Changing a upper rad hose
 

I haven't done my own mechanical work in years. I found
anti-freeze/coolant dripping from my upper radiator hose, When I
squeeze it it drips from where the hose meets the upper rad. I guess I
should change the hose and the clamps. My question is, does one still
add gasket cement to the inside on the hose? How long should the
cement dry before checking for leaks? Like I said, it has been a
while.

Thanks

rajp wrote:
>
> I haven't done my own mechanical work in years. I found
> anti-freeze/coolant dripping from my upper radiator hose, When I
> squeeze it it drips from where the hose meets the upper rad. I guess I
> should change the hose and the clamps. My question is, does one still
> add gasket cement to the inside on the hose? How long should the
> cement dry before checking for leaks? Like I said, it has been a
> while.
>
> Thanks

Gasket cement?
I never heard that one before.
REmove the old hose, clean the connections, put on the new hose,
tighten clamps. I sometimes silicone spray the connector and clamp
to make things easier.

rajp wrote:
> I haven't done my own mechanical work in years. I found
> anti-freeze/coolant dripping from my upper radiator hose, When I
> squeeze it it drips from where the hose meets the upper rad. I guess I
> should change the hose and the clamps. My question is, does one still
> add gasket cement to the inside on the hose? How long should the
> cement dry before checking for leaks? Like I said, it has been a
> while.
>
> Thanks

If the hose was not too old I would either tighten the clamp or put a
new screw type clamp in place. Such leaks as yours can develop with a
hose only a year old because the clamps don't tighten in a concentric
fashion and the rubber loses some resiliency. New hoses and clamps
would never be a wrong decision.

If the neck of the radiator where the hose goes on is smooth, gasket cement is not necessary to prevent leaks, and will only make removal more difficult.

rajp wrote:
>
> I haven't done my own mechanical work in years. I found
> anti-freeze/coolant dripping from my upper radiator hose, When I
> squeeze it it drips from where the hose meets the upper rad. I guess I
> should change the hose and the clamps. My question is, does one still
> add gasket cement to the inside on the hose? How long should the
> cement dry before checking for leaks? Like I said, it has been a
> while.
>
> Thanks

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

Well, this could be just a loose clamp... or a crack in the neck that
the hose goes over... not necessarily a bad hose.

If you do have to replace the hose, gunks and goos shouldn't be at all
necessary if you get the hose on there square and use quality hose
clamps of the right size, tightened properly.

As long as you're at it, consider the condition of the other hoses and
how long it's been since you changed the coolant. You don't mention I
like to just re-do all the hoses every several years as a preventive
maintenance item. They have a hard life in there. Might be a good
time to change the cap too.

Be sure to use the recommended coolant in more or less the right
mixture with water (preferably distilled or de-ionized, not tap water),
dispose of the old stuff in the way recommended by the city, and avoid
letting dogs and cats get at it.

Cheers,
--Joe

If it's leaking then at the very least change the hose and clamp -
prefarably change both upper and lower. Also be sure to inspect the
hose connection on the upper tank very carefully. On many newer cars
that connection is made of plastic and it tends to crack right at the
90 degree connection. I've seen them just separate completely with
total loss of cooling in a matter of seconds.

In article .com>,
says...
>
>
>I haven't done my own mechanical work in years. I found
>anti-freeze/coolant dripping from my upper radiator hose, When I
>squeeze it it drips from where the hose meets the upper rad. I guess I
>should change the hose and the clamps. My question is, does one still
>add gasket cement to the inside on the hose? How long should the
>cement dry before checking for leaks? Like I said, it has been a
>while.

No cement necessary.
------------
Alex

rajp wrote:
> I found anti-freeze/coolant dripping from my upper
> radiator hose, When I squeeze it it drips from where
> the hose meets the upper rad. I guess I should change
> the hose and the clamps. My question is, does one still
> add gasket cement to the inside on the hose?

I have a Ford 1.9L where one cast metal heater hose connection always
leaked a bit unless I applied rubber cement to it first. That was when
I used a flat stainless steel screw clamp; a round steel wire screw
clamp sealed a lot better and eliminated the need for cement. Maybe a
spring clamp would work just as well, but I couldn't install one
because of tight access.