[SoCal LS-L]

Originally Posted by Awox

I'm not really sure what I can do about it. The bill of sale clearly states "as is". But if he did such a good cleanup job there's no way to tell without ripping the engine apart. Gah.....

Originally Posted by michael

Subaru tries to push that crap when you buy coolant. They call it cooling system conditioner. Do a flush and fill, check your thermostat and fan operation, get a new rad and give it a try. There seems to be a headgasket bandwagon, don't get on it till you're sure.

Originally Posted by immortal_suby

Very interesting. My bursting radiator hoses began shortly after I put in some stop leak to address a leaking heater core. I thought the stop leak may have been what killed my thermostat.

Check your state laws or call a dealership and ask about your states lemon laws!! You may save yourself a lot of cash and a lot of headache!!

YOU CAN DIAGNOSE A HEADGASKET LEAK INTO THE COOLING SYSTEM WITH A BLOCK TESTER KIT !! THEY ARE INEXPENSIVE AND VERY VERY EASY TO USE. I would verify a HG leak before spending the cash on a new radiator! OR you will do to the NEW radiator what happened to the old one, and you cant return a radiator that has been used!

Some folks might remember what happened to ME when I used that stop leak crap in my cooling system a year or so back...... it seized the bearings in my waterpump and redlined my temp gauge.... that stuff is bad news in older cooling systems... at least the crap with the aluminum flakes in it.....

I feel for ya man..... the first thing I would do is get the HG's checked, THEN if they are bad find out the lemon laws and maybe try to get your money back in or out of small claims. If you plan on keeping the car regardless..... buy a new radiator of course but I sure as heck wouldn't run the car with it installed without eliminating the headgaskets...... your pistons will overpressurize the cooling system again and the radiator is usually the weakest link.