Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Had my radiator replaced in my grand Cherokee yesterday

$875. And change! Plastic and aluminum.
I guess there all plastic and aluminum now! They had some GMC pickups that had been repaired that cost $1200 so I guess I was lucky. I’m glad he gave me and estimate before the work!

A year ago Jake had to buy a new combine radiator Case IH 2366. The stupid driver backed into a tree limb.

Over $2800 for the radiator alone. They might be made cheap but the don't sell cheap.

Local privately owned garage replaced the radiator (plastic too), fan clutch, thermostat and serpentine belt last winter on my 17 year old little Chevy Tracker 4X4 with all new parts, labor included, for a little under $500 total..

Thats outrageous !!!
Like 600+p+ bucks in labor

75 to 250 bucks for a replacement one depending on model and where you get it from.
Replace thermostat for schitts and giggles another 10 to 15

Bucket to drain
Remove shroud
Maybe remove serpentine belt to maneuver shroud out
Upper and lower radiator bolts
Upper and lower hose clamps

No one around that coulda done that job in a driveway or garage for ya???
Throw the dude like 40 or 50 bucks for an hours work.


Holy fugg......

20 years from now you'll pay it too Ren. But until then I'm like you , change it yourself.

You paid to much

Holy crow!
I do my own work only my time and parts, did my whole a,c on my gmc myself, everything new except the lines.my 2000 grand Cherokee is only 190.00 cdn for a rad
And am now 64 and am still working on my own stuff.

We have a couple shops around here which will custom build what you need with copper cores and copper tanks. Then you have a real radiator.

It has been a few years. But I do not think the price was much higher than buying a new POS OEM unit.

Probably if push comes to shove.


But that is fugging outrageous.
1 hour job max
Most places 80 to 120 for a shop hour.


I feel sorry for whelenman
Pissed off at the D bag who charged him like that.

Fugging mechanic taking advantage of whatever.


If he was a neighbor of mine and said his vehicle was fugged up with basic job like that.
I woulda done it for him for 40 bucks
Half the min of 80 for a shop hour
And used my 10% mil discount for parts.


Done schit like that before for people.
I might not enjoy swinging wrenches.
But people getting azz raped by shops like he did is fugging outrageous....



And we all know it.

That is a 1 hour job for labor plus the parts.
Which garages mark the fugg up to the customer they get on discount to begin with.

And use distilled water instead of house water when doing any filling. The chlorine in house water will affect the aluminum.

Probably a dealership ta boot. Only thing shops do for me is tires and alignments. But then working on cars has been my career in one form or the other.

Taint that easy Magee. After doing what you mentioned add
Remove grille
Remove hood latch and braces
Loosen tranny cooler lines and remove AC condenser from tabs so radiator can be removed without damage to condenser.
Remove upper radiator frame cross brace
Make sure to keep all radiator side, upper and lower air seals in proper order for proper cooling after reassembly.
Install radiator.
Reverse for assembly
Total time was 6 hours from start to refill. 2004 Grand Cherokee

Rock Auto.
Same stuff parts stores sell ( non dealer ).
If you can wait a couple days for it to show up.
And when it does it might fit.

Never know til you compare side by side.

I replaced one in bad weather. Outside POS lasted a yr. The next one was fine for 5 yrs and looks new. That GC died and I got a same style GC.

Yanked the rad and other newer parts off my dead one.
Spares in my garage.

First radiator fit fine. Second, same part # had minor fitting required.

Not many places do that anymore and they charge a lot. The radiator in my 77 vette was ~$400-$600 to rebuild and a 4 hour round trip. A new aluminum one is $250-$600. I went the $250 aluminum route.

What goes wrong mostly with the plastic and aluminum radiator,s
In my experience is the upper plastic elbow area for the hose.
Cracking from heating and cooling over time, and the plastic seaming area side into the aluminum in that upper hose area.
Expansion and contraction rates of the plastic and aluminum gotta be different.
Something gonna give over time.

Have replaced 2 or 3 IIRC over the past 15 to 20 years.
Last one was for a 97 2.5 ranger probably bout 7 yrs ago.
125 130 bucks for it at autozone.

1 Hour job........

With several smoke breaks.

This is why my daily driver is a 1982 F150. With a 1984 F150 parked next to it in case of a problem. Which has not happened yet.

If I had chlorine in my tap water I'd move.

And God forbid you bump the fins on one installing it. I miss the days of going down to the radiator shop and having one boiled, cleaned, leak repaired and repainted. Huge vats of who knows what in a dark concrete block building.

Did you do that or did your " mechanic" tell you all that.
Saying what he did......

Trans cooler lines i forgot and the fan....

Totally forgot.....
Lo and behold.......



Had a 01 grand cherokee for the wife.
Replaced the radiator around 04 or 05 before I traded it in for her Charger I got her.

Next..........

I did it. My car, my shop. 1.5 years ago.