Yea that was a concern of mine I don’t want to make anything worse. This is how it looks on the inside from the cap can you tell if it’s in bad shape or not? I’ve already done a flush with just water in the past so it’s got fresh coolant.
Typical for an old brass copper radiator that wasn't serviced much. Multiple water flushes letting it get to temp and cycle a few times with straight water, will knock most of it out without using a high ph flush to eat at the crude. Then just a 50/50 or 30/70 mix since your in fl with distilled water for the final fill. I've been using Toyota pink in my cars if it has an aluminum radaiator for the last 2 decades since working for them. normal green in my one car that still has an old gdi brass 3 core which I'm betting is what's in your car.
Yea it looks super crusty. I just went ahead and ordered the lmr sve aluminum radiator. I figured the cost to repair it wouldn’t make sense like rednotch said so I’d just be better off upgrading
Probably still cheaper to buy a new one, but those old $100 brass copper 3 cores run about $500 min. for a new unit, last recore I was quoted over $600 and that was from a puncture. Not many radiator repair shops left, and the few who still do it really chage you for it. Just like most everything else today, between labor and parts, the cost is more then buying new.
us radiator out of alabama is what most are selling these days. NPD carries them but you can get a repo in the same specs as the old gdi 3 core for $500 give or take if you shop around. its one of thing I all ways look for when i see claimed low milage unmolested cars, flippers are to cheap to buy a repo and just slap in a cheap aluminium one.
