HELP !! Need 95 Rodeo 3.2L 4x4 Assist

[KitCatJMS]

Help !!!!!! I've always thought of myself as a female who could actually take care of things on her own - but I'm at a loss ...

My 1995 Rodeo (LS 3.2L V6 with 4x4 and about 130,000 miles) is falling apart. It seems that within a week the fan clutch is going out, the radiator has a leak, the water pump has a leak and I need to replace some gasketts and wires (according to Goodyear) ...

Does anyone know of a place where I can get a cheap radiator and water pump? And are they fairly easy to replace or should try the damsel in distress act to see if I can get a guy to fix it? (keep in mind, I'm petite so I'm not the strongest person in the world)....

So far the cheapest is $132 from Isuzupartstore.com for the radiator (another $20 in radiator parts and $102 for the fan clutch and roughly the same price for the water pump) ....

Any help would be great appreciated! I have a 2 yr old daughter and this is our only transportation ... Needless to say, we won't be going anywhere any time soon. Goodyear wanted $2000 to fix all of this stuff (oh, and my axels are bad so I cant use the 4x4, which isnt a big deal but they want 650 for that too) .... ugh .. it never ends !!!!!!

[Dober89]

I cant say for sure but I think that changing the water pump is a fairly difficult operation for someone who doesnt regularily do that sort of work. The radiator shouldnt be a big problem though. You just basically have to drain the coolant and unbolt everything and it should come right out. Just be careful not to bend any of the cooling fins when your putting the new one in.

As far as finding a cheap radiator you could always check a local scrap yard. They would most likely have one. Then just compare that price with that of a brand new one and see what you want I guess.

If it comes down to you having to spend all that money to get things fixed, I would suggest you atleast have someone else take a look at it first. When your looking at a repair bill that high, a second opinion sure cant hurt.

[KitCatJMS]

Thank you ... I will certainly do that.

[cheekbn]

Kitcat,

When it comes to radiators and water pumps, dont go to a junk yard. They have a tendency to rot from the inside. If you have an Advance Auto or Autozone or Pep Boys, they should have the rebuilt radiators fairly cheap. As for dificulty level, the water pump is not for a novice. The radiator is easy though. All you need is a good ratchet set and a flat head screwdriver for the hose clamps. You will also need a bucket to catch the old coolant. It will take one gallon of new cooland and the rest can be filled with water. The radiator is about an hour job for a novice.

The fan clutch is also an easy task, but may require some strenght to break the bolts loose. This job can actually be done in the parking lot of the parts store. Who knows, maybe another customer can lend a hand. I used to be a manager of an Advance Auto and we always had people hanging around willing to assist others for free.

I hope this helps and you get rolling again soon.

Brent

[Cat Fuzz]

If your on a tight budget, try some radiator stop leak before buying a new one. Just make sure you put it in with everything cold, then drive around for about 20 minutes. Unless its a real gusher, it should seal it up.

Also, always get second opinions on car repairs. Some places really stretch the truth on what really needs to be replaced.

[kegard]

Originally Posted by Cat Fuzz

If your on a tight budget, try some radiator stop leak before buying a new one. Just make sure you put it in with everything cold, then drive around for about 20 minutes. Unless its a real gusher, it should seal it up.

I would stay far away from radiator stop leak! I tried some of that in my Caravan, and while it did help slow the leak it absolutely destroyed my heater core. The gunk in that stop-leak gummed up the core to the point that I lost all heat! I had a radiator flush done to try and remove it, only to have the heater core go out again! Don't cause yourself any more problems.

[rodeo02]

KitCat- Stay away from Goodyear service!!! They are notorious rip-off artists. An example for ya: A co-worker of mine blew a tire on her ford taurus last week & they quoted her $120 for one tire (claimed it was the cheapest they had) and they would not replace the tire unless she got a new $450 steel wheel with it (they claimed wheel was bent) !!!! As said, the water pump is burried in the front of the engine & is a major repair. The water pump runs off the timing belt. It the timing belt & tensoner have not been replaced- that's when you do it. The radiator replacement is minor & new radiators can be had online for good prices, or found locally. Not too labor intensive. Some of the gasket replacements can be labor intensive & I would not tackle any of those unless they can be easily done during the water pump replacement. At 130Kmi, these are very common issues. G/luck
Joel

[Cat Fuzz]

Originally Posted by kegard

I would stay far away from radiator stop leak! I tried some of that in my Caravan, and while it did help slow the leak it absolutely destroyed my heater core. The gunk in that stop-leak gummed up the core to the point that I lost all heat! I had a radiator flush done to try and remove it, only to have the heater core go out again! Don't cause yourself any more problems.

Well, I suppose that can happen, but I've never had that problem before. In fact, I've used it to seal a leaking heater core and it worked great. Saved me from having to cut the car in half to replace it. Stinking buried heater cores..grumblegrumblegrrrr....

[geg]

I did those same repairs to my 1996 Passport. If you follow the directions in a manual, you should be ok. My biggest problem was with the crank bolt. Everything else was just read and follow.