New Member and Question

[mjgirard]

I am a retired AP U.S. Teacher that keeps cars a long time. I still own my first car from college, it is a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that I will own for 50 years this coming May. My daily driver is a 1996 Jeep Cherokee that has over 224000 miles on it and it starts up every day. My trip vehicle is a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe with 123000 miles that loves to do 80 when it is on the highway.

I am originally from Troy, New York but live in Virginia Beach and was a teacher in Upstate New York and Virginia for over 40 years.

I do have a question for the group, my Tahoe has a weeping water pump that I plan to replace with new hoses and the radiator is the original and looks great. My question is, should I replace the radiator at the same time? The radiator is 23 years old and the Tahoe has never overheated or had a slight cooling problem.

Thanks for the advice
Mark Girard

 

[Marky Dissod]

I recently replaced my radiator, which was clearly at least 10 years old.
Unfortunately it failed on me, so it took an hour to drive 7 miles to a good parking space, then towed it to the mech the next day ...
If yours is 20, it's already old enough to be retired / replaced.

You may also want to replace the coolant connections that lead to the rear heatercore.
Those failed on me exactly 8 days after the radiator failed.

So after that, I said 'skrieu it!' and asked the mech to find ANYTHING ELSE that looked old enough to need replacing.
I'm already there, right? So he replaced the belts too.

Paranoically proactive maintenance is why a friend of mine - who is a NYC livery driver - owns a Lincoln Town Car with ...
630,000 miles and STILL counting ...

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon.

IMO, members here know I like spending OPM, if you want to count on the truck for many more miles, replace that radiator. You can bet it has some clogging in the core, even if does not overheat and is not leaking.

Recently did major work to an American Legion friend on mine, 2010 FJ Cruiser. Was in for a timing cover oil leak. While apart he said to replace the radiator. I personally had pressure tested the cooling system a couple weeks before all this and there was no leaks and did not over heat. That old radiator was the plastic tanks and aluminum core but was 3 times heavier than the new one we put in the FJ.

 

[Miami-Dade]

@mjgirard Moved you here for your question.

Welcome from Miami&Queens NY!

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

I also recommend replacing the radiator and ALL coolant hoses.