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While painting the calipers and installing new pads and rotors, I noticed a surprise in the making at the left front wheel well. Looks like the PO either had oversized tires, or made a lot of hard-right turns because there was a scuff on the radiator hose that had already exposed the white mesh. Glad I caught it.
OK, order a hose and replace it, right? While looking for a procedure to remove those hose clamps, it became a learning experience that flushing the coolant (or re-filling) takes some special knowledge and tools. For a guy without those tools or pump, dare I try to do things the old-fashioned way, or will air get trapped in the system and cause problems?
In other words, should the car go to a shop just to change the hose? I don't mind trying things, but my skill level is not on par with a lot of you guys and I don't want to create a problem for my car.
That's a good catch! The vacuum filling tool for coolant isn't terribly expensive and is very useful for other cars. Do you have an air compressor?
I am sure you can do it the old fashioned way. I have seen some 3rd radiator threads and am pretty certain some people have documented their procedure.
Yes, I have a couple of compressors, so looks like I'll do some more research. Thanks, and any tips from guys that have been there would be welcomed. Anything special about removing those hose clamps?
In other words, should the car go to a shop just to change the hose? I don't mind trying things, but my skill level is not on par with a lot of you guys and I don't want to create a problem for my car.
I suspect there are few people on these boards that were actually trained to do this work, we all got our skills just by doing it. You can definitely do this, but take the time to read up on how it's done and you can probably even find a few youtube videos showing the procedure. It ain't rocket surgery, particularly in these days of information at one's fingertips and cheap Amazon tools.
People charging $200 an hour love to tell us that we need to trust the "experts" and that it's too dangerous to think for ourselves. It's not true but do take the time to understand the process before jumping in. Good luck.
Dont just change the one hose. Remove the front bumper and take your time. Its not rocket science. You'll figure it out and save a lot of money. Go slow and enjoy the experience. Youtube is your best friend.
Its been awhile since I've looked those pipes but iirc, the new coolant pipe comes with seals already installed. While you have the system opened and drained up there, you may as well take the opportunity to install a 3rd radiator since you'll need to bleed the system anyways afterwards. An airlift bleeder tool is an invaluable piece that can be used on lots of cars. Makes bleeding a breeze and has the benefit of letting you leak test the system before you fill.
You can bleed it the old fashion way as the cooling system is pretty good at getting air out by burping but the ideal way is to use the vacuum tool. I'd recommend reading up on some DIYs of the 3rd radiator install to get you an idea of how the process works. The replacement of that rubber pipe that's been rubbed is pretty straightforward as well so if you feel you can take it on, I'd recommend it. Just make sure you have the right coolant and some good sized buckets to catch the old coolant when it comes out. It'd be a good opportunity to flush and refresh the fluid if it hasn't been done recently as well.
I suspect there are few people on these boards that were actually trained to do this work, we all got our skills just by doing it. You can definitely do this, but take the time to read up on how it's done and you can probably even find a few youtube videos showing the procedure. It ain't rocket surgery, particularly in these days of information at one's fingertips and cheap Amazon tools.
People charging $200 an hour love to tell us that we need to trust the "experts" and that it's too dangerous to think for ourselves. It's not true but do take the time to understand the process before jumping in. Good luck.
Thanks. I've been wrenching for about 50 years and I'm starting to think that I'm losing the edge because I go into a job with a mental attitude that it's like the old days. When you loosened a bolt, something came loose, and screws instead of hidden push-fasteners, etc. etc. I just finished painting the calipers and replacing pads and rotors and the test drive gave me an E-brake light as well as a Brake Pad wear alert, so I must have done something differently with the new sensors, and I have no idea about the e-brake light. Makes a guy kinda start to lose his nerve, lol.
In other words, should the car go to a shop just to change the hose? I don't mind trying things, but my skill level is not on par with a lot of you guys and I don't want to create a problem for my car.
Been shade tree wrenching a long time too. Highly recommend either AllDataDIY or Mitchell's DIY (eautorepair.com). Worth the money IMHO along with the many DIY submissions herein.
Thanks. I've been wrenching for about 50 years and I'm starting to think that I'm losing the edge because I go into a job with a mental attitude that it's like the old days. When you loosened a bolt, something came loose, and screws instead of hidden push-fasteners, etc. etc. I just finished painting the calipers and replacing pads and rotors and the test drive gave me an E-brake light as well as a Brake Pad wear alert, so I must have done something differently with the new sensors, and I have no idea about the e-brake light. Makes a guy kinda start to lose his nerve, lol.
Honestly, maybe you should leave it alone. Not because it is hard to do... it is not... but because it is just not necessary. I would consider a few questions first: 1) Does the wear spot flex when you push on it... is it thin there? and, 2) Have you driven the car hard on a hot day... tested it for bursting? If it passes these questions, maybe it is is fine.... However....
Is the coolant old? I don't believe in lifetime fluids so I changed mine out. Changing out the fluid would make great sense to then do both. For that, just draining from that hose is not going to cut it. You may want to try my instructions for fluid replacement.... get the fluid out of the engine and system per my instructions, and then lastly, remove that hose. Read about it here:
Its been awhile since I've looked those pipes but iirc, the new coolant pipe comes with seals already installed. While you have the system opened and drained up there, you may as well take the opportunity to install a 3rd radiator since you'll need to bleed the system anyways afterwards. An airlift bleeder tool is an invaluable piece that can be used on lots of cars. Makes bleeding a breeze and has the benefit of letting you leak test the system before you fill.
You can bleed it the old fashion way as the cooling system is pretty good at getting air out by burping but the ideal way is to use the vacuum tool. I'd recommend reading up on some DIYs of the 3rd radiator install to get you an idea of how the process works. The replacement of that rubber pipe that's been rubbed is pretty straightforward as well so if you feel you can take it on, I'd recommend it. Just make sure you have the right coolant and some good sized buckets to catch the old coolant when it comes out. It'd be a good opportunity to flush and refresh the fluid if it hasn't been done recently as well.
Geez, just when I'm done with the cosmetics of center console painting, caliper painting, and all new brake system, the idea of a simple radiator hose R&R gets me to thinking about maybe doing the third radiator and new hoses all around? At 60K miles it might be early, but it's not a step back, for sure. IF it comes to doing the radiator thing, what else is in that path that I'd might as well do while the coolant is out of the car?
If .1 car, while the radiators are drained you might want to look into a low temp thermostat and if you have 50K miles or more on the car perhaps a water pump. If you have a .2 car then ignore the above.
Why a lower temp thermostat? My lifelong understanding is that cars are designed to run at 180 to 200 for best performance. What don't I know about these engines?
09-20-2021, 10:11 AM
Over my head??
