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last night i noticed the bonneville leak coolant for the first time and was coming out fast . but it was leaking from the front of the car under the air box . so i looked underneath and coolant was running down the drivers side plastic end cap . so i moved the air box out of the way on top to see more . and then i sall the leak . it was a gaint crack in the upper driver side plastic endcap .

so i look it is a acdelco rad and start looking for a replacement . money is tight so i bought a aftermarket rad off of rockauto . $101.13 with 5 % off not bad since i do not have a oil cooler . brand is a SPECTRA PREMIUM ? any one had bad results with this brand ? again i could not go for a oem because money is tight .

Also i bought a 180 Stat and will drill a hole in it for sure . also bought other goodies like air/fuel filters and a TB gasket to clean the TB . Grand total was under $125 shipped


here is some pics rad will be here tomorrow afternoon .

where is the drain in the block to drain the coolant out of the rest of the block ? Is it easy to get to ?

The system is quite well drained already. If you were really ambitious you could knock out a freeze plug to get the remainder out. IIRC there aren't block drains on the 3800's.

I have a Spectra fuel sender and pump. They are going on 2.5 years without issue save the sender being sorely inaccurate for fuel level. It'll show 1/3 tank when there's really 1/2 tank left, and the last 5 gallons of the tank have the fuel gauge resting on E.

If the new one cracks, miracles have been worked by drying out the crack, de-greasing, drying again, and applying JB Weld.

When I flush mine, I pull the thermostat housing off and wrap a rag around my garden hose nozzle and stick it in the lower radiator hose until the water flows clear out of the LIM. I then disconnect the heater core hoses and do the same thing in both directions.

myfirstbonnie wrote:When I flush mine, I pull the thermostat housing off and wrap a rag around my garden hose nozzle and stick it in the lower radiator hose until the water flows clear out of the LIM. I then disconnect the heater core hoses and do the same thing in both directions.

sounds great will do . old coolant is gross and has a orangeish tint to it sort off . and suspect there is still some old dex-cool in it from prevouis owner . i want its all gone . i even pulled the resoivor and cleaned it inside and out

That's exactly how I do it. But start with your heater on full hot first.

This would be a good time to do lim/uim,if it hasn't be done already.

yes i know they could be done but iam out of funds now . guess ill just be wasting coolant if i did it in next 6 months