Well after dealing with small leaks for a long time, over the weekend, a huge new hole/crack opened up and now I can't put it off anymore.
It looks like the grand total at the parts store for a new radiator and both upper and lower hoses runs around $150. That compares with anywhere between $500 and $800 that the repair shops want to do it.

I have read everything I could find and spent hours with my head under the hood so that I would know what had to be done when the time came but I still have not found out what I really want to know. Basically two questions:

1. Can you replace the radiator without raising the vehicle (2001 cavalier)?
2. How the HELL are you supposed to get the clamps off the radiator-end connections since they could not be in a more impossible-to-reach place? Do you have to buy/use one of those cable-operated (J38185) things? Because I just don't see any way that any kind of
pliers would ever be able to take those things off.

Other than that, it seems pretty straight-forward. But I would really appreciate any help that anybody who has done this can provide.

Thanks.

I replaced the radiator and upper and lower hoses last week. I damn near killed myself dealing with the spring clamps and trying to get them back on. In fact, I don't really think the one on the bottom in the most difficult to reach place is really on all the way but I was so torn up, sore, exhausted and bleeding at that point that I had to give up and hope it didn't leak. Well things were fine with 2 bottles of new coolant for about 72 hours, then the low coolant light came on and I had to crawl back under there with a flashlight to see what was going on. I expected one of the hose connections I just did to be the issue, but instead - whoopie - it looks like it is pouring down from around the water pump in a place I have never seen leaking before.

So now (not that I expect any answer, since I never got one before last weeks fun started) - is there anything BESIDES the water pump that could be leaking back there where the pump is that I just cant see? I am way too sore and not recovered enough from the radiator to even think about doing the water pump, so I have to end up paying a few hundred dollars anyway which is exactly why I did the radiator in the first place. Fun.

I've had several people tell me to replace the thermostat, but I don't get that. Whether or not the thermostat is broken or not - it still should not be leaking all the damn coolant out near the water pump, right?

2001 Cavalier 2.2 stick 187K

thanks

Not really anything else to leak in that area. The water pump is really easy to do on these motors. I did mine in a parking lot in just a couple hours. Pull the alternator and the bracket to get access to it and then it's just 4 bolts and she's out.



"In Oldskool we trust"