jharri92 Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 I don't drive my car over winter and usually, it gets all wrapped up and sits there in the garage until next spring with no problems. This year, however, I have noticed a small patch of coolant underneath the nose of the car. After a bit of investigation it seems that it has a very slow weep from the point at which the hoses enter and leave the radiator... hoses are all in good condition and clamps are nice and tight. It only seems to happen when it is very, very cold and it is only a few ml, but how can I stop this? (2016 310S) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR400D Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 Not unknown and down to the hoses stiffening with the lower temperatures. I had this and fixed it by draining, removing the hoses from the rad and sliding a short length of old bicycle inner tube over the rad inlet before replacing the hose. Works perfectly!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jharri92 Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 Thanks for the tip! I knew there would be a use for an old inner tube one day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 more likely to be the metal in the necks contracting, ally rads in particular, which has a loosening effect on the clamps.If your running silicone hoses you can lube the inside of the clamps with a little vaseline to prevent the hoses wrinkling as you retighten the clamps, and use clamps with a small flare radius on the edge of the band too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 I had similar problems when I fitted silicon hoses. As 7WOW suggests, a bit of lubricant and some better quality Norma clips with a stainless band liner cured it for me.That said, I did have one brass rad crack the soldered joint on the bottom hose. The rad has two sets of fixing holes and I found with the bottom holes (higher rad position) it rubbed on the nose cone. In the upper holes the bottom hose pressed hard against the chassis tube which I think caused the cracked joint. I just drilled a hole in the rad fixing plate in between the upper and lower holes to get the optimum position.Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrightpayne Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 Like this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooty Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Had this issue on my Radtec with silicone hoses a few years ago. Solved the problem with a smear of clear rtv silicone on the rad necks and dont overtighten the hose clips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now