Check your Hoses!

Fairlane · 23-09-2006, 06:33 PM

Well im one ****ed off pappy at the moment, though i suppose im lucky in some respects.

Anyhow today i was on a remote back round in the Hunter Valley, near Kurri Kurri and i was belting along doing 100, and i suddenly look down at my instruments and see the temp guage off the clock (and i mean this happened fast, i check my instruments every 30sec or so, i even beat the convertor freezing up) and the warning light pm (got no buzzer). ****

Anyhow i pulled over straight away(steam was pouring out of LHF by then) and shut down. I Pulled the hood straigh away and was confronted by an ugly sight, bloody coolant everywhere and a burst top radiator hose with a 3" gash and absolutely no coolant left. NOT HAPPY JAN. Anyhow I trudged to the nearest foothill to try to get a Mobile Signal (damn Optus) and got a hold of the NRMA and proceeded to wait. Was told to wait 1-2.5 hours. So i was stuck about 8km for civilization (well the nearest village) with zippo on a 35 degree day for the next two hours.

Story has a kind of happy ending though, the NRMA guy was able to patch on a temp house and their is no lasting damage (i was worried about the head), i got it home no probs and have already got new hoses and coolant for the fix up job tommorrow.

But ultimately the Moral of the story is replace your Radiator hoses now, not next month but now, unless you feel like spending your day stranded in woop-woop. Im usually a stickler for these things but even this hose caught me off guard, it looks bloody new, nice and black and shiny and still quite flexable and with only 80,000 klms on the car it really caught be off guard.

Oh yeah and a second moral might be always keep a 6 back of Beer or Softdrinks in the car, man i could have killed for a beer about 2pm this afternoon.

Fairlane out

*I can put up a pick of said hose if you guys are interested

ten[A]cio[U]s · 23-09-2006, 06:40 PM

Bad luck mate. I had a similar occurence in my old NA fairlane. NRMA saved the day.

Crap feeling though. I always carry spare or old hoses now. Dont really care how crap it looks in the boot but it can save me a lot of time and effort one day.

XR6-VCT-2000 · 23-09-2006, 06:42 PM

Sux when it happens , good to hear yo had no major dramas from it . I had the same happenin in my KA laser years ago , blew the top radioator hose to smitherines , and cracked the head while at it ! ..lol , cheers .

peterban · 23-09-2006, 06:44 PM

Is it a 6 or V8?
I thought the 6's had a special mode they go into when they lose the coolant and you can still drive them for awhile after all the water is gone

Fairlane · 23-09-2006, 06:47 PM

Quote:

I thought the 6's had a special mode they go into when they lose the coolant and you can still drive them for awhile after all the water is gone

6, but E-gas dont have the limp home mode, because the gas convertor is always in need of coolant to prevent it freezing. So in theory, if the coolant does go, your car should stop running full stop, due to lack of fuel. But in reality i think it would be easy to crack the head, before the convertor froze up.

peterban · 23-09-2006, 06:56 PM

Didn't think the Fairlanes had e-gas motors in them because of the traction control or some such reason!!!

Fairlane · 23-09-2006, 06:59 PM

I actually dont have a Fairlane it just a Forte. I just wish i had a Fairlane

The username, came about when i also bought an NC, back in '04, but bought a EL instead. Though every time I get a new car, i always contemplate getting a Fairlane; i love the LWB

**gregaust** · 23-09-2006, 07:00 PM

Hey while you're there look at the heater hoses too.They will leave you in the same situation.Glad no permanent damage but.

b2tf · 23-09-2006, 08:35 PM

Not good. Another reason why braided hoses will make it into my engine bay soon.

JC · 23-09-2006, 09:06 PM

A roll of gaffer tape and a 2L bottle of water would get you out of that situation as well.

ten[A]cio[U]s · 24-09-2006, 01:44 AM

I keep that in my boot too.

:

I dont want to get caught out again like the last few times. So below is my survival kit. Doesnt look great but it helps and i just take it out whe i want to show it off lol.

Smoked · 24-09-2006, 03:20 AM

Whats it consist of? BTW, nice stereo steup.

Fairlane · 24-09-2006, 01:03 PM

Thought id chuck an end note, on this one, put new radiator hoses on it today, flushed the radiator out and whacked a new cap on it. Anyhow it all running sweet, did 100klms (in 30 degree heat) this morning and had no probs, it running awesome, so iam one lucky SOB.

AU_Wagin · 24-09-2006, 01:30 PM

glad all turned out ok in the end ..... BUT

This is what I do. I carry some gaffer tape at all times. I also carry a big cross clap from my work ( its an aortic cross clamp ) it will sqeeze off a small to large split. If you can find top up water and can stop a leek, or flood, just remove the radiator cap so you run an unpressurised system, till you can coast into civilization for a repair or replacement. I do heaps of country work, and was caught once, but never again. I have always managed to get into town every time in the last 20 years.

If running with the cap off, dont drive like a mad man, it will run OK for a reasonable amount of time. Although I have used a cross clamp in the past, any imagination can get you out of trouble. Dam water, bottled water will always get you into town - then replace it

Raymondo the fixo

Thats my

ClassicAU · 24-09-2006, 02:12 PM

The exact same thing happened to me on the way home from work one night, burt top hose, accept i didnt realise it till the car started stalling on me at the lights! and of course i dont have any road side assistance, and i am not going to find anywhere that sells a hose open at 11pm at night. i ended up buying a roll of gaffa tape and two o-ring claps and managed to seal up the tare and get it home. bit of midnight mechanics there! now i check my hoses every second day almost!

one quick question though, are stronger radiator hoses available at all? if so, where from?

ten[A]cio[U]s · 24-09-2006, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoked

Whats it consist of? BTW, nice stereo steup.

In the beer box i have a bunch of spare hoses, hose clamps, few rolls of different tapes, umbrella, water bottle, injector clear (used half so i kept it in for next time), few towels, winder washer (like at service stations), and a bunch of other little bits and pieces. Then in the tool box i have all the bits and pieces i need to change hoses, remove wheels, work on the car etc.

Its just a little safety precaution i take that my dad taught me. I dont see too much hastle in it, seeming if i break down i have a pretty easy solution.

Also cheers for the comment on the stereo.

ten[A]cio[U]s · 24-09-2006, 06:17 PM

^ i hope that answers your question (if it was direced at me :hihi: )

Mr Hardware · 25-09-2006, 12:27 PM

Quote:

But in reality i think it would be easy to crack the head, before the convertor froze up.

I have seen plenty of e-gas cabs up in the red on the temp gauge, the converter look like it has been sitting in the freezer for a month and running like nothing has happened. Turn 'em off, wait an hour, repair hose, fill em up with coolant and away they go for another few hundred thousand kays.