Any mechanics here

[rickyy33]

Hey guys I have a little problem. My 03 ram 1500 blew a hole in the rad last night and it's one of those situations where I don't really want to continue dumping money into it at the moment.  (Single dad 2 kids, no support yet, lawyer fees bla bla)

But someone I know has gifted me a 01 acura. Now the car has a trannys leak. My question is would it pass a safety with that? It's a free car in better shape and more reliable than the ram that would get me through a year hoping. 

 

[DaveC]

It should pass...unless its just pouring out. In that case may as well fix the leak. I just hope you were not told that the car needs nothing...lots of people say that until it gets in the shop and they do the inspection and find out the car needs $2g worth of work.

Getting a used rad from the bone yard will definately be your cheapest way to go. Your not paying for a safety inspection, drive clean and all. Thats what I would do.

[gunner-2]

DaveC is right you might wan't to just change the rad even if it's just a leak in the tranny it will cost more to fix it than it would cost to do the rad plus all the other added costs on top of that inspections can get very picky and keep adding up .But then if you know the guy that gave it to you and you can trust his word and you feel that the car would be worth the time then go for it. Another thing you can do is take it somewhere to get looked over and this will tell you what it's going to need for a safety and you then will no better on what to do

and then hope it will pass the Etest then you start over so really In the end it comes down to what you will be able to afford get a price on the rad or take the car to get looked at

in the end you will know what to do Good luck hope it works out for you

[smerchly]

Tranny leak could be a hose or gasket . They wanted over $500 for new tranny lines at the dealers,  but 2 short pieces of rubber hose & 4 small clamps solved the problem ....cheap ! I've had my rad re-cored twice in over 20 years on my old Beauville Van ...still not leaking , maybe check into that .  I just bought a 97 Astro , certified .....3 grand later , it is now running great !   It may be worth a safety check & scope check  to see what the Acura needs .

[rickyy33]

Thanks everyone for their input. So I made some calls turns out new rad from napa is only $175, so I'll just watch some youtube vids and do the work myself and save. The other reason I was thinking bout the acura was because my ram also has the dodge death shake. Changed a balljoint n bearing a little while back and since doing so the thing shakes like a bat out of hell doing anything at and over 100km/h. I'd have to change the whole front end to fix, so I guess I'll just continue to avoid highways lol. 

I go to the lawyers this week to sign my agreement and once the ex signs it I can finally start getting the money owed to me which will make it a little easier to breathe and I can save for new truck.

So stressed need to go fishing

[gunner-2]

1 hour ago, rickyy33 said:

Thanks everyone for their input. So I made some calls turns out new rad from napa is only $175, so I'll just watch some youtube vids and do the work myself and save. The other reason I was thinking bout the acura was because my ram also has the dodge death shake. Changed a balljoint n bearing a little while back and since doing so the thing shakes like a bat out of hell doing anything at and over 100km/h. I'd have to change the whole front end to fix, so I guess I'll just continue to avoid highways lol. 

I go to the lawyers this week to sign my agreement and once the ex signs it I can finally start getting the money owed to me which will make it a little easier to breathe and I can save for new truck.

So stressed need to go fishing

Ya things can get stressful but try not to let things get to you get out drop a line and take things one day at a time it will work out good luck

[DaveC]

The rads an easy job really. You wont need any special tools, just basic wrenches and pliers. Might want to pick up a few new hose clamps before you start if they a too rusted. Just make sure you run it a bit with the rad cap off after you fill so as not to get any air in the system. Like gunner says, dont stress yourself man...take it one day at a time and deal with things one at a time at your own pace...good luck, it will be easier than you thought.

[WalleyeChaser]

The death shake when at or over 100 is a lot of the time your u joints and drive shaft. If the shaft is salvageable the u joints aren't that costly.

[rickyy33]

6 hours ago, I'm_A_Drifter said:

Spring clamps are better than hose clamps. No pressure point which is important if the spouts are plastic.

If you have the Hemi, have you changed your 16 sparkplugs yet? ?

No I've never done them it has the small v8 in her. I've had the truck for about 6 years. 2003 paid $4000, truck don't owe me nothing thats for sure

 

3 hours ago, WalleyeChaser said:

The death shake when at or over 100 is a lot of the time your u joints and drive shaft. If the shaft is salvageable the u joints aren't that costly.

 hmmm I did rebuild the differential back in the spring time, but it didn't do it than, maybe I should check the u joints out

[smerchly]

5 hours ago, WalleyeChaser said:

The death shake when at or over 100 is a lot of the time your u joints and drive shaft. If the shaft is salvageable the u joints aren't that costly.

Years ago I went on a fishing trip , backed my Van well into the water to get the boat off the trailer .....On the way home a "death shake" started at about 100 km . ...ended up removing the driveshaft ....was going to replace it if necessary , but low & behold .....somehow , it had about 500 ml of water inside which threw it out of balance at higher speeds .  Drained it out .....vibration gone !  Some quirky things happen sometimes ...... 

[rickyy33]

yea its weird what can happen but from what i've learned with chrysler trucks even jeeps is that if one ball joint is a little worn but still good it can throw the whole front end off and cause death shaking, and its a scary thing when it happens. i guess you can purchase an after market stabilizer that prevents this from happening. But like I said I'll try and drive her for another year hoping (knock on wood) and save for something. 

[cplummer]

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