Coolant hose!!!!!

[rjes]

Failure if the insert in the ends of the moulded plastic VW heater pipes is not uncommon, and not specifically related to Subaru conversions. One of mine at the radiator end of the pipes was 1/2 way out of the pipe. The hose has never blown off, but until I realised what was happening, it did keep leaking. This proved to be because the hose clip was over the gap between the bead and the pipe end, effectively trying to clamp the hose down onto the steel insert inside the pipe.
The first attempt at a quick fix was to move the clip back so it was clamoping onto the full hose diameter. After a while this dripped again. Not wanting to swap the plastic pipe I fitted another hose clip next to the original, als clampoing on to the fill diameter of the pipe. It's been like that for about 3 years now, with no further problems.

I've also come across hoses blowing off because the valve in the header tank cap had failed, preventing excess pressure from venting in to the expansion bottle. Before finding the actual problem, this cost my mate a radiator, a heater matrix, and a water pump. The first two failed because of excess pressure and being old, the latter because most of the coolant excaped when a hose blew off, which let the water pump run dry, and burned out the seal inside it.
_________________
Regards,

Richard,

R J Engineered Solutions
Quality Subaru Powered VW Components
www.rjes.com