My friend was driving his 2012 Sonic on the highway yesterday when the temperature light came on. (There's no gauge.)
He and his wife caught a ride into town with their daughter. He and I went out in the evening to check it out.
One of the heater hoses had blown. The blown hose, the other heater hose, and the hose from the coolant reservoir to the radiator were all very soft.
There is a lot of sludge in the coolant reservoir, and a lot coming out of the blown heater hose.
We went out again today with tools, and were able to isolate the heater core by clamping the intact heater hose closed, and clamping the blown hose on the engine side of the blown-out portion. We poured in quite a bit of tap water. Unfortunately in trying to find a solution I broke part of the plastic nipple off the thermostat housing/water outlet, which was very brittle. Fortunately there was enough left to clamp the hose section onto.
We were able to limp the car back into town. He drove at around 50 - 60 km/hr with 4-way flashers on, and I drove behind with my 4-ways on. We stopped once to check - the clamps were keeping the coolant in, and the engine seemed to be staying within its design temperature. (At the stop I transferred my ScanGauge to the Sonic. The temperature on the rest of the way home varied from about 85 C to 100 C. Given that the diluted coolant wasn't giving anywhere near full boil-over protection, I am glad the mostly-water coolant didn't get any hotter.)
Anyway, I now plan to replace all of the hoses (including the upper and lower rad hoses) and flush the system to get all of the goop out. It is really bad. Recommendations on a good product to use?
As well, I want to replace the plastic thermostat housing/water outlet I damaged. I don't know if this is inevitable that plastic cooling-system parts get brittle, or whether the plastic might have deteriorated due to the goop in the cooling system.
As far as the part, I'm trying to decide between the AutoTechnica and the AC Delco part. If it were my car, I'd go with the Delco part, but money is a big factor for my friend. Has anyone here any experience with the AutoTechnica part?
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Many thanks for your thoughts on this.
He and his wife caught a ride into town with their daughter. He and I went out in the evening to check it out.
One of the heater hoses had blown. The blown hose, the other heater hose, and the hose from the coolant reservoir to the radiator were all very soft.
There is a lot of sludge in the coolant reservoir, and a lot coming out of the blown heater hose.
We went out again today with tools, and were able to isolate the heater core by clamping the intact heater hose closed, and clamping the blown hose on the engine side of the blown-out portion. We poured in quite a bit of tap water. Unfortunately in trying to find a solution I broke part of the plastic nipple off the thermostat housing/water outlet, which was very brittle. Fortunately there was enough left to clamp the hose section onto.
We were able to limp the car back into town. He drove at around 50 - 60 km/hr with 4-way flashers on, and I drove behind with my 4-ways on. We stopped once to check - the clamps were keeping the coolant in, and the engine seemed to be staying within its design temperature. (At the stop I transferred my ScanGauge to the Sonic. The temperature on the rest of the way home varied from about 85 C to 100 C. Given that the diluted coolant wasn't giving anywhere near full boil-over protection, I am glad the mostly-water coolant didn't get any hotter.)
Anyway, I now plan to replace all of the hoses (including the upper and lower rad hoses) and flush the system to get all of the goop out. It is really bad. Recommendations on a good product to use?
As well, I want to replace the plastic thermostat housing/water outlet I damaged. I don't know if this is inevitable that plastic cooling-system parts get brittle, or whether the plastic might have deteriorated due to the goop in the cooling system.
As far as the part, I'm trying to decide between the AutoTechnica and the AC Delco part. If it were my car, I'd go with the Delco part, but money is a big factor for my friend. Has anyone here any experience with the AutoTechnica part?
**************
Many thanks for your thoughts on this.