Poorly Maintained 2001 Galant V6

[PandaBear]

Time for another car unless he is willing to do a major number of work and risk.

1) Flush the radiator with water a few times, then the cheapest chemical flush, then fresh coolant. Use long life if possible since he is likely to neglect again. Do a compression test to see if the head gasket is fine, then do a cooling system pressure test to see if there is any leak.

2) New T-stat, maybe new radiator and hoses too, since he is probably going to neglect it.

3) New water pump and T-belt if not replaced by now (most likely not).

4) New transmission fluid and filter if not replaced by now (most likely not).

5) Check back and redo compression and cooling system pressure test again in a couple weeks. If pressure is ok, then it survive.

 

[occupant]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Let him do the work while you sip a cold drink and supervise. Then he has only himself to blame when something goes wrong.

better yet have him take it to a mechanic (not one you regularly go to) and have a camera ready when he gets the estimate.


this is why my friends don't ask for my help anymore...not because they resent my laziness, but because they now know what they are doing. i do mostly phone consults these days...

 

[parimento1]

OK just to update you guys on what happened. My friend took his car in and they flushed and refilled the radiator. He told me the mechanic said it was very dirty inside (no surprise there). After the flush he drove to his cousins house in North Carolina and had no problems with overheating, so I guess the flush fixed it- at least for now.