radiator leak and brakes

[Rodek]

alright guys, i really need some help on this one.
I took my new 1994 Mustang GT Convertible in to get checked up. I just wanted to make sure that nothing was severly in need of repair. They call me back and tell me about two things:

1) They say the rear brake pads are almost gone. They say they can resurface the rotors and put on new brake pads for 170 bucks. Is it worth having the mechanic place do it, or could i get some brake pads on my own and install them, or is it really a good idea to get the rotors resurfaced. Also, he said he recommends flushing out teh brake fluid and puting new in there and that it would cost about 70 to do that. Is that really necessary and is that something that is not too expensive and not too compilcated that i can do myself?

2) He says my radiator has a leak so I need a new radiator and hoses. I have had the car parked on my driveway for about 3 days and have noticed no leaking of fluids of any kind. I don't know if coolant is so diluted that it can evaporate and not leave a trace, but otherwise i havn't seen any leaking. Also, could it be that a product like this is all I would need to use:
http://www.prestone.com/framer.cgi?p...roducts/72.htm

What I am really wondering is if what this mechanic said was true, or if they are just trying to get some money out of me. Like wanting to replace an entire radiator for a tiny leak or something. Let me know what you guys (or girls) think.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I go back up to college in about a week, so I am trying to get all of this squared away before I go up.

[SIKCRX]

get a 2nd opinion if you dont believe him.

[SIKCRX]

replacing brake pads is fairly simple on disc brakes, i dont know if yours are discs or not, but its fairly simple to do on drum brakes as well with the right tools. getting your brakes resurfaced is always a good idea, it will give you a smoother stop.

if your school offers an automotive tech. class i would find someone in that class and have him take your car to his class and they will do labor for free, all youd have to do is pay for the parts, it should save you a bunch of money.

[Rodek]

thanks for the response, yeah, the 94's and up have all disc brakes on them. I have a buddy that knows a bit about cars, so i want to see what he says.
For the radiator, i asked how they discovered it and he said a mechanic just saw the leak. So if it doesn't leak when the car is just parked, and only leaks a bit when I drive it, instead of replacing the whole thing, I think i want to try some Stop Leak products first. I heard good things about Alumaseal. My buddy has a 65 Mustang straight-6 and he said his radiator was leaking all over the place and that product really helped, so I feel a bit better about that. But i guess all that is left is the brakes.

How serious is it for your pads to be worn down? Can it cause serious damage to your car like rotor warpage or something like that, or will it just impair your abiblity to brake as well. I ask this becuase I am trying to gauge the urgency of the repair.

Thanks again for all the help.

[parrish5o]

Purchase a Chiltons shop manual, and learn to do it yourself. No reason to pay someone else out your ass when you can do it yourself. If there is any varations in the surface of the rotors, have them turned, and I would no doubt get a second opinion before giving that dude my money, he may be honest but he's kinda got you by the short and curlies if you are totally clueless.

[SIKCRX]

rule #1 NEVER tell a mechanic you know NOTHING about cars.

[MustangRoadRacer]

yeah, you can check these things yourself real easy.
just run the car and look under it to see if your rad. is leaking.
also a leaky radiator will not mean you need new hoses. The brakes are easy, total time for the job is under 3 hours with a friend helping.
the fluid you can do yourself, but you have to pay for disposal.
2nd opinion is the key. not only that, but alot of shops will charge different amounts for the same work.

[Rodek]

I know I can look myself but with my severe lack of knowledge I won't know exactly what I would be looking at.
I took it to the dealership to get detailed and he ran a pressure test and the pressure reading was fine, so I am gonna take it in next week back to the dealership where he said he is gonna have someone raise it up and jacks and take a closer look at it. So I will know more by then. But definently I am gonna try to look on my own just so I go in there knowing a bit of what is going on my own.

Thanks for all the help so far guys. One thing I am learing about this car is its unlimited potential to consume gas. I have been driving really conserviatvly to see how i will do otherwise but so far so good.

[parrish5o]

Just be gentle with that vertical petal on the right. OK thats not gonna happen so just start a donation fund for gas, if they want to ride they'll pitch in. Try driving one that gets really shitty milage and only runs on 93.

[MustangRoadRacer]

yeah, anything over like 10 miles and I make the passenger pitch in (unless its a lady of course)
I only get about 15 city and 20 hwy.

[eillob]

My 94 also had a radiator leak when I got it. It didnt leak while it sat cold but after driving it the pressure caused leakage around the seams. After talking to the dealer this is a common problem with this particular year.

[Rodek]

okay yeah, that is exactly the case with me, not leaking parked, but driving it. So what did you dealer say? You pretty much ahve to buy a new radiator? or did he give you any other helpful info about it?

[eillob]

Originally Posted by Rodek

okay yeah, that is exactly the case with me, not leaking parked, but driving it. So what did you dealer say? You pretty much ahve to buy a new radiator? or did he give you any other helpful info about it?

The only helpful info they gave me was to buy a new radiator. So thats what I ended up doing. I didnt go thru the dealer, I found a radiator shop that gave me a good deal on a new one.
Do you ever have a problem with the radiator fan not comming on? This is a come and go problem for me in the summer somtimes. I havent been able to track the problem down, like I said its only in the summer time.

[HiFlow5 0]

I'm having a hard time believing you have a radiator leak. One guy says its leaking, but you had a pressure test run and it was fine. If a pressure test was run, and you had a leak, there would be coolant pissing out from the leak. Something doesn't add up here.

[Rodek]

eillob, I havn't run accross this problem yet, but it is wintertime now, and I have onyl had the car for about a week. So if it comes up i will let you know.

HiFlow50: You could be right, I am taking it back to the dealership tommorow to have them raise it up on jacks and take a good look at it. Since it is in their best interest to find what the problem is (cuase of the warranty) then I will know a lot more after they look at it. They can't tell me there isn't a leak anywhere, cuase there is coolant leaking. That is undisputable, but perhaps it is coming from somewhere else, don't know. The first guy I took it to pinpointed it to a specific place. But eilob seems to be having the exact same problem as me, so again, i don't know.