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Hi all , been looking suspiciously at Ellies top coolant hose (the rubber one that joins the turbos top coolant pipe to the pipe connecting to the cooling system under the thermostat) because there were signs of surface rust where the rubber joins the turbos top pipe .
My car had been using a bit of water (low to no water in overflow bottle) and this is something to be concerned about .
I did notice a slight bead of coolant escaping from the thermostat housing end of the top radiator hose and this is partly because I'm using a Davies Craig thermostatic fan bulb sensor just inside the top hose . They supply a rubber "hump" with a groove in it which seals under the capillary tube . The hose clamp needs to be kept reasonably tight with this in situ .

Anyhow the water usage didn't completly stop so I checked that turbo top hose and sure enough it was slowly dripping coolant at the turbo end .
This hose is easy enough to replace with a piece of 1/2 inch or 13mm heater hose and a pair of new clamps . The hose I removed was soft and brittle and I'm lucky it didnt break and strand me in the middle of nowhere . Also part of the turbo end steel pipe was rusted and came away with the old hose so be careful here . I had enough tube remaining to clamp the "new" hose onto .
Also the one I removed had 1/2" on it so not an original Fuji part ...

I think the lesson here is regularly check all coolant hoses on cars - particularly old ones and change suspect ones ASAP . Keep an eye on coolant loss and don't be slow in finding out where it's going .

Cheers A .

That little bugger under the AC unit that comes straigt out the top of the water pump before a 90 degree bend to then clamp onto the metal heater hoses is a PITA if its leaking, especially if time is limited - I had one that would open up under pressure of operating temp but be fine at cruising. It was as if someone had gently slit it.

I'm just glad that the AC and alternator comes off as a unit...

Bennie

I thought you were gonna say radiator hose leak, but rereading your headline ( took it wrong way first up). My Mackay hose replacement for the bottom radiator hose where it fits to the metal hose for the water pump is not a snug-need-slippery-stuff-to-fit sort of fit - it is sloppy and it needed a bit of extra to seal it BUT now having had to remove it recently the pipe has start to rust away in less than twelve months - i think from the bad fit

I find any Japanesey hose that has made it to Barmitzvah age deserves replacement much same goes for plastic radiator tanks - want any longer out of them and you may be asking for varying levels of inconvenience and trouble

steptoe wrote:I find any Japanesey hose that has made it to Barmitzvah age deserves replacement much same goes for plastic radiator tanks - want any longer out of them and you may be asking for varying levels of inconvenience and trouble

I've been there with the radiator end tanks... Not happy Jan. Cooked a good engine that may never see service again... It was rebuilt 9 months before that happened

Now I've got an all metal 3 core radiator, its ready for anything!

Bennie

I went with a brand new Koyo radiator partly because of the plastic/composite tank reason . I have seen these tanks crack/ruputure at high mileages and in once case damage a freshly rebuilt engine .
I used brand new hoses of Aust manufacture - can't remember the brand .

Yes I know what you mean about EA82 AC ironmongery , the first thing I looked at was that 90 deg hose up out of the water pump when the AC stuff went over the shoulder .

I keep looking at the small rubber throttlebody heater hoses and those horrible factory twin wire loop screw clamps . If I hade leaks there I'd bypass it with fuel hose in a heartbeat .

That top hose I changed needed its clamps tightened again as it was dribbling at the turbo end .
At least now the cooling system pressurises itself and that's the easiest way to tell if anything is leaking inc the rad cap .

Cheers A .

Yeah, my radiator was made by Aussie Desert Coolers.

Bennie

I used to hate those wire clamps with a passion - now totally reversed. I will add them to my booty from wreckers, save them on my own bits, clean them up on the wire wheel and lubricate with quality inox. I reckon they seal the best. They do not require too much tension - just right and they have two seal points. Worth the efforts i go to !