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1987 L-98 Craps Itself

Jeb

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
Messages
456
Location
Covington, Louisiana
Corvette
1987 Convertable
Gauges normal. I smelled anti-freeze and my first thought was to check the passenger floor pan for a leaky heater core. It was dry but steam was coming out from the right-front wheel well. Looked under the car and there was a gusher going from the radiator or front of the engine.

The liquid coming out was a mixture of coolant and oil. Temperature still hovering at about 210 so I drove it to the garage, about 3 miles. Temp was about 220 on arrival.

Mechanic looked at it and removed the radiator cap. Started the engine and the coolant gushed out the cap. The pressure had built up so much that it blew the seam on the right side of the radiator tank. Apparently the pressure cap was bad.

Right now, it looks like at minimum I'll need a radiator repair, if not replacement, and head gaskets. Don't think it got hot enough to screw the heads but we'll take a look at those while they're off just in case. I'm thinking it's time to replace the valve guide seals anyway and it was due for oil and coolant changes. (Gotta look at the good part, right?)

Question is.......what's reasonable dollarwi$e for this job?
 
"Question is.......what's reasonable dollarwi$e for this job?"

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0 replies

Thanks anyway.
 
I had a sorta the same problem only it was just head gaskets, I paid 900 and had the rad flushed too. what ever you do ask them for a 170 or a 180 thermostat don't let them put the factory thermostst in I think it's 195 or so.
tom
 
I have a brand new factory original radiator for an 88 for $75.00....
 
i could me wrong but...don`t have the factory time rate in front of me but i would think at least twenty hours labor and thats not counting stripped broken bolts. figure a labor rate of at least fifty dollars an hour .and i think thats on the cheap side ..at least around here.
 
I just had a set of heads done for a BB and it was 550 bucks. I think the radiator is straight forward repair. When you remove the heads thats when it starts to add up.

You might ask yourself why not take a look at everything! How many miles on your motor?
 
The local dealer estimate was $1900 to replace head gaskets on mine. I did it myself and saved $1800.
 
"Question is.......what's reasonable dollarwi$e for this job?"

36 views

0 replies

Thanks anyway.

Couldn't tell you exactly. Depends if you have a blown head gasket (coolant/oil mixture you saw). I don't let anyone work on my car. Labor rates are about $70-$80 per hour from what I've seen. Then you got to factory in parts price mark up. If you need a head gasket, you're looking at a serious bill.
 
The local dealer estimate was $1900 to replace head gaskets on mine. I did it myself and saved $1800.

Me too.:upthumbs

And another $1,500 on a front end rebult.
 

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