Blowing Heater Hoses

[Layson]

Hey guys,
I keep blowing cooling lines? I don't know if these are something that all just go out about the same time? Or is there something plugged that would make this happen? Some of them have been a real pain to get to.

Any help would be great. Thanks!

[Vanilla Sky]

Keep blowing the same hose or different hoses each time?

[Layson]

Different ones each time, so I am just slowly swapping out all the old lines...

[Vanilla Sky]

It's because the hoses in there are 20+ years old. Just wait until you start blowing the little hoses behind the intake manifold. Might as well just go ahead and replace them all so you don't have anymore problems.

[Layson]

Yeah, I did those already, what a pain!! Needed a special set of needlenose pliers to get to those.

That is kinda what I am thinking, they are just all going out. I didn't know if something else was plugging it up somehow.

[Vanilla Sky]

I'd consider a good chemical flush. You have a lot of miles on your motor (assuming it's original), so you probably do have a considerable amount of buildup that needs to be flushed out. Might be time to go ahead and replace the water pump as well, just as a preventative measure.

[Layson]

How do you do a chemical flush? Yes it is original motor, and yes there was alot of buildup in the hoses I replaced. I did swap the water pump last year.

[Layson]

I also swapped out the radiator recently...

[Vanilla Sky]

In my old cars, I install one of these:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Radiator-Flush-and-Fill-Kit-Peak_7690003-P_N3051_A|GRP2014____

Then I flush wish something like this:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Radiator-Super-Cleaner-and-Flush-%2832-fl--oz-%29-Peak_7690005-P_N3285_T|GRP2053____

Then I run clean water through the system from my hose until it comes out clean and clear. I let that drain out and use 50/50 distilled water and antifreeze.

[Dr_Snooz]

In my old cars, I install one of these:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Radiator-Flush-and-Fill-Kit-Peak_7690003-P_N3051_A|GRP2014____

Then I flush wish something like this:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_Radiator-Super-Cleaner-and-Flush-%2832-fl--oz-%29-Peak_7690005-P_N3285_T|GRP2053____

Then I run clean water through the system from my hose until it comes out clean and clear. I let that drain out and use 50/50 distilled water and antifreeze.

I've heard that if you do aggressive cooling system flushes, you run the risk of losing freeze plugs. Has anyone else heard of that? Any truth to it?

[Layson]

funny you mention that I already lost a freeze plug... don't want to do that again LOL

[rc00netzero]

I've heard that if you do aggressive cooling system flushes, you run the risk of losing freeze plugs. Has anyone else heard of that? Any truth to it?

A flush might trigger a freeze plug failure, but IMO, if you were following the flush product directions and a freeze plug failed, it was about to let go anyway. Those plugs are pretty thick and I cannot see a flush product eating thru unless it was already almost eaten thru by corrosion and about to fail anyway.

In case everyone doesn't know - NEVER run straight water for more than a few days! Use a good antifreeze and replace it regularly to avoid corrosion

[Vanilla Sky]

The reason you'd lose a freeze plug is because it's corroded pretty badly. They're not too bad to replace on these motors, so it's not a big deal if they fail and need replacement.

[DBMaster]

I had one of those flushing tees on my old Pontiac. A radiator builder in my area recommended that I NEVER use one again. Because it backflushes he claimed that you run the risk of knocking loose debris that would then end up in your radiator tubes or small cooling passages. Flushing certainly didn't make the radiator or cooling system hold up any better in the Pontiac as I still ended up replacing the radiator after the car was about fifteen years old.

My best luck has just been with draining and refilling with a 50/50 mix of silicate free coolant and water from my reverse osmosis system. Distilled water is good, too. I guess this is one of those cases where you just do what makes you feel good.

[russiankid]

My Accord had the cooling system overhauled with a new radiator, ALL hoses (including intake manifold ones), water pump, thermostat/housing, everything you can think of. I drive the car without worrying of chain reaction incidents.

