What do you drive?

[solrac]

unless it's buried up under a whole lot of front end, radiator replacements are a piece of cake.  you shouldn't have a problem.

That's good to know.  It doesn't appear to be buried beneath a bunch of things, but there are a couple of fans that are attached to it.  Hopefully those will come off pretty easily as well as the hoses that are connected to it.  I'll keep my fingers crossed. 

 Yup, the radiator replacement didn't turn out to be a lot of effort.  I have to attribute that mostly to my cousin's experience with replacing a radiator before.  I'm sure it would have taken me a lot more time if I were fixing it myself this past weekend.

We probably spent about 3 hours on the whole thing.  We didn't have much trouble finding and taking off all the screws connecting the radiator to the frame of the car.  We had to disconnect the 2 fans that were attached to the radiator and reattached them to the new radiator.  We put in the new radiator (we ordered a new one over the internet), reconnected everything, and filled the radiator all the way up.

After starting the car, the temperature gauge shot up to the "H" area after a few minutes of running the car, so we knew there was still something wrong.  We found a leak in one of the connections at the bottom of the radiator.  We took care of that with a new plastic o-ring and some teflon tape.  There also must have been a big air pocket in the radiator. After filling it up and running the car for a few more minutes, we found that the fluid level was low again.  We topped off the radiator fluid once more, and temperature gauge finally stayed at normal which is a little less that half way between C and H fo rthis car.  There were no more leaks, and the car appears to be running fine now.

every time you remove the radiator and replace it or replace the coolant you have an air pocket from the bottom of the lower hose to the top of the engine. when you run the car the thermostat opens and all the water from the radiator goes  in the engine to cool it down.all cars are like that some like the VWs can take up to 1 hour to "burp" the car...

[Ben]

After 8 years behind the wheel of a 2000 Hyundai Elantra, I finally upgraded to a 2001 Honda Accord. I like it. I'm glad to own a car that has an automatic transmission, since every car I've ever owned has been a manual. The fit and finish on the car is a lot better too, since it's quite a bit bigger than my Hyundai.

I wasn't even thinking about buying a car, but when it was offered to me I just had to pounce on it. The price was just too good.

[Sugart]

Old thread, new car pics. Bought this in August, love driving it.

2006 Chrysler 300c
5.7 Hemi V8
Leather Interior
Power heated seats
Boston acoustics.

Still stock but I plan on adding to it over time.

[I Am Sith]

We finally got rid of my wife's 1997 Mercury Mountaineer.  However, we got out of the SUV class and traded in our pride for a 2006 Honda Odyssey mini-van .  Having two kids really forced us to get something that was more equipped to handle a family.  I do have to say, after driving it for about a week now, I really like all the features.  This thing is fully loaded too:

DVD player
Navigation system
Leather seats (heated front seats)
Automatic sliding doors on both sides
Moonroof
Rear-view camera
15 cup holders
Seating for 8 and
Rated for 20 mpg city / 28 mpg highway

We took it to my in-laws over Thanksgiving and this was the first time in about the last 3 years that our boys didn't fight the entire drive down there.  They watched a movie on the way down there and another one on the way back.  It was the single most peaceful drive I've ever had in an automobile.

My wife has already started looking at our options for replacing my 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue.  We are hoping that it will last us at least a couple more years when there will be some of the newest hybrids coming out and the gas/electrics like the Chevy Volt.

*edit* Forgot to mention the cup holders and the rear-view camera.

[Morgbug]

Minivans are a sign of the apocalypse.

[Rob]

Respect the Van

[I Am Sith]

Respect the Van

That's funny Rob, because a co-worker and I were joking around yesterday that I needed to get Barracuda from Heart and drive around the parking lot with all the windows down yelling 'Respect the Van'!

Minivans are a sign of the apocalypse.

You may be right, but as I sit back and watch the end of the world from my heated front seats, I'll have plenty of cup holders to keep my beverages in!

[Tracy]

Minivans are a sign of the apocalypse.

You may be right, but as I sit back and watch the end of the world from my heated front seats, I'll have plenty of cup holders to keep my beverages in!

You may be more right than you think  :

Heated Seats Cause Low Sperm Count

[I Am Sith]

Heated Seats Cause Low Sperm Count

HA!  Thank the maker we aren't planning on having any more kids!

[Morgbug]

Respect the Van

Absolutely blasphemous.  Old school vans were for pot heads, drinkers and other party folk.  They had absolutely nothing to do with hauling 1.7 kids, a dog and half a cat around.  They are soccer shuttles hauling people around that really aren't paying attention to the road.  They're a hazard to other drivers for visibility reasons and contribute more than any trucks do to climate change based on sheer numbers and use patterns alone

A sign of the apocalypse.  Satan will arrive in an Odyssey

[Jesse James]

Not to mention you look like a total douche driving one.   Then again so do guys in VW Bugs.

[Keonobi]

Not to mention you look like a total douche driving one.   Then again so do guys in VW Bugs.

So do men in their late 20's ( ), 30's, 40's buying Star Wars toys at Target, but that hasn't stopped anyone here...

My point is that at some point you have to realize there are more important things than looking cool.

[Jesse James]

BUT, putting your SW purchase in a mini-van?  Come on man!

I've vowed never to own anything but nice sporty cars I can barely fit the kids into (if it has a back seat at all)...  Let her drive the goofy looking vehicle!

Seriously though, if you've got kids you've got kids...  Where I live I think if I had a tribe I'd want a smaller SUV myself, but the weather isn't great here either so a van is even worse in snow.  I'm not a fan of 4WD in general though so I stick with cars.  And no kids helps that of course...  or get a sedan I guess.  I'd avoid a mini-van at all costs but that's me.  I don't consider them particularly safe though either.  I drove them for delivery jobs and they just never felt safe to me either, so that's probably part of my stigma towards them.

By the way, I look very VERY cool buying Star Wars ****.  I do it with style.

[Keonobi]

With a 2 1/2 year old and a 6 month old, I've given up on looking cool.  My Wife and I actually want to get a mini-van (Odyssey or Sienna), but its not in the budget right now.  Plus we only need one car right now, since I'm the only one working, so we'll deal with the Focus.  Though that falls in the "not" category too, so in all likelihood the move to a mini-van would be a lateral move on the cool-tinuum of cars.  And the boys are too young for me to look good buying Star Wars toys.  If they were a bit older maybe...

[ruiner]

the move to a mini-van would be a lateral move on the cool-tinuum of cars. 

Sienna = Odyssey

Sienna > Focus