techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 So my Niece has a 2008 Chevy Cobalt and the antifreeze is leaking. Resivour is empty after a day or so so she has to keep filling it up. She has an appointment at the shop, but thought I would get some opinions here. Puddle on the ground is at the front driver side of the car. Which makes me stear towards it being a radiator leak, or a hose/clamp. Correct me if I am wrong, but if it was the water pump, the leak would be coming from the center/passengers side of the car. I have not looked at the car myself. About a month ago, she had her thermostat replaced due to a CEL coming on. I don't think it is the thermostat as that would trigger the CEL. Anyway, any other ideas? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 If it was the water pump I would think the car would overheat while driving and/or CEL would come on. Besides an actual hole in the radiator it could be the hoses going in, top or bottom. Also the transmission is cooled by the radiator, so it could be the hose going to that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 1 minute ago, xendrome said: If it was the water pump I would think the car would overheat while driving and/or CEL would come on. Besides an actual hole in the radiator it could be the hoses going in, top or bottom. Also the transmission is cooled by the radiator, so it could be the hose going to that as well. I am hoping it is just something simple. Couple months ago, she had a fluid flush at the 100k mile mark. But she notice the heat in the car only getting warm when the car was moving and cold when stopped. That was a couple weeks ago and the fluid replacement was a couple months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted December 20, 2017 Veteran Share Posted December 20, 2017 The best thing you can do is drive the car up a set of ramps and see where the leak is coming from. Look for wetness. It is probably a hose, probably lower radiator. CrashG 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, sc302 said: The best thing you can do is drive the car up a set of ramps and see where the leak is coming from. Look for wetness. It is probably a hose, probably lower radiator. The car should hopefully be at the shop by now. I don't have the time to look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrashG Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Bet it's a loose clamp/hose going to the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 10 minutes ago, CrashGordon said: Bet it's a loose clamp/hose going to the radiator. What I hope it is. Easiest/cheapest fix. CrashG 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Thermostat seal is leaking. Said it is probably just the seal. $100 with the antifreeze as long as nothing else is wrong. Apparently it was not sealed properly after it was replaced a couple months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted December 20, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted December 20, 2017 1 hour ago, techbeck said: Thermostat seal is leaking. Said it is probably just the seal. $100 with the antifreeze as long as nothing else is wrong. Apparently it was not sealed properly after it was replaced a couple months ago. if it was just a couple months ago check with them to see if the part is under warranty (usually is under warranty if you go to the same shop or they can call the shop it was performed at to see if the warranty can be xfered to their shop). might be able to fix cheaper if it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Brandon H said: if it was just a couple months ago check with them to see if the part is under warranty. might be able to fix cheaper if it is. Dealership did it last time since she had just got the car from them. But the cost to drive to the dealership (little ways away) and be without her car for possibly a few days is not worth it. I am going to call the dealership tho and show them the repair work and see what they can do. They are pretty good and did a lot of wear/tear work on her car before she bought it at their cost. Like strutts, shocks, tune up, and a few other wear/tear items. I do have the receipts from the dealership (I made sure I got them) that detail the work done to the car. Mechanic is going to remove the thermostat, check things, reseal, , refill, and should be good to go. $100 he said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted December 20, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted December 20, 2017 1 minute ago, techbeck said: Dealership did it last time since she had just got the car from them. But the cost to drive to the dealership (little ways away) and be without her car for possibly a few days is not worth it. I am going to call the dealership tho and show them the repair work and see what they can do. They are pretty good and did a lot of wear/tear work on her car before she bought it at their cost. Like strutts, shocks, tune up, and a few other wear/tear items. I do have the receipts from the dealership (I made sure I got them) that detail the work done to the car. Mechanic is going to remove the thermostat, check things, reseal, and should be good to go. $100 he said. have the shop call the dealership. I had a similar situation with my car last year and the shop was able to call my dealership. The dealership couldn't xfer the warranty but they had someone drive the part over to the shop instead so I didn't have to pay full my situation was a combination of a couple bad spark plugs were blowing my ignition coil. I got the coil fixed at the dealership but wasn't able to afford new spark plugs at the time. long story short the coil blew again a month later, i managed to get to a nearby shop where they talked with my dealership to honor the warranty by them bringing out the part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Brandon H said: have the shop call the dealership. I had a similar situation with my car last year and the shop was able to call my dealership. The dealership couldn't xfer the warranty but they had someone drive the part over to the shop instead so I didn't have to pay full Good idea, but the work is probably almost all done. No big deal since the dealer ship is a good place. Maybe I can get a few oil changes out of the deal. Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Got the car back. As evidently when the thermostat was replaced they programmed it wrong. This caused the gasket to blow on the thermostat which needed to be replaced. $105 to fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted December 20, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted December 20, 2017 8 minutes ago, techbeck said: Got the car back. As evidently when the thermostat was replaced they programmed it wrong. This caused the gasket to blow on the thermostat which needed to be replaced. $105 to fix. oh wow, yeah definitely give the dealership a call when you get the chance. They may be willing to compensate you for their error or give you free oil changes or something like you mentioned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 1 minute ago, Brandon H said: oh wow, yeah definitely give the dealership a call when you get the chance. They may be willing to compensate you for their error or give you free oil changes or something like you mentioned I plan to. Waiting on the paperwork/receipt from my niece from the shop first. Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted January 4, 2018 Subscriber¹ Share Posted January 4, 2018 I'd send the bill to those bastards that touched the car the last time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorris1 Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 On 12/20/2017 at 3:44 PM, techbeck said: Got the car back. As evidently when the thermostat was replaced they programmed it wrong. This caused the gasket to blow on the thermostat which needed to be replaced. $105 to fix. There is nothing to program on a thermostat??? My guess is the dealer didn't put a new gasket in when they changed the thermostat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmelans2 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 On 2018-01-04 at 1:50 PM, tmorris1 said: There is nothing to program on a thermostat??? My guess is the dealer didn't put a new gasket in when they changed the thermostat. This. Absolutely nothing to program on a thermostat, just an excuse really and maybe this shop wanted to cover up and avoid pointing blame on anyone. I would contact the dealer and ask if they put a new gasket in when they changed it, and they should have - if they didn't, you could argue that their neglect caused this new issue. With that said, they might give a helping hand on your new bill... Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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