Radiator Leak (1 Viewer)

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May 21, 2019
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Birmingham, AL
I recently took my radiator out to replace my oil pump o-ring. When I put the radiator back in I had a serious coolant leak so I tightened all the hose clamps back down and that stop most of the leak. Now I still have a small drip coming from the radiator. The transmission lines are dry so I don't think the leak is coming from there. I can feel moisture at the bottom of the upper radiator hose where it connects to the engine but the drip doesn't seem to be below that hose, so unless its taking a crazy path down I don't think that's it but seems to be the only place I can guess it could be coming from. I tighten the hose clamps down to 18 ft-lbs with my drill so I think that is plenty tight and shouldn't leak. My upper hose is brand new. It only leaks for about 20 mins after I have parked the LC. If the issue is not my hoses does anyone have other suggestions on what it might be? want to see if I can find the problem and fix it before I pull the trigger on a new radiator.


This is what it looks like while its been parked for a few hours after driving and is not leaking anymore. Not terrible but just enough to piss me off. The puddle is just a little bit bigger than the size of a quarter.
Leak.jpg
 
The tool of choice is a pressure tester. Clean and dry the area well, pressurize to a little better than cap rating, ~15psi, then watch where the leak starts. Sometimes have to remove the shroud to see the lower parts.
 
The tool of choice is a pressure tester. Clean and dry the area well, pressurize to a little better than cap rating, ~15psi, then watch where the leak starts. Sometimes have to remove the shroud to see the lower parts.
Thanks for the information. I can see all the hoses from the top and bottom of the LC. I removed the shroud as well but didn't see anything. the leak doesn't seem to happen until I park it and wait about 2 mins. The drip is so small its hard to spot. I guess my main question is, is it common for a radiator to leak somewhere besides the hoses? I want to try buying an extra hose clamp and putting it on the upper radiator hose where I have felt a little moisture but my current hose clamp is so tight I don't see how it could be leaking. All the other hoses are dry so I don't know where else it could be coming from. But again, where the leak is hitting the ground is not in line with where it seems like a leak from the upper hose would be coming from.
 
You may need to pull off the hoses and clean the corrosion off of the hose barbs. I would start with the one known drippy upper hose fitting.
 
By using a drill for tightening the clamp you could have cracked the nipple by applying excessive force. As mentioned above you need to remove the hose, clean and inspect and try again. You said it was a new hose. Does that mean brand new or recently replaced? Even a relatively new hose can leak if it is reinstalled in a slightly different position. How was the old hose removed? A knife cut or scratch from a screwdriver is enough to cause a leak.
 
By using a drill for tightening the clamp you could have cracked the nipple by applying excessive force. As mentioned above you need to remove the hose, clean and inspect and try again. You said it was a new hose. Does that mean brand new or recently replaced? Even a relatively new hose can leak if it is reinstalled in a slightly different position. How was the old hose removed? A knife cut or scratch from a screwdriver is enough to cause a leak.
The hose was brand new when I reinstalled the radiator. I didn't remove it where I suspect the leak is. I tightened it with the drill and it stopped the majority of the leak but I wouldn't think 18ft-lbs would break the hose but I could be wrong. I am going to clean it and reattach it tonight and see what happens.
 
The hose was brand new when I reinstalled the radiator. I didn't remove it where I suspect the leak is. I tightened it with the drill and it stopped the majority of the leak but I wouldn't think 18ft-lbs would break the hose but I could be wrong. I am going to clean it and reattach it tonight and see what happens.
The strongest hose clamps can only be tightened to 95 lb-in before they fail. If you went to 18 lb-ft, then the clamp has failed and cannot tighten anymore.
 
If it failed would it not pop loose? Seems to be holding. I got home today and did see a leak. So I’m assuming the issue is gone but I’ll wait and see.
Not always. The band deforms and wedges into the guide and still against the screw. It's there, there's just very little tension in the band itself.

The teeth bend and push away from the screw inside. I deal with industrial clamps all the time and have to evaluate equipment failures and that is an incredibly common occurrence of overtightening.
 
Not always. The band deforms and wedges into the guide and still against the screw. It's there, there's just very little tension in the band itself.

The teeth bend and push away from the screw inside. I deal with industrial clamps all the time and have to evaluate equipment failures and that is an incredibly common occurrence of overtightening.
Good to know. Thanks for the information. I drove it home yesterday and didn't see a leak. Drove it to work this morning and saw the small leak again. I am going to take the hoses loose, clean where the hoses attach, and get new hose clamps. We will see if that fixes the leak.
 

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