[rawfuls]

Had the Sportage finally die on me
Was out yesterday, and the needle hit the H on the temp gauge, as soon as I was about to park to let it cool off, it blew.

When I saw blew, I mean, it BLEW.

The entire plastic piece on top of the radiator, which a hose connects to his gone.

Here's a picture below.

To be honest, it looks like I just need a new plastic piece, because searching for a new radiator turns pictures that does not have the plastic piece mounted already..

I figured I might as well get a metal top now, instead.

Any idea what I'm going to need to do?
We will probably have a shop do the work since I'm starting school in 2 days eek, but I just want an idea of the price of such repair before we walk in..

 

[cobra259]

You need a NEW radiator. It's ALL one piece!

 

[chief]

Replacing the radiator is strongly recommended
cleaning of the air intake also,may have dawned in coolant before shutting it off.
Replace the thermostat and radiator pressure cap.
Do a compression test you may have blew a head gasket or cracked the head or both.
Not knowing your shops labor rates all of this could be expensive.
Hoping luck is on your side.
Chief

 

[rawfuls]

I figured as much.
We had a shop local to us tow it over.

Charged us $60 for the tow, and quoted us $266 for the radiator replacement w/ new coolant.

They said they'll replace the radiator, coolant, and then do a compression to test for the head.

What's the chances that I blew the headgasket.. or the head?

 

[drx350]

I figured as much.
We had a shop local to us tow it over.

Charged us $60 for the tow, and quoted us $266 for the radiator replacement w/ new coolant.

They said they'll replace the radiator, coolant, and then do a compression to test for the head.

What's the chances that I blew the headgasket.. or the head?

I'd do the Compression test first!

You don't need a radiator for that...

 

[rawfuls]

The shop called and got it approved by my mom would just sent it through.
By the time I got home they were already in the works of changing out the radiator.

In either case, I received a call a few moments ago saying that the car was running just fine, and that it was ready to be picked up.

They apparently did the compression test and all checked out as far as I know, they let the engine idle and it idled fine..

Good news nevertheless, and though I wanted to do the repair myself, for $250 I can't really complain, at least I know I had it done at a shop where they will definitely warranty something incase it goes kablooey again.

 

[DavesSpectra]

Well...looking at the timeline you have for school it was probably the best that they did it.
You could have done it for MUCH less though. A new radiator for a 2001 sportage on ebay is under $60 including shipping... add a gallon of antifreeze and your time...under $100.
Dave

 

[rawfuls]

Picked it up that Friday, and drove it to practice and then home, all is well.

Pulled it into the garage Sunday morning to do some maintenance work after we worked on my parent's car (oil change, brakes, etc) and checked front brakes, good. Looked at engine bay (I guess we forgot to check the oil), and we couldn't figure out how to get the drums off the rear axle (before we used a very long bolt.. but now we can't find it, and don't have any spares; anyone know the size?)

Pulled it out of the garage, and cranked it up Monday morning, and heard a nasty clicking sound, sounded like a belt (which we WD40'd and it went away in about 5 minutes), left it alone until the next day (yesterday) when I mentioned it to my dad..
He thought it was belt too, but checked the oil and it was a tad below the L and the triangle mark.
Uhoh.
We didn't have the recommended 10W-40/50 (we're from about 70-110 in Cali) so we used some 10W-20 in the meantime before we go out and buy some more of my weight oil to do us over, but the noise is still there.

It's a clicking sound, and when the engine revs, the clicking increases.
Almost sounds like a rod knock... but I hope not, it's not as deep I guess?
Anyone know what this could be?

 

[GottaCruise]

It could just be things got gummed up at the top end due to lack of oil - when I've had valve rap from an overdue oil change previously, using OEM Kia or a Wix oil filter, I'd do a short-interval oil change: adding 3.5 Quarts oil to .5 - 1 quart Marvel Mystery oil, this will clean out -> breakdown any gunk in the oil passages.

Run this for about 1,000 miles, with several extended ( 30 minutes - 1 hour ) highway trips on this mix, then do a regular oil / filter change.

Again, make sure you use a quality OEM or equivalent filter when doing this service, to make sure you catch all the gunk in the filter, that's where you want it to end up..

