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Radiator hose leaking

998 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Renix1990xj 
#1 ·
I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. A few months ago, I was on a trip when the upper radiator hose busted. We had to tape it up and get to the nearest store that had the hose we needed (about 30 minutes away) right as they were closing. The hose was too long, so we had to cut it with a guy's knife who happened to be nearby to help. After a few weeks, we realized the hose was leaking because part of it was cut too short, so I replaced it, again. The other day, I noticed it was leaking, and looked like it was coming lose, so I pushed it back on and tightened the clamp. Today I get a warning that my coolant is low and I hear spewing coming from the radiator. I opened the hood to find that it was spewing from where I had just tightened down the clamp like there may be too much pressure. I'm not what the problem is. Did I tighten it too much? I didn't want to have it too loose because I was afraid of it slipping, again.

As you can tell, I don't know much about cars, but I figured I would ask on here, because I'm having quite a few issues with my Jeep, so I may have to come on here quite often :)
 
#2 ·
Best to go back to the factory original equipment constant-tension hose clamps which are spring loaded. They keep the proper tightness around the hose no matter what the temperatures are to eliminate leaks caused by improper tension.

Those worm-drives hose clamps tightened with a screwdriver commonly cause leaks since they don't automatically adjust tension as needed to cope with temperature variations as the OE constant-tension do. Some new mechanics think it's an upgrade to replace the OE constant tension clamps with the worm gear clamps but it's a downgrade.

For a fresh hose I'd go with a Gates or Goodyear.

You use a good pair of pliers or the special hose clamp pliers to squeeze constant tension hose clamps open to install.


 
#3 ·
Best to go back to the factory original equipment constant-tension hose clamps which are spring loaded. They keep the proper tightness around the hose no matter what the temperatures are to eliminate leaks caused by improper tension.

Those worm-drives hose clamps tightened with a screwdriver commonly cause leaks since they don't automatically adjust tension as needed to cope with temperature variations as the OE constant-tension do. Some new mechanics think it's an upgrade to replace the OE constant tension clamps with the worm gear clamps but it's a downgrade.

For a fresh hose I'd go with a Gates or Goodyear.

You use a good pair of pliers or the special hose clamp pliers to squeeze constant tension hose clamps open to install.
Do you think that's all it could be? I had such a hard time getting those clamps off to put the new one on, I refused to put it back on, and everyone that helped me recommended me doing it, and others agreed I did the right thing (granted, none of them were actual mechanics). I ended up buying the other clamps when I bought the hose, because I wasn't dealing with that mess. I barely got it off. I guess if you had the proper tools (which I didn't), and the clamp was actually in a good spot to get to (which it wasn't), it might be easier. I didn't know it did anything differently other than be a pain to put on and take off. I wondered why they would even bother having such a thing.
 
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