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Re: Cavalier radiator hose leak

Still haven't managed to stop the leak :-(

Took the hose off again at the weekend. The clip was plenty tight enough -- it looked like it was digging into the rubber. Examined the radiator outlet carefully for signs of a crack but found nothing. Made sure the outlet pipe was clean - even smoothed it with fine emery paper. Tried smearing some Fernox leak sealant compound (similar to silicone sealant) on the outlet before fitting the hose. It still leaks!!!!

I'm running out of ideas.

There does seem to be a fair amount of pressure in the cooling system when I release the radiator cap after the engine has been running for a while. Could it be that the head gasket has gone? If that were the case then surely the excess pressure should be released through the valve in the radiator cap rather than blow out through a hose joint?

Reply to
briank
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Or it could be the radiator cap valves dead.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

It could be that the hose has delaminated internally.

Hoses are made of 3 parts - an inner tube, a fabric braided covering and an outer tube; the whole thing is then vulcanised together using heat and pressure. When exposed to heat from the engine in time the inner can perish, letting water seep through until it contacts the fabric braid - which then acts like a wick and transmits the water along to the ends of the hose where it comes out and makes you think it's the joint itself thats leaking!

Reply to
PJML

Doubt if that's the problem - that would mean both the old hose and the new hose were suffering from the same fault.

I'm tempted to try refitting the old hose - it looks slightly thicker material than the new one. Maybe a new hose clip might help.

I'm still wondering if there is a crack in the outlet pipe that I just can't see.

Reply to
briank

Found the problem at last!

I discovered that if I squeezed the hose I could see tiny bubbles coming from a pin size hole right where the outlet pipe joins the main body of the radiator.

I put some araldite over the area as a temporary measure and it seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately the araldite has come loose after a couple of days and the leak has returned. Maybe the surface was not completely dry. I'm trying a second attempt tonight in the hope that it will last until I can get a new radiator.

Reply to
briank

The message from snipped-for-privacy@bkeen.freeserve.co.uk (briank) contains these words:

What's the radiator made of at that point?

Reply to
Guy King

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