[DBMaster]

Replacing all the heater and bypass (those annoying minis) hoses becomes a necessity about now. I blew two of the larger hoses and then decided the time had come to just replace them all. I paid $55 from Majestic Honda to get all nine of them and it took about two hours with lots of cursing and gnashing of teeth, but it's all done. The one that connects under the distributor is especially prone to blow if your distributor o-ring leaks because the oil ends up right on the end of that hose. It is really worth the trouble to replace them all, no matter how much of a bitch it is.

[russiankid]

It'll take at most a weekend to do. For the hard to reach hoses, I bought new sprung clamps from Honda as getting a screw driver in there for a worm clamp would be a bitch.

[w261w261]

These hoses are not a big deal to replace, with one exception. However, you have to buy some of them from Honda, as they are pre-formed....you can't just go start using some regular tubing, because you'll crimp it at the corners. Some are just regular straight runs of course, but for me it was worth just getting the set. When these go out-of-production, it'll be one of those things that is a pain in the ass to do, so I'm thinking of buying two sets this next go-around, and putting one aside.

Installation is straightforward, if you take stuff off first. The exception, and it is a *real* pain, is the one that goes from the IACV under the intake manifold. I let someone else (my mechanic) do it, and he said he cussed up a week's worth getting the forward end on.

[Dr_Snooz]

A flush might trigger a freeze plug failure, but IMO, if you were following the flush product directions and a freeze plug failed, it was about to let go anyway. Those plugs are pretty thick and I cannot see a flush product eating thru unless it was already almost eaten thru by corrosion and about to fail anyway.

In case everyone doesn't know - NEVER run straight water for more than a few days! Use a good antifreeze and replace it regularly to avoid corrosion

I think it has to do with the flush washing away the rust that might be holding it in the block.

[w261w261]

I'd like to emphasize the importance of using distilled water, especially if you live in an area with lots of minerals in the H2O. If you flush with tap water, and then drain the system with the radiator drain only, you are only getting about 45% of the coolant mix out, the rest is still in the block. So refilling with distilled water/antifreeze at that point still leaves plenty of regular rust-inducing water in the system. After flushing, I drain out the radiator, refill with distilled, run for long enough to get the thermostat to open (leave the radiator cap off, you can see when the water in the radiator starts moving quickly), let it run for a few minutes, then stop, drain, refill with distilled, and repeat. Each time you do this, you are diluting the original mixture in the block. I think I repeated the cycle 3 or 4 times. Then I added antifreeze and tested the mixture with one of those little float testers, to make sure it was 50-50.

Doing it this way, after 3 years my mixture is still bright green. This is a good thing.

[DBMaster]

This is a good thing.

OK, Martha!

I pretty much drain, refill with purified (from my R/O system) water, run, drain again, and refill with 50/50. Sometimes I pull the engine block drain, sometimes the lower radiator hose. I'm sure that leaves me with a bit less than 50% coolant, but this has never caused me any problems. With all the blown hoses I replaced I ended up replacing a lot of the coolant last year.

The radiator guy I was talking about also stated that flushing was not necessary at all and that he just recommends straight draining and refilling. I can only say that my radiator and cooling system has stayed pretty darned clean after 321K miles. When I replaced the radiator due to the inevitable plastic tank leak the old one still looked like new inside.

[w261w261]

I forgot to add my usual warning about how poisonous antifreeze is to animals. Just a teaspoon can kill a smaller dog, and it's sweet. So be sure to hose off the driveway when you're done!

[DBMaster]

I actually bottle it and take it to the household hazardous waste disposal events that my city sponsors. I save a lot of stuff for this - compact fluorescent bulbs, rechargeable batteries, oil, coolant, tranny fluid, brake fluid, etc.

[Dr_Snooz]

Okay guys, you heard it. Everyone send your old coolant to DBMaster.

[MessyHonda]

any local dump can take in hazardus materials