Wife called me frantically today - the car 'blew up'just a few blocks away from the NYC St. Patrick's day parade - pefect timing! She wasn't kidding - catastrophic failure of my Nissens replacement radiator, which I put in less than 4 years ago. The whole left side tank was basically gone under the upper hose neck. I'd just done the waterpump, hoses and thermostat 3 weeks ago, and remember checking the radiator, which seemed fine, especially at that weak spot. As far as I know, there are no pressure issues - the hoses have always been soft and squishy, even at high temps. Even if the new thermostat somehow got stuck, would that cause enough pressure to blow up the radiator without popping off a hose first?

This isn't the first time a Nissens has failed on me prematurely, though - 8 years ago, I had one crack at exactly the same place on my other Volvo, about 14 months after I'd put it in (conveniently, just out of warranty). The next one in that car lasted about 6 years, and fortunately started leaking before it was about to go.

Of course, I have to get back on the road quickly, so I've ordered yet another one. Let's see how long this one lasts...