One of the important issues of any engine is keeping your engine at the right temperature. One of the best ways of doing that is making sure it won’t leak! Coolant leaks are caused by radiator failures, leaking reservoir bottles, old hoses or improperly installed hoses. This post discusses hose related issues.
1. Check your hoses to see if they are in good shape. Over time the stock hoses will start to crack and split, some start to swell etc. With our cars starting to get up in age, it is never a bad time to replace hoses or at least have a closer look at them.
2. Make sure your hoses are on correctly. A lot of leaks occur at the two front hoses that bridge the hard lines, to the radiator. Generally it is caused by hoses that are incorrectly installed. This is the area where the car is drained for coolant flushes. One of the reasons is because the hard line is so close to the crash structure, and with such little flex from the coolant hoses, it is hard to get the hose clamp in the correct position because it almost pinches the clamp against the crash structure and with the stock coolant hose being so stiff, it is hard to see where the flange on the hard line is. There is also a little movement from the hard line when trying to push the factory coolant hoses back on, which causes you to not be able to get the hose on enough of the hard line needed for a proper seal with the stiffness of the factory hoses.
1. Check your hoses to see if they are in good shape. Over time the stock hoses will start to crack and split, some start to swell etc. With our cars starting to get up in age, it is never a bad time to replace hoses or at least have a closer look at them.
2. Make sure your hoses are on correctly. A lot of leaks occur at the two front hoses that bridge the hard lines, to the radiator. Generally it is caused by hoses that are incorrectly installed. This is the area where the car is drained for coolant flushes. One of the reasons is because the hard line is so close to the crash structure, and with such little flex from the coolant hoses, it is hard to get the hose clamp in the correct position because it almost pinches the clamp against the crash structure and with the stock coolant hose being so stiff, it is hard to see where the flange on the hard line is. There is also a little movement from the hard line when trying to push the factory coolant hoses back on, which causes you to not be able to get the hose on enough of the hard line needed for a proper seal with the stiffness of the factory hoses.
We run silicone hoses and they fit great. They are very flexible which makes it easier to put the hoses on. They slide right over the flange and allow almost no movement from the hard line. This lets you get the hose clamp on easier and in the correct position. Since they are flexible, they also allow you to see exactly where the flange is and that helps make sure your clamp is in the correct position and your hoses are safe and secure.
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