61K and creeping - When did your radiator fail

[chefwong]

After having the water pump fail me a lil bit earlier than expected and being on the road for 5.5 hrs in the middle of summer was not fun...


I'm planning some overall R&R on the X regardless, as we plan to keep her for another 12-18 months. So expect another 10-12K miles ontop of where we are at now at 61K.

R&R the radiator is relatively inexpensive....

Whaddya guys think. Should I take the gamble and just it run it's due course or R&R it. I'm curious what mileage and when did your neck crack.....

[dkl]

I don't think I've heard much complaint on radiators failing. Most reports were related to the expansion tank, which shouldn't be too difficult or expensive to replace. I would replace all the hoses in the cooling system just as a preventative maintenance at that milage.

[Big "J"]

+1 many fellow enthusiasts change their water pump, thermostat, hoses and expansion tank every 30K just as a preventive measure.

[dkl]

Every 30k is a bit of an overkill, IMHO, unless driven extremely hard. 60k is more reasonable on a daily driver. Most manufacturers recommend the changes (water pump, thermostat, hoses) at every 90k interval.

[Big "J"]

Ya, 30K is too often. I certainly don't follow that, can't afford it! Trying to save for the tranny when it goes!

[Dannyell]

I just replaced the radiator at 104k miles...

[chefwong]

WP went south on me at 45K if I recall

[FSETH]

Radiator, water pump, valley pan gasket, thermostat and expansion tank all went on my 02 4.4i between 65k and 95k. Thankfully I had an extended warranty.

[CharlieHustleX5]

82k on my 3.0i....Only thing that went out so far is my expansion tank.

[bjo]

Doing some preventative maintenance, I replaced the radiator last weekend (rockauto.com had aftermarket ones for $120) and at 75k miles. My experience has shown that German plastic sucks as it ages. It took almost 2hours with the flush/fill.