vdwarren Posted May 17, 2008 Report Share Posted May 17, 2008 Have had help from all of you before. This is for a 96 SLS. Not being bucks-up, has anyone had experience in a after market replacement radiator? A ball park price? Also approx. time to replace. A brand name or supplier. Thanks guy's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kens96 Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Paid about $230 for new aluminium core/ plastic tank with oil cooler. Job is not too bad, have to remove the fans and some plastic to get it out Also its a good time to replace the upper and lower radiator hoses while in there and to get at the oil pressure switch and oil filter housing if it is leaking. Need to remember the O Rings at the connections to keep the oil lines from leaking if you have the oil cooler. I learned the hard way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Don't forget to add the six Bar's Leaks Professional Strength Formula Radiator Stop Leak and Conditioner pellets to the upper radiator hose. Cheap insurance and a "must have" for these engines! Take Care, Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 I have a Visteon radiator. I believe Visteon is a division of Ford. It's been in for a little over a year and a half without any problems. My mechanic said it was a good brand and that he hasn't had any problems with the brand. I should note that he did not sell me the radiator so there was no bias. Also I don't use supplements, never have, and haven't had any problems. However, I can certainly see and understand why it is suggested by many on this board. I do change my coolant every 2 years religiously regardless of miles driven. I feel that has made all the difference. http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=11076 "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 I have a Visteon radiator. I believe Visteon is a division of Ford. It's been in for a little over a year and a half without any problems. My mechanic said it was a good brand and that he hasn't had any problems with the brand. I should note that he did not sell me the radiator so there was no bias. Also I don't use supplements, never have, and haven't had any problems. However, I can certainly see and understand why it is suggested by many on this board. I do change my coolant every 2 years religiously regardless of miles driven. I feel that has made all the difference. http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=11076 Yes, Replacing your antifreeze regularly and using only distilled water in your cooling system will go a long way toward preventing cooling system problems, corrosion, etc. However, on a used vehicle, you usually have no way of knowing what kind of maintenance (if any) that the cooling system has had before the car came into your ownership. GM recommends their own cooling system supplement, which, I am told is identical in composition to the Bar's Leaks product that I mentioned earlier. I will go on to say that I believe that this supplement is doubly important in a Cadillac vehicle that was originally equipped with "green" anti freeze. Take Care, Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Back on 07/10/2003 I replaced my radiator with one from www.teamradiator.com It was their P/N P1482. It's description said that it would fit 94-99 DeVille and 93-97 Seville. My price was $ 159.95 with free shipping. If memory serves, this radiator had both the transmission and engine oil coolers. I would double check that. The radiator that I bought was a drop-in fit. It worked perfectly. It is going on 5 years and 50,000 miles now, with no issues. The current listing for that radiator is below. 1994 CADILLAC SEVILLE RADIATOR RADIATOR 8cyl; 4.6L; 279c.i. Our Price: $166.69 Retail Price: $277.82 Availability: In Stock Part Number P1482 Take Care, Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdwarren Posted May 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Thankyou guy's for the replies, it really helps to get info from the people that has actually has dived into spacific repairs. I have always been a shade tree mechanic, and have completely rebuilt engines, manual transmissions, and have had good success. But learned many years ago that experience advise can save a lot of heart ache. I am in the late 70's and still do my own work, but much, much slower than before. If I had to have many of these repairs done by dealer, well, just could not happen. So thanks again you guy's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted May 18, 2008 Report Share Posted May 18, 2008 Thankyou guy's for the replies, it really helps to get info from the people that has actually has dived into spacific repairs. I have always been a shade tree mechanic, and have completely rebuilt engines, manual transmissions, and have had good success. But learned many years ago that experience advise can save a lot of heart ache. I am in the late 70's and still do my own work, but much, much slower than before. If I had to have many of these repairs done by dealer, well, just could not happen. So thanks again you guy's. I hope that we helped you Vern. Let us know how the replacement radiator works. I notice that you, like me, have an SLS. The radiator that I got from team radiator had both the transmission cooler and the engine oil cooler. My SLS didn't require the engine oil cooler. I questioned Team Radiator about it. They told me to just leave the shipping plugs in the engine cooler ports. I did, and it worked just fine. Team Radiator's P/N for your radiator should be P1482. Their price today was $166.69. They said that they had them in stock. The price has only gone up $6.74 in the 5 years since I bought mine. If they still use the same supplier, then that is a heck of a deal. And if anybody is wondering, I do not get a commission! Take Care, Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vdwarren Posted May 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 I am in the process of installing a new radiator, and at the same time, replacing the " torque struts". Question is, the end that is mounted to the engine has a bushed rubber grommet, is there a trick to getting the bushing clear of the casting on the engine.? Thanks again all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted May 23, 2008 Report Share Posted May 23, 2008 I just bought a new radiator at Advance Auto for about $180. My advice would be to find one that is made in the USA. Mine was made in China and when I opened the box to take a look see it had a such a bow in it that I was tempted to take it back. But I had the old one out and quickly realized I had no choice but to live with it. I then believe I remember a while back someone in this forum mentioning that a bowed radiator will straighten when torqued down. Mine did and everything is fine so far. But I would still suggest an American made radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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