1995 850T wagon – Backyard fix for radiator neck?

[JimBee]

I agree that a new radiator is the best way to go, especially since you're planning a long trip.

In favor of letting your shop do the work is that the main mount bolts on these radiators are often rusty and they will break loose the welded lug the bolt threads into. So getting the original bolts out to remove the old radiator can be a half day task (for those two measly bolts that would take 5 minutes to unscrew if they weren't rusty!) and if you don't have the right tools to do it, can be really frustrating.

[j-dawg]

Why the radiator is plastic? Because you won't pay the $500 for an all aluminum radiator.
http://www.eurosporttuning.com/aluminum ... 94-98.html

From what I have read, these crack too. Fatigue issues - you're bolting an aluminum radiator into a mounting scheme designed for tough plastic tanks. The vibrations and flexing are handled fine by the plastic, but in aluminum radiators with brackets stuffed into the same spaces and mounts, they lead to cracking and early failure.

[Seamonster]

Sorry, when I said I was doing some traveling soon, I didn't mean to imply that the car itself would be – just that I had a short time to deal with this before I left (I'm flying to Australia four days from now). Actually, I only drive about 2,000 easy miles per year, which is partly why I thought a homestyle fix might be conceivable (also, I'm handy in a general way).

Since it's nice to know how these stories turn out, I'll tell ya. If I had more time, yeah, I might've jumped at a $67 eBay radiator and tackled it myself. But when the warning light came on, having AAA tow it some distance to my remote home rather than to my nearby mechanic seemed risky: I might not get the problem resolved before I left town. So I took the car to my him.

I've been going to him for about 8 years, and I've trusted him. We've had a nice rapport. I see him about twice a year, he knows my name, and I've even helped him solve a few minor things (not necessarily car related). So I figured he wouldn't steer me wrong. That was $640 ago. Now I'm not quite sure what to think. I mean, I guess he gave me a reasonable deal. Here's what repairpal says is applicable for a radiator replacement in my zip code:

Total: $529 to $757
Labor: $214 - $273
Parts: $315 - $484

So $640 was right in the middle. But he said he got me the radiator for a little over $200 – which he said was way better than the $67 one on eBay. That means that a higher proportion of the bill was labor, as compared with the repairpal figures. Does it really take a master mechanic four or five hours to swap in a radiator? If so, I myself might've been under the hood long enough to grow roots in there.

In the end, I suppose I'm grouchy about it because I imagine that, had I a few free days, I could've put in the $67 one myself. That extra $550+ could've gone a long way downunda!

I'll leave it to someone else to supply the moral of the story.

[abscate]

Alldata radiator replace is 2.6 hours with auto and AC.

For 40 miles a week I think I would have gone for the jury rig.

[tryingbe]

Why the radiator is plastic? Because you won't pay the $500 for an all aluminum radiator.
http://www.eurosporttuning.com/aluminum ... 94-98.html

From what I have read, these crack too. Fatigue issues - you're bolting an aluminum radiator into a mounting scheme designed for tough plastic tanks. The vibrations and flexing are handled fine by the plastic, but in aluminum radiators with brackets stuffed into the same spaces and mounts, they lead to cracking and early failure.

There are rubber bushings at the mounting points. The radiator suspends in the bushings.

Google is not finding me any result of D088 radiator cracking or failing, where did you get the info?

[j-dawg]

There are rubber bushings at the mounting points. The radiator suspends in the bushings.

Google is not finding me any result of D088 radiator cracking or failing, where did you get the info?

I just meant generally - all-aluminum radiators don't seem more resilient than the plastic-tanked radiators, even in cars with better aftermarket support.

I wasn't aware that there actually was a Volvo-specific aluminum radiator, actually. Probably should have clicked your link. I just recall reading about ARD making a trial run of all-Al and running into issues with cracking.
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/16 ... or/?page=1

People seem pretty happy with the Do88 one. That said, I still don't think there's anything inferior about a plastic-tanked radiator. Plenty more complaints about aluminum radiators cracking out there, and how many people who put an aftermarket radiator in a car still have that car the same ten to fifteen years later anyway?