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G.
10-02-12, 12:11 PM
Hi.

My car has a leaky connection between a manifold/spider-cluster of rubber heater hoses, and the heater line going to the rear heater core. (The rear blower fan is dead too, but that's a different topic.)

The manifold is on the firewall, and it routes hot fluid to the required cores, source and return. For the rear, there's a short 5/8ths ID rubber hose that connects to a steel, insulated heater line (and a separate return, of course) that runs under the car to the back. That connection leaks. It leaks more than just an annoyance, I'm adding coolant about once a week.

I've replaced the spider thing, assuming that the rubber hoses are just worn out, but that didn't help.

The hose clamp on it is new, but it's just one of those spring-steel, squeeze-to-open Jesus clips (see this, if you're bored (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Two_spring_Hose_Clamps_-_small.jpg)).

The steel hose looks and feels to be in good shape.

What Would OffCamber Do to seal that puppy up?

Real hose clamp? Some sort of gorilla snot? RTV? Teflon tape? (that wouldn't work) Duck tape and JBWeld that sonofagun right up? Elmer's Glue-All? An intricate catch and recover basin-pump system?

Any ideas would be appreciated. If it's a really bad idea, please make it obvious that it's a joke, cause I'm stupid enough to try it. :)



Here's an ASCII drawing of the connection for you to make fun of. The ^ and V are the steel line flares at the end.



=============== .... ^_____====

to manifold (rubber) .... steel to h. core -->

=============== .... V------====


Thanks!
cameraman
10-02-12, 01:26 PM
Is the hose cracked at the clamp or is the liquid escaping between the hose and the tube?
G.
10-02-12, 01:31 PM
Is the hose cracked at the clamp or is the liquid escaping between the hose and the tube?

Between hose and tube. The rubber is new, the tube seems to be in great shape. (I even thought about lightly scuffing up the tube to give the rubber something to bite into. It's smooth, almost polished, from me inspecting, cleaning, generally making a nuisance of myself.)
Gnam
10-02-12, 02:09 PM
Is there room for a worm gear hose clamp?

http://imageshack.us/a/img831/1951/smallhoseclamp.jpg
indyfan31
10-03-12, 01:03 AM
If both the hose and the clamp are the right size, Then that type of clamp should work just fine without any adhesive or sealant. No offense but are you sure you're putting the clamp on the right side of the flare?
manic mechanic
10-03-12, 01:31 AM
MMY please.. I'm guessing '04 or later Ford Expedition, but that's just what I've seen.

If it's leaking between a clamp and fitting, best advice is to change the clamp/position of said clamp. I'm not there and can't be of too much service, but if a larger repair is in order, feel free to IM me.

BTW, if you find it is one of the "plastic" fittings on that "spaghettini" you have already replaced, it may be a bad O-Ring in a fitting that is costing you coolant.

manic
G.
10-03-12, 01:51 AM
If both the hose and the clamp are the right size, Then that type of clamp should work just fine without any adhesive or sealant. No offense but are you sure you're putting the clamp on the right side of the flare?

Yes.
G.
10-03-12, 08:27 AM
A bit more info might be in order.

Car is 2007 Hyundai Veracruz. The leak is very accessible, the 'formed' rubber hose comes down off the firewall, bends towards the back of car and slips on the reasonably straight steel line. Crawl under, and you can touch it.

Leak started on its own, and got worse pretty quickly, but it's still just a drip. Worst case, it leaves a saucer-sized spot on driveway after a weekend. That means, overflow gets drained about every week or so.

I casually inquired about the price of the "manifold assembly" at the dealer. It was only 18 bucks! For that price, I should have gotten 3 or 4 of them, just for fun.

The 'manifold' really isn't a manifold, it's just 3 (possibly 4) 2 foot long hoses, clustered together in a simple bracket to keep them on the firewall, and off the engine.

I took the cluster home, jacked up car, quickly decided that I really didn't want to do this job, and took my new part and car to dealer and had them replace it. I've decided in recent years that just because I CAN do a task, doesn't mean that I should do a task. Maturity, or old age? You decide.

Rather than deal with the dealer, I thought I'd ask here.

If this was common, and you guys knew that silicone caulk is the permanent answer, I'd just fix the thing. (Or worm hose clamp, Elmer's glue, oh **** your water pump is going to BLOW!, etc.)

Before buying a new hose cluster, I tried to reposition the clamp, then tried to pull hose and verify rubber and steel line integrity, cleaned ends, etc. All of these things made the leak worse, of course.
indyfan31
10-04-12, 01:10 AM
Can you tell us what the hose/pipe is feeding? Where does the water go?
Is it possible that whatever it's feeding may be clogged and the back pressure is causing the leak?