FinanceDude
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2006
- Messages
- 12,483
A local dealer recently sold a 1996 Camry LE that only had 99,000 miles on it, and was super clean, for $5900............
I don't know that one and I'm curious-- how is that done, other than popping off the radiator cap and risking a faceful of backsplash? And as the fluid heats up I'd expect to see a bunch of tiny champagne bubbles. How big a bubble would there be if there was a leak?One test that I find very important is to watch for bubble in the radiator after the engine has reached operating temperature.
For $1900 on a 19-year-old car I'd hope to get a year or two out of it and leave it by the side of the road when I run out of duct tape. As long as there wasn't a risk of stranding spouse & kids then it'd be kinda fun to see how long it'd last. "Do you feel lucky, punk? Do ya?"
Ok, I will raise the price limits
I don't know that one and I'm curious-- how is that done, other than popping off the radiator cap and risking a faceful of backsplash? And as the fluid heats up I'd expect to see a bunch of tiny champagne bubbles. How big a bubble would there be if there was a leak?
All my experience with radiators comes from having them break on me and blow steam from under the hood, at which point I'm usually stopping the engine before it stops itself, so this must seem like a blissfully ignorant question.The operating temperature of the water/coolant is way below 212F. However the pressure in the radiator could be up to 15psi. So, use a big towel to totally cover the radiator cap while slowly unscrewing it to neutralize the pressure. Then just remove the cap completely.
I look for good size bubbles (~1/4 in diameter). They usually comes in series of 3 or more in regular interval, 1/2 to 2 seconds, depending on the engine speed. The faster the engine speed, the shorter the interval. Head gasket are very time consuming to replace, and is usually an indication of previous overheating problems. Very few head gaskets fails because of inferior material (except for a few domestic cars).
Sams comment about the big towel wasn't quite accurate. The big towel does not neutralize the pressure when the cap is removed. The big towel catches all of the very hot radiator coolant so that you don't get burned.
I'll be darned. I used to feel bad that Ford's water pumps kept leaking under the awesome pressure they must've been developing. From now on I'll use duct tape & RTV.I think the pressure is more of a byproduct of hot liquid than part of the mechanics of cooling the motor.
But if the engine is running then the water pump is running. And if the water pump is running then there's some sort of pressure in the system. And if the radiator cap is removed while the engine is running, what keeps the water pump from spewing water (of any temperature) everywhere until it pumps down the entire cooling system? I never knew a radiator cap could be safely removed when the engine was running.
You can actually just open the radiator cap when the motor is cold and run it until it warms up. The thermostat will open and you'll see the fluid being recirculated through the radiator at that point. I never thought about it but I think the pressure is more of a byproduct of hot liquid than part of the mechanics of cooling the motor.
I have to be wrong somewhere. If the water pump really had a lot of pressure in the system then the coolant reservoir would overflow every time the engine was running. So what keeps pressure down and lets us remove radiator caps?
The operating temperature of the water/coolant is way below 212F. However the pressure in the radiator could be up to 15psi. So, use a big towel to totally cover the radiator cap while slowly unscrewing it to neutralize the pressure. Then just remove the cap completely.
Trust me, you're not going 1/2 way with Nissan. Definitely not with the 4th generation Maxima, 1995-1998. The Maxima is the most reliable car I know of, bar none.
I think the next time we go car shopping I'll show up with an OBD-II cable and a big towel just to see the look on the seller's face...
You know, all of this talk of climbing around under cars, shady sellers, geysering 170F radiator fluid, etc. makes me a lot less sorry that I buy new and run it until it dies on the side of the road.
You know, all of this talk of climbing around under cars, shady sellers, geysering 170F radiator fluid, etc. makes me a lot less sorry that I buy new and run it until it dies on the side of the road.
It's not as bad as it sounds. Actually it's quite entertaining and rewarding for people who likes cars, or anything with an engine that goes vrooom vrooooom. But I understand your view too.