L series heater hose, leaky!

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:14 pm

Well Dad's L series has sprung a leak on his first day driving it after long holidays; it got hot on the drive home and he put half a bottle of coolant in it before he could see the level. It didn't over heat, but got 2/3 up the gauge apparently. A quick look and we feared the worst as coolant was running down the back of the engine onto exhaust (cyl #2 and 4 side) and dripping onto driveway. Luckily it wasn't the head gasket, but one of the heater hoses is dripping right where it joins to the metal cross over pipe, there is some old crusty corrosion around the join.

When these pipes randomly spring a leak like this is it because of a new split? or just seepage. I'm thinking it would be fine to lower coolant level, remove hose clean it up and put it back but if it's split the car would be un-driveable (not an option) otherwise it needs a new hose; easy to get from usual parts shop or Subaru genuine only? Also does anyone know if the hose going to cross over pipe is the heater inlet or return?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:28 pm

It could be several things - dodgy factory clap no longer holding a tight seal properly; corrosion on the pipe that's now bad enough to leak past the heater hose (not likely to me); or old hoses with all of the above issues.

You don't need a genuine hose, an aftermarket one can do the job without issues, just that it might not bend around things as neatly as the shaped factory ones do.

I'd pull the old hoses off, clean up the mounting area and get a set of new hose clamps in there too. If you're really keen you can also replace the little bent pipe above the water pump that is the heater return line. I couldn't get an aftermarket one for a subaru (for the brumby) but I found that a toyota 2 litre (Rav4, camery I think) hose did the same trick, just had to trim it down to fit but I wasn't fussed about that.

Also check out the little hoses that heat the area under the carbie - one will be hidden on the passenger's side and is a little bastard to get to, well worth the effort to check/change this one if you get the chance. The other one is below the thermostat and it goes to the block in the most stupid place under the intake manifold in the centre of the block. Good luck with that one!

Let us know if you need any more info

Cheers

Bennie

GOD · Post by **GOD** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 8:49 pm

El_Freddo wrote: I'd pull the old hoses off, clean up the mounting area and get a set of new hose clamps in there too. If you're really keen you can also replace the little bent pipe above the water pump that is the heater return line.

+1

Even if you're not really keen, when one hose needs replacement, then the others aren't far off. That little hose behind the water pump cost me an engine once.

Dane.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 8:01 am

A fella called Bozic in WA devised a spring with side bands used for making your own bends within reason , in heater hose, called the unicoil, sold the rights to Gates, sel for about six bucks each. handy if you need to replace a bendy heater hose in a hurry from straight hose. Your dad has likely split a hose. The metal pipe from water pump back is still avail Subaru - maybe exJapan , about $70. Some variants of steel pipe have junctions for 7mm ID hoses off to the manifold. These joins can corrode by about now and spit out water

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 6:01 pm

Thanks for the tips guys, the car is due for a service in a few weeks so I guess he'll get all the hoses checked then. In the mean time I bought some straight heater hose, $6 a meter

Let's just hope it's the right ID. The metal pipes aren't rusted out, in fact they're in perfect shape as far as I can see. If there's enough light left we might swap the hose tonight, put some new hose clamps on it. Those spring things sound interesting Jonno, any clues as to where they might be sold?

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:12 pm

Well genuine hoses are on order, no need for the straight hose tonight (it was the right diameter by the way

) and the car will be doing minimal driving between now and Thursday.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:28 pm

Fixed! I picked up the hoses on the way home today, and some decent hose clamps. Never got to see if the hose was split or just seeping, we had to cut them off. Of course the drain tap on the radiator was seized for a while, when it came unstuck coolant seeped down from the radiator recessed into the front, flowed along inside the seam in the body and dripped down from the entire width of the car

Nothing is simple is it

Apart from that, a straight forward fix and my first time fiddling around with an L series...it is ALOT more cramped than the old MY (glad I don't have to do this for a living

) And no more leaks. Dad says many thanks to everyone on the forum especially, over the year or so I've been on here I've gathered alot of very important info, like how to burp the cooling system properly

Cheers!

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:30 pm

Well done mate!

Glad it was an easy fix

Cheers

Bennie

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:43 am

FYI, Unicoil/hose bendy thingy available at Auto 1 stores