bad coolant hoses

[bowlofturtle]

there such a thing. I just replaced coolant hoses AC DELCO branded on my infiniti. everything went easily but the following day i saw a leak. I found that leak was caused by it rubbing against a pulley.

They were much thinner when compared to OEM. Very disappointed. Car overheated and i fear their is more damage to be found

 

[river_rat]

That bites. I thought AC/Delco parts were still pretty good. I guess I won't be using their hoses.

 

[eljefino]

Yeah I've noticed even "good brand" hoses are thinner than OE. If my OEs look good I'll run them forever.

Usually the failure mode is continually dripping oil on them. Then they get gooey and "sweat" coolant. I guess if they get gooey by the clamp you can get a dramatic blowout.

 

[bowlofturtle]

i didn't think much of it being thinner. I replaced it just mainly as a preventative maintence thing. Go figure it CAUSED me so much headache. I never had a hose fail but people around me have had. I figured since they are $12 and $20 a peice, Why not?

I'll be looking at the damage morrow.

I can tell right away that it was due to be being thinner then OEM and possibly the mold didn't match up 100% but it fit. I didn't think too much because it was a decent brand but yea, a small cut showed up on the side facing the pulley. This might just be a sign for me to stop looking for things to fix and only fix what needs to be or whats broken.

 

[nwjones18]

You have to watch close when replacing hoses to keep them from rubbing. Many times I have had to trim a replacement hose to keep it from rubbing on a pulley.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The upper radiator OEM hose of my LS400 was replaced last year when the car had more than 240k miles. All the hoses and belt of my 11 years old 127k miles are OEM, I'll replace/fix only when it is needed. The only things in the car that are needed regular maintenance are fluids, from oil, ATF, coolant, brake fluid to power steering fluid ...

 

[bowlofturtle]

yea my G35 had like 56k miles and 2005 model. i normally fix whats broken and whats cheap to replace when i have time, like these hoses but man i'm so [censored] about it, i might either go OEM only on certain things or no do them till they break.

 

[Volvo_ST1]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
there such a thing. I just replaced coolant hoses AC DELCO branded on my infiniti. everything went easily but the following day i saw a leak. I found that leak was caused by it rubbing against a pulley.

They were much thinner when compared to OEM. Very disappointed. Car overheated and i fear their is more damage to be found


A thicker hose would have bought you what? Another day? The fault lies not with the hose but with the faulty installation that allowed a pulley to rub against the hose. That sounds dirty.

 

[Colt45ws]

I had a problem with a Dayco upper on the Montana, it. would. not. seal. For NOTHING! I went and got a gates hose. It was much thicker and sealed correctly the first time.

 

[eljefino]

I've been given hoses and told by the catalog to trim them to fit.

Probably a couple different apps with a middle section 10 inches long and angles A and B, and ends of various lengths.

The ends are a little long on purpose.

 

[dailydriver]

I don't even bother with OEM style/EPDM material hoses anymore.

I use either the Gates Racing (although these are going out of production soon), or a good silicone racing hose (like Samco, Hoses Inc., or the Jegs ones on the car now).

 

[EricF]

AC Delco belts & hoses = Gates.

I've never had an issue with any EPDM material.
The AC Delco's are made by Gates, but they aren't the "universal" type fit of the Gates.. they're a bit more exact fitting on the GM cars.

 

[440Magnum]

Did you check for contact with the belt and trim it as needed when you installed the hose? It seems to me that most replacement hoses are molded with a little bit of extra length and that if you don't check them and trim then its mea culpa when something rubs. I don't think the thickness is an issue- the reinforcing fibers inside the hose take the load anyway.

That said, some brands do seem to last better than others. I'm not much of a fan of NAPA's radiator and heater hoses, even though most of their parts seem above average. Gates or Dayco seem to last quite a bit longer.

 

[660mag]

Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
there such a thing. I just replaced coolant hoses AC DELCO branded on my infiniti. everything went easily but the following day i saw a leak. I found that leak was caused by it rubbing against a pulley.

They were much thinner when compared to OEM. Very disappointed. Car overheated and i fear their is more damage to be found


A thicker hose would have bought you what? Another day? The fault lies not with the hose but with the faulty installation that allowed a pulley to rub against the hose. That sounds dirty.


+1

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
there such a thing. I just replaced coolant hoses AC DELCO branded on my infiniti. everything went easily but the following day i saw a leak. I found that leak was caused by it rubbing against a pulley.

They were much thinner when compared to OEM. Very disappointed. Car overheated and i fear their is more damage to be found


A thicker hose would have bought you what? Another day? The fault lies not with the hose but with the faulty installation that allowed a pulley to rub against the hose. That sounds dirty.


It's easier the blame the part then the installer.

The OE hose looked thicker due to swelling over time.

 

[wrcsixeight]

Originally Posted By: nwjones18
You have to watch close when replacing hoses to keep them from rubbing. Many times I have had to trim a replacement hose to keep it from rubbing on a pulley.


+1

I recently replaced my whole cooling system. The Bypass hose, if I had not trimmed one end of it would have caused a major kink in the already tight radius.

Also the upper hose benefitted from removing 3/8 on the radiator end. Much less chance that it could sag and contact a pulley.

As always, it is all in the details

 

[MNgopher]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
That said, some brands do seem to last better than others. I'm not much of a fan of NAPA's radiator and heater hoses, even though most of their parts seem above average. Gates or Dayco seem to last quite a bit longer.

You do know that Napa radiator and heater hoses are gates, right?

 

[zrxkawboy]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum

I'm not much of a fan of NAPA's radiator and heater hoses, even though most of their parts seem above average. Gates or Dayco seem to last quite a bit longer.


NAPA belts and hoses = (re-labeled) Gates.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Beat me to it, Gopher!

 

[Trav]

My recent experience with hoses..
I bought a set of Dayco hoses for my 2000 GM 3800, upper, lower and hearer hoses from AA.
The Radiator hoses looked okay but the heater hoses were Drive Rite brand by Dayco, the Drive Rite were cut to length and not even molded at one end, shabby at best.

I decided to return the whole deal and buy Gates ECR hoses, the difference is night and day, all were properly molded and fit perfectly with no cutting or messing around and as close to OEM as you could ask for.