Replaced my water pump and now cannot get the upper hose to seal on my 60 yr old after market radiator!! Added JB Weld to the dents but the clamp on my red hose is cinched as tight as it can go and it still seeps!!! Are the reproduction hoses and clamps a little oversized these days? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Have never had that problem before in the 50+ yrs I have owned the car.
Upper radiator hose
- Thread starter LarryinWA
- Start date
Tom Endy
Well-known member
If you are using the original style hose clamps, what may be happening is that the tab part of the clamp that is supposed to slide over the outside of the hose as it tightens in many cases does not. What is does is dig into the rubber which will create a tunnel under the clamp and allow a water leak. The more you tighten it the larger the tunnel and more the water leak. What I do is spray the inside and the outside of the hose with silicon spray by gunk. This allows the hose to slide on to the metal tubes, but also allows the tab to slide along the outside of the hose without digging in.
If you are not a purest use the hose clamps that screw into place with a series of slots in the clamp.
Tom Endy
If you are not a purest use the hose clamps that screw into place with a series of slots in the clamp.
Tom Endy
CarlG
Well-known member
I've been using this type for several years now. No leaks! It does help to "lubricate" both the hose and clamps as Tom suggests.
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H. L. Chauvin
Well-known member
I use original Model A clamps.
Model A hoses are noted for getting welded to metal; however, if one coats the insides of the upper hose, & the outsides of the upper & lower metal spouts & the in-sides of the clamps with a heavy coat of white "Lithium" grease, (in a tube), the hose will never get welded to the metal, it will form a better water-tight seal, & 5 - 10 years from now, the radiator hose will easily slide off of both upper & lower spouts with no undue force without even having to pull the radiator forward.
After installing, just wipe off excess white grease.
Hope this helps.
Model A hoses are noted for getting welded to metal; however, if one coats the insides of the upper hose, & the outsides of the upper & lower metal spouts & the in-sides of the clamps with a heavy coat of white "Lithium" grease, (in a tube), the hose will never get welded to the metal, it will form a better water-tight seal, & 5 - 10 years from now, the radiator hose will easily slide off of both upper & lower spouts with no undue force without even having to pull the radiator forward.
After installing, just wipe off excess white grease.
Hope this helps.
JOES31
Senior Member
My brother encountered the same problem with his WWII jeep that he shows. He states that using the "original Ford script" hoses are almost impossible to seal due to the hose being very hard and not pliable. I like Tom's suggestion of using the silicone and will suggest it to him.