Triumph Spitfire - Radiator hose disconnected itself

Clips loosen over time, a bottom hose blowing off lost me a race once, from then on I checked them every meeting when the system is hot as the rubber squashes a little more then. Probably this is why many modern cars have spring loaded rather than worm drive clips. Either get a new rad cap or test your one, most garages have a tester. Not likely a blockage but just one of those things, all systems should run at a few pounds pressure, which with a loose clip will blow a hose off in spectacular fashion.

mrcheerful

I've known it happen when a clip has rusted through, and yes, it is spectacular, but not with a properly tightened healthy clip

Most radiator connections have a lip at the end, so a properly fitted hose shouldn't come off?

In a perfect world, yes. I tried my best getting the lip on the radiator spout between the two metal rings on the screw-clamp.

I drove her out again today, no disasters.

S1500 realised it was Mon, 30 May 2005

Sounds to me you've still got an 'original' (as in 'just adequate for its job') wire hose clamp there - and you're now effectively using only half of it. :-(

I strongly suggest you use a new, modern 'jubilee' type worm clip and clamp it with its full width on the radiator side of the lip of the spout.

Jubilee clips should go _behind_the bulge in the standpipe, not on top of it. Both will hold when new, but when an older pipe goes a bit stiff, it'll slip slightly. If you're on the top of the bulge, any slippage at all causes loosening.

I recently acquired a boxful of NOS _new_ Jubilee clips, of the Jubilee year itself, in promo packaging and with an instruction leaflet. Lovely modernist typography and everything - I might frame it for the workshop.

Jubilee

workshop.

Which 'Jubilee' though... :~)