Hope this helps,

GottaCruise

 

[rawfuls]

It could just be things got gummed up at the top end due to lack of oil - when I've had valve rap from an overdue oil change previously, using OEM Kia or a Wix oil filter, I'd do a short-interval oil change: adding 3.5 Quarts oil to .5 - 1 quart Marvel Mystery oil, this will clean out -> breakdown any gunk in the oil passages.

Run this for about 1,000 miles, with several extended ( 30 minutes - 1 hour ) highway trips on this mix, then do a regular oil / filter change.

Again, make sure you use a quality OEM or equivalent filter when doing this service, to make sure you catch all the gunk in the filter, that's where you want it to end up..

Hope this helps,

GottaCruise

Shoot, I've already dumped about a quart (I think is it?) of the 10W-20 in the meantime (raised it from nothing to full) of oil..
I don't suppose there's an oil drain?

 

[GottaCruise]

Shoot, I've already dumped about a quart (I think is it?) of the 10W-20 in the meantime (raised it from nothing to full) of oil..
I don't suppose there's an oil drain?

Uh, yeah, at the bottom of the oil pan.

--
You want to use (fresh) oil when doing the short-interval service w/ Mystery Oil, don't just drain out a quart and do it that way..

* Fresh oil and a new filter are important to suspending the "gunk" -> trapping the material in a new filter / out of the motor.

Oh, and it's not necessary to use a high $$$ oil for the short-interval change, just use a regular 5-30w / 10-40w oil, like Peak-brand, pick it up on sale from auto-wally-mart if you can. For the 1,000 miles you will have it in the motor, thinned out w/ the Mystery Oil, it should be fine.

 

[rawfuls]

Uh, yeah, at the bottom of the oil pan.

--
You want to use (fresh) oil when doing the short-interval service w/ Mystery Oil, don't just drain out a quart and do it that way..

* Fresh oil and a new filter are important to suspending the "gunk" -> trapping the material in a new filter / out of the motor.

Oh wait...
LOL.
Oops. I guess I forgot hahaha.
Yes, when we get some new oil, I'll for sure give that a try; could there be anything else to it?

 

[GottaCruise]

I dunno Rawfuls, though I'd be checking to see (why) that oil level is low: need to check for leaks.. Front oil seal, oil pan gasket, the inner valve cover gasket (spark plug wells) are the usual suspects on the Sporty.

If none apparent, and the motor had been run awhile without the oil checked, it could just be normal usage / consumption: the Sporty motors run a bit hotter than the average, and use more oil in the summer months, that's normal, at least in my experience.

 

[rawfuls]

Just ran about 25 miles total.
After my errand run (about 5 miles), the knock wasn't noticeable anymore.

After my practice round trip (20 miles total), I didn't hear much when I pulled into the driveway.

I guess this is good!

Is there a downside to running 10W-20 for temporarily?

 

[GottaCruise]

Just ran about 25 miles total.
...
Is there a downside to running 10W-20 for temporarily?

No, and would recommend using 5-30w with Marvel Mystery Oil for the short interval change (if you decide to do it) - the added viscosity will keep the valves quieter vs. 10w-40/50 weight oil.

 

[rawfuls]

My dad decided it would be easier if we just did a full oil change today, so we just went ahead and drained out the 20 and put in new fresh 5w-40 since the sound vanished.
Did the oil filter as well (this was so easy, it's nice being able to just reach in and change it in under a few minutes! As opposed to crawling under and struggling with a wrench...

Crawling around checking all the fluids, I noticed this little cable just hanging out.
Not connected to anything, but it extended out of an initial cable into a Y, and the other cable seems to go into the brake fluid (?) tank [top right of the engine back, closest to driver].. Just curious what this was for, and if it actually ever connected to something?

Pictures:

 

[promodmerc]

I believe that connector is for the air cylinder actuator for 4wd equipped models. The actuator would mount on the bracket next to your hand in your third pic.

 

[rawfuls]

Here's the little piece that blew off (big enough to keep)...

A little memory of the hot day I stayed on that mountain, waiting for a tow truck for 2-3 hours..

FWIW: The tow truck driver said that this was by far one of the worst blowouts he has seen.. the biggest explosion, too!
Somewhat... exciting..