Lower Radiator Hose Leak

[arcwelder]

Hey all,

I have a 2002 Ranger with the 3.0L engine. The lower radiator hose was leaking at the tee, and so I replaced it. I used a Gates hose and used worm clamps instead of the spring clamps. I tightened all of the worm clamps with a screwdriver. I'm now getting a leak where the hose connects to the bottom of the engine when the system is pressurized. I used a small socket wrench to tighten the worm clamp down as much as I could, and the leak didn't go away. So I then tried tightening it slightly more with a ratchet wrench, and still no luck. I can try tightening it further, but I'm not sure if I'll just end up breaking the clamp. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions? I'm not getting any leaks at either of the other two connections.

Thanks in advance.

 

[pjtoledo]

did you clean the crud from the output port?
is it on all the way? that one was hard for me to see.

did you scratch the output port during hose removal? hoses won't seal a deep scratch.

I prefer the spring clamps, totally your choice of clamps though.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You sure it's not the water pump or timing cover leaking and running down the hose?

 

[DILLARD000]

Be sure to use quality WormClamps from your local parts store;
lots of cheap WormClamps being sold online that strip easily & do not tighten.
After you've made sure the HoseBarb is clean+smooth+unbroken & you're sure the leak is not from the WaterPump above,
you can double up with 2 WormClamps next to each other on the hose connection.

 

[arcwelder]

Thanks all for your replies.

did you clean the crud from the output port?
is it on all the way? that one was hard for me to see.

did you scratch the output port during hose removal? hoses won't seal a deep scratch.

I prefer the spring clamps, totally your choice of clamps though.

I don't remember seeing much crud on the output port, but I wiped it down with a clean rag. Do I need to clean it with something like carb cleaner?

It looks all the way in to me, but it was hard for me to see as well.

In retrospect, I probably should have used the spring clamps. I unfortunately threw them out already though and haven't been able to find any in the right size.

You sure it's not the water pump or timing cover leaking and running down the hose?

I'm not sure to be honest. It's really hard to see back there. I can only see maybe the back half of the hose connection. I tried using a cooling system pressure tester, and I don't see the leak coming from the back half of the hose connection, so I assumed it's coming from the front half of the hose. I think the leak lessened a bit the more I tightened the clamp, but I could be wrong. I could see the leak at as low as about 10 psi. Any tips for getting eyes on the water pump? Any way to know if it's coming from the timing cover without removing the timing cover?

Be sure to use quality WormClamps from your local parts store;
lots of cheap WormClamps being sold online that strip easily & do not tighten.
After you've made sure the HoseBarb is clean+smooth+unbroken & you're sure the leak is not from the WaterPump above,
you can double up with 2 WormClamps next to each other on the hose connection.

I actually used these Gates Constant Tension Clamps (https://www.gates.com/us/en/fluid-power/engine-hose/hose-clamps-and-couplings.p.7408-000000-000002.v.7408-00332.html), which I think are good quality. I probably over-torqued it now; I'm not sure if I should loosen it?

I was going to add a second clamp like you said, but there's unfortunately not enough room on this output port to get two on there. I installed the one clamp maybe about a quarter of an inch from the end of the hose. Is it better to get the clamp as close to the hosebarb as possible?


Thanks again all.