Is it easy to crack the radiator when changing the hoses?

I have a 2005 chevy aveo that broke down last week. I was 2 hours from home so I just got towed to a shop and they found a hole in the upper hose. They just did a temporary fix by cutting the hose and clamping it on. They told me I needed to get it looked at when I got home. I took it to my normal mechanic last week and they ordered an upper hose, lower hose, and heater hose. They charged me $162.27 for the parts and labor. The parts came in today and I took it in to be fixed. An hour later my mechanic called me and said that when they were pulling off the upper hose part of the radiator broke off because it was too brittle. He told me it would cost $275 for the part and $60 to put it in. Is this something that could easily happen or did they do something to break it accidentally? This is not the first time they broke something. Last week the timing belt tensioner cracked when they were changing the timing belt and they said it was because the metal was weak. Does it seem like my mechanic is ripping me off or are these legitimate problems?|||OK, first of all, let%26#039;s address all these people here who think the radiator hose neck is made of metal (solder? rust?). Is it? Really? Because most cars haven%26#039;t used metal for that part in about 30 years now. The tanks are made of plastic, and they crack all the time, even just from normal use. Call up any radiator shop and ask.





Of course they%26#039;re also prone to cracking if someone tries to pull the hose off by simply pulling and twisting, without loosening it first. The act of shortening and refastening the hose could also cause this, as there is more tension on the hose, and engine vibration is magnified. If it was OK for the hose to be that short, they would have made it that short in the first place!





Bottom line is, it%26#039;s entirely possible that not even any of the people who have worked on it know for sure when it cracked and what caused it. What are the odds that people who don%26#039;t even know what kind of material that part of the radiator is made of would know?





As far as the tensioner, it%26#039;s normally recommended to replace those every time the belt is replaced. If your shop made any mistake in regards to the that, it was in not telling you it should be replaced as standard operating procedure for a timing belt change.|||I can understand the radiator crack ( I think it is plastic and aluminum) but the tensioner sounds a little fishy, I would get a second opinion next time.|||$#it happens when your working on cars.who knows the person who took the hose off the first time could of cracked it.|||5 years isnt long enough to rust out a radiator lip, unless you use salt water in it, there ripping you off





if this is the second time screwing up on your car they should credit you on some labor|||Yep you got ripped off twice. A good mechanic will cut the hose off instead of trying to pull it off.


My son worked at a wrecking yard %26amp; that is what they always did.|||that radiator is plastic and the spouts crack/break off about 1/3 of the time.........so entirely reasonable.....





as for timing tensioner on that car shouldn%26#039;t have a problem but they are supposed to b checked and replaces as necessary when timing belt is replaced......so again possible...








EDIT: at the ppl saying the radiator shouldn%26#039;t have cracked because they should have cut hose ....that is what junkyards do when selling used radiators.....which sets u up for radiator failure down the road....if radiator will not hold up to pulling hose off it WILL leave u stranded on side of road later.........yes u can cut them off but should pull off......also said hose was cut and clamped back on ...i suspect that cracked the plastic radiator........especially if the person overtightened the clamp|||if the hose is stuck on the neck tight then yanking on it can make the neck leak. i recon that,s too much. all they have to do is solder the neck back on and put the hose back on.|||RIP OFF.





A 2005 should NOT have wear bad enough for metal parts to crack accidentally or break off. That%26#039;s INSANE. Find a lawyer and a new mechanic.