can I vent???

[SicMonte]

ok..here it goes......

I have a 1988 Monte Carlo SS that is the love of my life. All I do is work on that car and spend money on it and blah..blah..blah... So this weekend I decide to drive it down to Ocean City, MD, for their end of summer cruise weekend. I work on it all week to get it ready...oil change...multipoint inspection...polished the rims..etc. So friday morning comes and it is raining...no biggie...I get in the car and WHAT THE HELL??!! There is like 2 inches of water on both floorboards. So I look at it for a sec and decide that it must be coming from the cowl seal..b/c I recentlly got a new windsheild (but it didnt leak right after it was put in..hmmmmm). So I tape up the window and head on down the road.

A lil while down the road...I notice that my side opera window is leaking too....why why why. I get to my destination for the night and as I am pulling into the parking lot...I smell that oh-so-sweet smell of anti-freeze and imediatelly steam takes over my windsheild...oh no. Pop the hood and my upper radiator hose (coolflex = POOP) popped off. I fill it up and tighten it back down and sleep the horrible day off. Wake up staurday and its still pouring rain..so I decide to forget about the beach and head home. The whole trip the temp was fluxtuating between 180-220.....and sometimes getting to around 230...not good. So I get home late at night and park the car.

This morning I look under the hood....everything looks fine....take off the radiator cap and it is way way way low. Hmmmm...I fill it back up...and i notice the water level lowering. I look around..and there it is...2 pin hole leaks right in the front. Mind you this is a brand new Griffin Radiator. WHY ME??!!! So...thanks for letting me vent!! anyone want to buy it??

[Norwoodx55]

Well that pretty much sucks....sorry to hear it. You could always recycle the radiator with your beer cans. What is aluminum now? $.35 a pound.

[derekf]

I know the feeling waaay too well, I went through something similar this year with my beater....

Started with the temp sensor, so the fans never came on and the motor ran hot in traffic.

Replaced that, the radiator fan failed.

Replaced that, then a couple of weeks later I found a pinhole leak in the radiator.

Replaced the radiator, a couple of weeks later I'm still losing water. Track it down to the water pump shaft.

Replaced the water pump, thermostat, and both hoses (I'm about sick of working on the cooling on this car).

To top it all off, I then found that the off-brand radiator fan motor I bought just doesn't move enough air to keep the car cool at less than 40 MPH if the temp is above about 90.

Sooo.. hang in there, it could be worse. Hopefully you can get this stuff taken care of and there won't be any more issues.

[SicMonte]

im thinking of selling this car...the water leaks are whats really pissin me off....

[87sstpi]

if you keep the car pull the carpet right now, my 87ss had to stay outside once while i was putting the tpi motor in it.. i had the engine harness out and it rained, water ran in through firewall got trapped under the insulation.. now i'm gonna be replacing floor pan on pass front. gbodys have very thin metal and very little corrosion protection,
get that carpet out now...

[TonyHuntimer]

Don't sell the car on a whim when you're mad. I did that once.

I've been kicking myself for 15 years now.

If it's a new radiator and it's a factory defect...I'm sure Griffin would take care of you.

You have an awesome car. Look at the big picture.


Tony~

[scogin918]

I wish to God that I hadn't listened to my wife when I sold my '86 Monte SS to her little brother. Not even 6 months later and he totaled it. What a waste. The reasons for me selling it would have long been remedied by now. Keep it!

[SicMonte]

the carpet is out...as well as the entire interior....water is everywhere.....I keep having to dry out towels...sucks...but im thinking about fixing her......b/c I just got a new job at a speed shop....as a manager...soooooo I get awesome prices now!!!!!!