Damn it, the radiator in my TL is leaking coolant... It's leaking between the spongy material and the aluminium part. I tried putting some leak sealant yesterday but it didn't seem to help at all...

I contacted a local radiator shop and they gave me a quote for $95 materials plus $50 labor. Does it sound reasonable?

 

i heard black pepper works but i would go to the radiator place.

 

if you can fix the rad. do it. a new one costs about $950....yes $950 that is what i would have paid if i didn't have the extended warranty. i ended up paying a $50 service fee. BTW my ride at the time had 65k on the odo........aloha.......

 

I'm having this exact same problem with my 96 TL radiator at 100K miles. I was actually trying to sell the car when the potential buyer looked under the hood & saw that spongy material near top front of the radiator was soaked w/ coolant. We couldn't determine where it was coming from. Does anyone know where this leak comes from? Or should I just let a pro mechanic look at it & hopefully fix it for $150? Thanks!

 

Haven't had the rad leak yet, but suspecting the heater core is going, or I'm seeing things, seems to be some smoke coming through vents sometimes, and smell of coolant, but it's not too strong and smoke is soo thin...sometimes I think I'm just seeing things!!!! Anyone had any heater core issues?

 

a new radiator with a lifetime warranty is $279.99 at autozone
and you can do the job
is not too bad, I have done it before not on my tl, but change a radiator it ain't too bad
but if you can't change it, take it to a shop
I checked the radiator for the 2.5 and for the 3.2 and is the same radiator

 

Thanks Morpheus. I will first go to a repair shop & see if I can get the radiator fixed for cheaper. If not then I will be hitting the AutoZone this weekend.... That is a good price. I've seen the radiators for as much as $750!!!! That's nutz!

 

Check out your local auto salvages first. I had the same problem and I found an original radiator for $150 and installed it myself. It is not a very hard task to take on if you have the right tools and the patience. If you can't find one go to an aftermarket parts website like www.discount-auto-radiators.com. There are hundreds of these sites to choose from. Shop around, you will save $$$$$$$.