I have a strange problem. I have owned my car for 6 months. It is a weekend car ... 300 miles since I bought it. weekend before last I drove around some and when i stopped for gas the lady at the pump beside me said "sir your car is leaking something. I popped the hood and saw that the green slime was coming from the lower radiator hose. it was shooting straight out in a VERY straight stream. Hmmmm "pinhole leak" I mumbled to myself. I drove the five miles home in 30 degree weather cause I still had plenty of rad fluid in there. All was fine.

i went to NAPA and got a nice new lower radiator hose. I went home, and replaced the lower rad hose. NAPA part was much beefier hose, very nice. I flushed the whole system out for a while until the water came out clean. I tightened it all down and all seemed fine for a short 30 minute ride to get the AF and watr mixed well (it was 24 degrees that night).

This saturday I got in the car and drove to a friends house about 20 miles away. We replaced his fuel pump and used my car for a couple of auto parts store runs. We then went for 1 30 mile run in my car. He asked if i was sure I had tightened the hose down good cause he could smell AF so we stopped for lunch and looked ... no leaks. he ruled it a good job by me (he is a better mechanic by far). We drove about another 50 miles round trip and when we stopped at his house, went in, and come back out ... there was a green tributary starting under my car.

He looked at it all and determined that there was a pinhole leak because sliding from the water pump donw the hose his hand was dry and there was no leak. But about 8" down he declared "ouch it is a pinhole leak right here.

Is it really that common that a new hose have a pinhole leak or should i suspect more sinister forces at work here??

the original hose was much thinner and old. the top hose had been replaced by a NAPA part before I got the car. It works fine. It is just spooky how the old hose and a new hose get a pinhole in a two weeke period.

Whaddya think?

Mike

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1988 Camaro Sport Coupe305TBI-4spdAOD-2.73open in "bought stock" condition. That'll change if it stays around here much longer

 

My guess would be to make sure the steering leakage is not hitting it. Maybe a cotter pin is poking a hole in it.

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'89 Formula 383 TPI

 

I like this idea...^^^^^^


Never thought of that..


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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

 

i'd guess you have a leak at the water pump weep hole and it just looks like the hose is bad.

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd

 

Engineboy, where do you work? I wanna make sure never to take my car there...

BTW, zip ties on driveshafts sure do make an annoying sound. Or any other part the free end might hit something spinning around...

 

WTF is this?? ^^^

I give a complement on an observation that I've never seen happen before (Oh, I'm sorry ...do you know everything??) and I get cut up about it......

I've been doing this for 15 years and I learn something new everyday....and I don't have a problem with that.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

 

I guess it was a misunderstanding...

Thought you were getting cruel ideas for messin with some rude customers car.

BTW I didnt mean anything bad about my comment.

[This message has been edited by madmax (edited February 12, 2001).]

 

Oh........

No problem, its tough to hear sarcasm over the internet.

Sorry I bit your head off.



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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3