Coolant Issues

[adsm08]

So I have been chasing my tail for a few months now trying to figure out where all my coolant goes from my Bronco II. I have found and fixed a few leaks, but it was still disappearing. It would always stop loosing it right at the level of the bottom of the heads, and the recovery tank was always empty. Never took more than one full temp cycle to do it, and it always passed a head gasket test.

About 2 months ago I trimmed the ends of the hose between the overflow and the recovery bottle and put clamps on both, because I'd started to notice some drips under it on the first trip after filling the radiator.

Next time I checked the coolant was low, but the bottle was full. So I was picking the bottle up and letting it all flow back into the rad.

Today was finally nice out, and I was able to get to some things that have been getting put off because fawk winter. I stopped at Advance and grabbed a pressure tester and pumper her up. I have a 13 lb cap on it, so I went to 15 for the test. As soon as I hit 15 PSI coolant bubbles and air started blowing out around the radiator end of the upper hose. I tried to tighten it up, and it wouldn't. So I took it off, and the band side of the worm was stripped right there. Replaced the clamp, pumped it back up, and it only lost about 1/2 lb in the next 45 minutes, which is pretty good for those coned universal pressure adapters. No other hisses or leaks were found, and no drips on the ground when I moved it.

The lesson here is, don't forget the new clamps.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I have started using the high-end clamps with bolts rather than the worm gear ones.

 

[adsm08]

I have started using the high-end clamps with bolts rather than the worm gear ones.

View attachment 25780

Those ones are nice. I put another worm clamp on it because last year Advance switched brands on a lot of their bulk hardware stuff and I cleaned out the local store from their CARQUEST ones. I bought about 500 hose clamps ranging from1/4 inch up to 4-inch for about $12 after discontinued pricing, employee discounts, speed perks coupons and rebate gift cards that I had.

 

[19Walt93]

I've used worm drive clamps for decades with good results, I wouldn't abandon them just because one stripped out. Those high tech ones are nice but they're a lot more money for the same result as a good worm clamp. Being a Yankee doesn't just mean you're from the north, it means you hate to spend money unless you're getting something valuable for it.

 

[Ranger850]

The problem with the worm style, is that people put too much torque on them and it digs into/ruins the end of the hose. I like the OEM ones from ford that just squeeze it down. If you can get to them with pliers and do the funny little squeeze and wiggle dance, where you squeeze the clamp open, then wiggle it back an inch or so.

 

[adsm08]

The problem with the worm style, is that people put too much torque on them and it digs into/ruins the end of the hose.

This is what happened to mine. I know that clamp was reused because I bought no new parts for that engine when I put it in. At some point someone, either the previous owner of the engine, or myself, over torqued it and it ate the edges of the slots, so it wouldn't hold tightly or get any tighter right there.

 

[19Walt93]

If the Ford oem clamps you're talking about are Wittek clamps- the screw is on the side perpendicular to the hose- you can have them. In the 70's we had to reuse them on warranty jobs and they invariably came back leaking because they never would retighten evenly enough. After a while to avoid unhappy customers we'd just absorb the price of worm clamps. The OEM clamps with 2 parallel wires around the hose were better than Wittek clamps but you really had to be careful not to overtighten them or they'd cut into the hose.

 

[adsm08]

Welp, its still leaking.

 

[Curious Hound]

And for everyone's information, the hose clamps from Harbor Freight are garbage. Not even worth the few bucks you pay for an assortment on sale with coupons.

I order hose clamps from McMaster-Carr periodically to keep a stock of decent quality clamps.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Over the years I've had more than one coolant hose continue to leak after a clamp problem, etc. It seemed like once they leaked for so long, they'd never seal no matter what style of clamp I used. A new hose fixed the problem.

 

[adsm08]

Over the years I've had more than one coolant hose continue to leak after a clamp problem, etc. It seemed like once they leaked for so long, they'd never seal no matter what style of clamp I used. A new hose fixed the problem.

That's my next step. It's dripping from the corner under the recovery tank again, so I'm going to start by replacing that little hose.

 

[Ranger850]

This is the easiest to operate. one tool one hand.?

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Ranger radiators are well known to leak where the ends are clamped/crimped on to the core. Are you 100% sure it's not leaking from the side, really close to where the hose connection is, and it's running towards the hose connection?

I've had more than one radiator in my old 2.9 truck that leaked from the sides. I had a local radiator shop re-crimp the sides for me, but it never fixed the problem for more than a couple months at a time.

 

[adsm08]

Ranger radiators are well known to leak where the ends are clamped/crimped on to the core. Are you 100% sure it's not leaking from the side, really close to where the hose connection is, and it's running towards the hose connection?

I've had more than one radiator in my old 2.9 truck that leaked from the sides. I had a local radiator shop re-crimp the sides for me, but it never fixed the problem for more than a couple months at a time.

I'm really not sure. It got cold again and I don't feel like messing with it.

It has to go 10 miles before Saturday, in 4 2.5 mile trips. Saturday is gonna be 75 and sunny. I'll mess with it more this weekend.

I'm also starting to wonder if the pressure tester didn't show an issue because temperature plays a role in the leak.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Where my radiator/s were crimped together, they only leaked when hot. So you may be on to something there.