>How to Check Radiator Hoses<

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12-21-2013, 02:13 PM

BeachBumMike

Thread Starter

Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: SpaceCoast, Florida

Posts: 16,095

>How to Check Radiator Hoses<

Hi Member's,
How often do you check your Hoses ?
How long has your lasted ?
I just replaced the ones in our GMC
Beach Bum Van. They were bad
I hope this information helps a member

How to Check Radiator Hoses

When doing routine car maintenance on your vehicle, you should remember to perform a radiator hose inspection in addition to checking the oil, tires, brakes and other safety devices. The radiator is 1 of the most important devices in your car because it keeps the engine at its nominal operating temperature, which is typically between 195 and 220 degrees Fahrenheit (90 and 105 degrees Celsius.

Radiator hoses circulate coolant from the radiator to parts of the engine that need to stay cool. Over time, radiator hoses can weaken. If they are not replaced when necessary, they can completely collapse, causing the engine to overheat and unable to run. In extreme cases, a collapsed hose can cause the engine to burst. This article covers how to check radiator hoses, which may help you keep your engine from overheating.

Steps

1

Find both of your radiator hoses. One reason radiator hoses are overlooked during a routine car inspection is that the hoses can be difficult to reach.
- The upper radiator hose runs from the radiator to the motor. You can usually see most of this hose.
- The lower radiator hose is harder to find. To locate it, get underneath the car and look for a smaller diameter hose leading from the radiator into the heat wall of the car.
2
Visually inspect each radiator hose. Hoses should not be swollen or cracked, both of which could lead to a failure.
3

Perform a squeeze test. While the engine is warm after a drive, squeeze the radiator hoses, paying particular attention to areas where the hose bends.
- A radiator hose in good condition should feel firm, but not hard.
- A radiator hose in poor condition feels very hard, spongy, or soft. You may find a single soft spot as opposed to the entire hose being soft. A soft hose or a hose with a soft spot should be replaced.
4

Check the clamps that connect the hose to the radiator and the engine. There are 3 different types of radiator hose connections, gear clamps, banded clamps and wire clamps.
- Gear clamps, which are sometimes called worm clamps, and banded clamps, which are also called screw clamps, are typically made of stainless steel and wrap around the hose. You adjust these types of clamps with a screwdriver.
- Wire clamps are adjusted with a pair of hose clamp pliers. You can recognize these clamps because there is no screw keeping them tight.

Tips

Hoses installed on a new car tend to last about 10 years or 100,000 miles. It is a good idea to do radiator hose inspection long before you reach these milestones.
Clamps are very inexpensive. When you determine that it is time to replace a hose, replace the clamps that connect it to the radiator and engine at the same time.

Warnings

Never remove a hot radiator cap. Pressure built up inside the radiator can cause boiling coolant to gush out of the radiator, causing severe burns.

Things You'll Need

Flashlight, for inspecting the hoses underneath the engine
Screwdriver, for tightening clamps, if necessary
Hose clamp pliers, for adjusting wire clamps, if necessary

Last edited by BeachBumMike; 12-21-2013 at 02:16 PM.

12-27-2013, 03:53 AM

BeachBumMike

Thread Starter

Join Date: Dec 2005

Location: SpaceCoast, Florida

Posts: 16,095

How Often Should Belts and Hoses Be Replaced?

Most hose manufacturers recommend replacing hoses every four years. V-belts should be replaced every three years or 36,000 miles. The incidence of failure rises sharply after the fourth year of service for hoses and third year for belts.

The lifespan of a typical serpentine belt is about five years or 50,000 miles. Serpentine belts are thinner and more flexible than V-belts. They run cooler and last longer, but cost about twice as much to replace.

The hard part is convincing customers to change belts and hoses as preventative maintenance BEFORE they fail. Few people do, yet they could save themselves a lot of unnecessary grief and expense if they would.

Rubber hoses deteriorate with age. Tiny cracks develop in the rubber which eventually cause hoses to split, blister or leak. Oil contamination and atmospheric ozone can accelerate the process.

Engine vibration and motion can cause hoses to wear if they are too short or rub against other parts. This applies to fuel, vacuum and emission hoses as well as coolant hoses.

A visual inspection will often uncover bad hoses. Pinching hoses to check for age cracks, brittleness or mushiness can also help locate hoses that need to be changed.

However, neither technique will reveal all the hoses that might need replacing because hoses wear as much from the inside out as they do from the outside in. A hose that appears okay on the outside may actually be on the verge of failure because of internal deterioration.

According to research done by one hose manufacturer, internal corrosion caused by electrochemical degradation is the primary cause of cooling system hose failure.

The coolant acts like an electrolyte and allows a current to flow between engine and radiator. This causes micro-cracks to form inside the hose which eventually leads to pinhole leaks and weakening of hose fibers.

With belts, heat and mileage are the main causes of wear. Every time a belt passes around a pulley, it bends and flexes. This produces heat which hardens the rubber over time. The wear process is greatly accelerated if the belt is loose and slips.

The additional friction between belt and pulley will make a belt run hotter. After millions of journeys around the pulleys, even the best drive belt begins to suffer the effects of age. Rubber begins to crack and fray and the internal cords become weak and brittle.

You cannot always determine a belt's true condition by appearances alone. Any belt obviously cracked and frayed should be replaced. With many of today's bandless belts, there is no outside cover to peel loose and betray the belt's deteriorated condition.

A belt may appear to be like new on the outside, yet be on the verge of failure because of weakened separated cords inside.

When a belt is replaced, it is important that the belt be properly tensioned. If too loose, it will slip and wear quickly. If too tight, it may damage internal cords as well as overload shaft bearings on accessories it drives.

The rule of thumb about tightening a belt until there is about half an inch of give between the two furthest pulleys is not always accurate. A belt gauge that measures actual tension is the only sure way to know if a belt is tensioned properly.

Because a V-belt normally takes a set after a few minutes of running, one set of tension specs may be provided for new belts and another for used belts. Any V-belt that h