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Hello, I have a 1998 Corvette, In July I replaced all of the water hoses, clamps, and a new surge tank and cap. I have a leak at the heater outlet hose (the one that goes back into the tank) at the surge tank and it drips a couple drops a day.
I replaced *again* (Labor day) the hose and put a new clamp on... and the leak continued. I used the gates 5/8 safety stipe hose and a 24mm constant tension clamp same as original.
I think I done something obviously wrong here? Nothing else is leaking, my car has around 50k miles. Do I have a defective tank somehow or do I just need a screw clamp or plumbers tape lol, what is the thing to do?
The plastic on those bottles gets brittle after a bunch of heat cycles. Even though they have metal inserts in the plastic they can crack, you may need a new over flow tank.
I recently replaced all my hoses, not any clamps.
I used the GM hose that was sold in rolls. (no issues)
Can you push that hose any further onto the nipple? I would try to do that and see the results, if that doe not work, consider a good quality alternative clamp.
It is a new tank... AC Delco brand purchased from Rock Auto. Not ruling it out but it "looked" fine before I put it on.
Try a clamp that can get a little more tension on the hose if the tank is new. The HPS kits come with the worm clamps that look like a worm clamp and a T bolt had a baby and those things work great.
I’m not sure. My shop had to do it. It looks like a grey sealant that hardened into a plastic. You can see it around the hose in this pic. I’m super OCD so this bothered me. But we tried everything and this was the only solution.
what kind of sealant, if you don’t mind me asking?
I know there's a specific RTV designed for radiators. The tank isn't put under the same conditions as the radiator. You may be able to get away with using better quality clamps.
Can you push that hose any further onto the nipple? I would try to do that and see the results
I think this was the issue. The hose had pulled out slightly.
I also shaved the mold seam line off with a knife and cleaned the nipple and hose. When I put the hose back on it was fairly obvious from the indentations that it had pulled out slightly, I think because of how I had secured the heater hoses and ac line. I left the cable tie a bit looser this time and put the clamp a but further back so it is sitting right against the tang of the nipple.
Well, that didn’t work. Hose is still snug up and there are drips on the frame underneath in the same spot after yesterday autocross. I think the recommended 5/8 hose is slightly bigger than original, it slips on and off so easy. Well, easier than the molded hose that goes from tank to pump. It doesn’t leak at the heater end though. Guess I’ll order a fancy constant tension clamp and be done with it lol.
annoying coolant leak
Hose is still snug up and there are drips on the frame underneath in the same spot after yesterday autocross. I think the recommended 5/8 hose is slightly bigger than original, it slips on and off so easy. Well, easier than the molded hose that goes from tank to pump. It doesn’t leak at the heater end though. Guess I’ll order a fancy constant tension clamp and be done with it lol.