I drive a restored 1972 Chevrolet Suburban. It has a new 350 that I built about 20,000 miles ago. I t also has an aluminum radiator. I just replaced all of the hoses a few months ago. A few weeks ago I drained the radiator, as I do annually, and filled with a mix of distilled water and SuperTech Longlife coolant, blue bottle. WHile checking hoses this morning I noticed that three of them were leaking at the ends past the hose clamps. The hoses seemed nice and snug as did the clamps. Upchuck was empty and coolant level in radiator was down about two inches. Could the longlife SuperTech have caused the leaks? Is there another type of coolant I should be using?
Leaks ??? Coolant Recommendation ???
- Thread starter rn2fine
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Spoke to a friend of mine who is an automotive instructor and asked about the difference in coolants. He stated that DexCool and some of the longlife products contain organic acids. I went down to Autozone and started reading some labels. I read the label on the back of Zerex G05 and it stated that it contains hybrid organic acids. Apparently such properties clean and do what previous technology such as silicates did. Anyway, I bought a gallon of the old stuff, green Valuecraft containing silicates. GOing to flush then refill with the Valuecraft. I will follow up to advise if this helps. Anyone else know much about the organic acid technologies? Is this newer organic acid technology more likely to cause leaks in older vehicles such as mine?
Tighten the hose clamps
That is what I did upon finding the leaks. However, the clamps were quite tight. They were tight enough that I could not turn them much at without causing damage to the clamps. After this my next thought was "what have I done to the cooling system recently". Then I remebered recently changing the coolant. I had used a longlife product. Someone who teaches automotive reapair advised me that longlife products are formulated differently than traditional coolant. They contain "organic acids." I know nothing of this technology and would be interested in hearing from someone who does know something about it. Do you have any knowledge of the differences?
If you have a leaking hose or clamp replace it, it is that simple. I dont know anything about formulations, I just fix stuff.
I have a question. If you change your coolant every year......why use a long-life coolant?
Maximumcanon, When I went to purchase coolant a few months ago it was the only type available. To the best of my memory it was likely the only time that I have ever used longlife colant. When I flushed the other day the only non-longlife coolant I could find in my area was ValueCraft at AutoZone. Any thoughts or knowledge of organic acids?
Well .... , regardless of the exact chemistry you have here , you are going to need to deal with your three leaks . So for that reason and others , you might as well start there .
Here's a thought on that .
Remove the three hose ends and inspect said hoses and clamps for serviceability .
Do the same for the relevant hose end fittings , making note of any type of build up or damage on the fittings (same for hoses ) . Do not be surprised if you have some funny looking stuff here in what may be some equally surprising amounts .
Use hose grease evenly applied , on your serviceable , clean fittings when reinstalling your hoses - which you have previously made sure of do not have a crushed end or clamp problem .
This will " probably " correct the immediate problem .
If you will post back here how this goes , and a description of both the fittings and of any deposits/build up found , we can go from there - there may be a few other things to consider doing here , and , we can " probably figure out what happened " .
Here's a thought on that .
Remove the three hose ends and inspect said hoses and clamps for serviceability .
Do the same for the relevant hose end fittings , making note of any type of build up or damage on the fittings (same for hoses ) . Do not be surprised if you have some funny looking stuff here in what may be some equally surprising amounts .
Use hose grease evenly applied , on your serviceable , clean fittings when reinstalling your hoses - which you have previously made sure of do not have a crushed end or clamp problem .
This will " probably " correct the immediate problem .
If you will post back here how this goes , and a description of both the fittings and of any deposits/build up found , we can go from there - there may be a few other things to consider doing here , and , we can " probably figure out what happened " .
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I think your problem was coincidental. I ran Prestone Radiator Cleaner in a 14 year old system with all original hoses, radiator, etc, for one full week and had no leaks. Then I refilled with Prestone All Makes All Models OAT coolant and it has yet develop any leaks either.
I'd put in new clamps and hoses and go from there. Might not have been the coolant.
I'd put in new clamps and hoses and go from there. Might not have been the coolant.
Well guys, I installed new clamps all around, flushed, and put some old technology coolant in the rad. Bought my hose clamps at True Value in the plumbing department. They appear to be better quality than the ones at most auto parts stores. I'll let ya know how it goes. I am still interested in learning about organic acid technology so feel free to give me the 411 if you are in the know.
Thats the best possible news and eliminates just about everything I'd be concerned with here .
From the " sounds " of it you may have just experienced a little OAT cleaning on those hose ends ( really good thing not bad ) , and , everything previous was in good order as well .
So what do you now think happened ? Clamps......or......?
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