.
"How long do you want to keep the car?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I can patch it for $200, and she'll keep going for awhile, but that's just a band-aid."
"What'll it cost to replace it all?" I asked.
"$400."
"Done."
A couple hours later, we drove back to the shop and picked up the car, and it had a brand-new exhaust system: muffler, resonator, catalytic converter, the works. And it as quiet, so very quiet.
New radiator, new exhaust system. A costly repair, but it will be worth it to make sure Deb is able to get through the winter safely.
Now if I could just get my car fixed as easy.
===
It'll be a while before my car gets fixed, though. Priorities. Basement first. The rest of the day, after getting the car fixed, was spent moving insulation and drywall out of the basement and into the garage. Because it's just getting in my way, and there's still work to be done before the electrical and framing inspections can be completed. Can't have all the construction materials sitting out in the middle of the floor for me to trip over. So I lose a bay in the garage. Just in time for the cold weather, when I really want my car to be nice and warm in the garage.
Guess that's the price I pay for taking so long to get the basement done.
Ruby was being a puzzle before, dripping on the driver side but not showing any obvious cracks or holes or anything to give a hint of the source. But after Deb drove it home on Thursday, something changed drastically. Now the whole lower finned section of the passenger side of the radiator was dripping fluid.
My theory is that the overpressure from the steam finally blew out a weak spot and made the crack or hole bigger than it had been. I'd checked the radiator before, completely pulling it from the car and testing it by filling it with water to see if anything leaked. And nothing did. But that was not under any kind of real pressure. Now that it had been under high pressure and high temperature, it was leaking like a sieve. So, naturally, I bought a new radiator.
And hoped that it was the only source of the leaks.
Replacing radiators is a snap on the Subaru. Especially when there's nothing to drain, since the fluid had all (or mostly) boiled away. I kept pans under it anyway, of course; no sense being careless. So I removed the fans, loosened the hose clamps, pulled the hoses (both water and transmission fluid), then pulled the radiator straight out. Popped the new one in and reversed the removal process, and had it all back together in about half an hour, including the fluid fill.
Crossed my fingers and turned it on. Ran it for ten minutes or so, til the gauge showed full temperature for the water. Watched. Waited. It never rose above the half-way point.
Success!
Next step was taking the car to the muffler shop for an exhaust repair. If you remember, this is the car that lost three feet of pipe one day (for an as-yet undetermined reason) and I'd patched another pipe onto it with limited success. She'd been spitting loud and we were ready to quiet her down.
So we dropped her off at the shop and let the guy do his work. Got a call less than an hour later from the shop owner.
"How long do you want to keep the car?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I can patch it for $200, and she'll keep going for awhile, but that's just a band-aid."
"What'll it cost to replace it all?" I asked.
"$400."
"Done."
A couple hours later, we drove back to the shop and picked up the car, and it had a brand-new exhaust system: muffler, resonator, catalytic converter, the works. And it as quiet, so very quiet.
New radiator, new exhaust system. A costly repair, but it will be worth it to make sure Deb is able to get through the winter safely.
Now if I could just get my car fixed as easy.
===
It'll be a while before my car gets fixed, though. Priorities. Basement first. The rest of the day, after getting the car fixed, was spent moving insulation and drywall out of the basement and into the garage. Because it's just getting in my way, and there's still work to be done before the electrical and framing inspections can be completed. Can't have all the construction materials sitting out in the middle of the floor for me to trip over. So I lose a bay in the garage. Just in time for the cold weather, when I really want my car to be nice and warm in the garage.
Guess that's the price I pay for taking so long to get the basement done.
No comments:
Post a Comment