New buyer - is this radiator failure? (1 Viewer)

[hiteckredneck]

So, long story short, I went to look at a somewhat promising (to me) 2008 LC tonight with ~165k miles. For being in the Northeast (PA) it is in very good condition overall with a fairly clean underside (for the rust belt) aside from the crusty skids (maybe they are more of a sacrificial item up here, hah).

However, when I popped the hood, a scene of radiator coolant carnage awaited me. The seller, who I really didn't get sketchy or bad vibes from, said that he discovered the engine bay had been sprayed with coolant recently on return from a trip to Canada. He had the oil changed at his dealership and they called him over to talk about the coolant everywhere - but supposedly they couldn't find a leak and it hasn't leaked since. He did say he was apparently driving at a pretty high speed and wondered if maybe it just got a little hot.... I don't really know how plausible that is.

Anyone have any impressions from this picture?

I would say that IF I buy this Cruiser, the rad will be on the short list of todo items, but just wanted to get a few additional opinions.

 

[Supra Turbo]

Sounds like perhaps the seller may know a little more than he's telling. But yes, looks like a busted radiator. My concern would be if the vehicle overheated as that could cause significantly bigger issues than a new radiator and elbow grease...

 

[hiteckredneck]

Sounds like perhaps the seller may know a little more than he's telling. But yes, looks like a busted radiator. My concern would be if the vehicle overheated as that could cause significantly bigger issues than a new radiator and elbow grease...

Yeah, I don’t disagree, that crossed my mind as well. It drove fine, but I don’t know how evident that would be.

The weird thing to me though, if he was trying to pull one over, I’d think it would be easier to just clean up the mess in the engine bay.

 

[CanadianRockyCruiser]

Hard to tell but it looks like the spray is from the rad cap area...might let her cool down and them check/replace that.

 

[ryanCA]

Radiator
Head Gasket
Valley Plate

Love my 08. Open your wallet and bend over.

 

[Sandroad]

Hmmm…..I wonder why it isn’t more pinkish? Anyway, it looks like the typical top of radiator crack/leak just to the PS of the cap. It’s not plausible just driving at a high rate of speed caused coolant spray unless there is a leak. IMHO, without full knowledge of the circumstances, the risk of an overheating event is too great to risk purchase.

 

[bloc]

100% a cracked radiator, you can see a darker line just in front of the problem area.

IMHO, without full knowledge of the circumstances, the risk of an overheating event is too great to risk purchase.

This.

 

[Boston Mangler]

100% a cracked radiator, you can see a darker line just in front of the problem area.



This.

YES

 

[gasman4u]

So, long story short, I went to look at a somewhat promising (to me) 2008 LC tonight with ~165k miles. For being in the Northeast (PA) it is in very good condition overall with a fairly clean underside (for the rust belt) aside from the crusty skids (maybe they are more of a sacrificial item up here, hah).

However, when I popped the hood, a scene of radiator coolant carnage awaited me. The seller, who I really didn't get sketchy or bad vibes from, said that he discovered the engine bay had been sprayed with coolant recently on return from a trip to Canada. He had the oil changed at his dealership and they called him over to talk about the coolant everywhere - but supposedly they couldn't find a leak and it hasn't leaked since. He did say he was apparently driving at a pretty high speed and wondered if maybe it just got a little hot.... I don't really know how plausible that is.

Anyone have any impressions from this picture?

I would say that IF I buy this Cruiser, the rad will be on the short list of todo items, but just wanted to get a few additional opinions.

View attachment 3760771

Unless you're prepared for a LOT of unknowns and potential issues you're willing to fix yourself, I would RUN not walk - RUN from this truck.

 

[hiteckredneck]

Hey thanks everyone, appreciate the responses. The search will continue, haha.

 

[AZLX570]

If they were too lazy to even hose off the COOLANT that sprayed everywhere, think of how much other stuff is neglected

 

[mark71]

Classic crack pattern for sure, but the question still remains…why isn’t it pink?

 

[coleAK]

Classic crack pattern for sure, but the question still remains…why isn’t it pink?

My guess is it was seeping for a while and owner was refilling with water, then it finally blew. Or it blew and they used water to limp to a location where they could repair it.