Radiator Hose came off and advice

[KaiEnix]

Hi guys hopefully someone can help me here. 

I have a Toyota Auris 2008. I recently had to have a new radiator fitted. A month later, I was driving and the air blowing went cold. Pulled over and all the coolant had leaked out. 

Took it to my garage and they said the radiator hose has blown off. They put it back on and refilled the system, all working again. 

He advised is likely a head gasket issue and will happen again, so to keep an eye on the coolant level.

He also advised to part ex it ASAP because of this. 

How likely is this the case? Seems a bit strange without a proper investigation. 

[Mooly]

The timeline might add up though. You had a new radiator fitted. Why? Was it leaking? If so was that leak caused by higher than normal pressures? which could signify head gasket issues. Now the hose has blown off. Ask yourself why? Excess pressure possibly.

Is this a diesel? as they are the ones that suffer head gasket issues as a rule.

 

 

 

[KaiEnix]

Yeah it had a leak before but the old radiator was a state when they took it out. Yes its diesel. Just wanted to see if it made sense to anyone else as I'm not mechanically minded at all. Would it be worth fixing? He didn't tell how much it would be other than "alot". 

[Mooly]

I'm no expert but I would say you do need a proper diagnosis but the evidence seems to fit. As to cost, I have no idea beyond just looking online. The figures look in line with what I would have thought though. Its a major job and there may be other work involved such as skimming the head if it has distorted.

You need expert advice to answer that I'm afraid.

 

 

  

[Stivino]

If the hose has come off it in no way means that the head gasket has gone, there is a system in place to relieve high pressure in the cooling system.

You need a proper diagnosis.

[Red_Corolla]

Don't jump to conclusions, it may just be that the hose wasn't tightened up properly after replacing the radiator. If it's a head gasket issue, the coolant will be tainted by combustion gases and there is equipment that can test for this. A good garage will have the equipment to do a proper test.

[roks]

My first thought was that dodgy mechanic didn't put the hose clamp on properly..... 

[flash22]

4 minutes ago, roks said:

My first thought was that dodgy mechanic didn't put the hose clamp on properly..... 

+1 a hose clamp should hold it, a bad/loose/missing clamp will let the hose blow off, if you have a bad engine mount(s) the motion of the engine wouldn't help

or if the cooling system wasn't bled correctly, it may have burped the hose off

[Stivino]

If the hose is put on properly, it should be impossible for it to come off regardless of engine movement or pressure.

[KaiEnix]

Cheers guys. I appreciate your opinions. This happened exactly 1 month after the new radiator was fitted. 

The cars only on 90k miles so would be especially disappointed if its head gasket issue. 

Hopefully it was a lose connection due to the replacement. I'm going to fun it for now and check the coolant levels daily and play it by ear for now. Fingers crossed it won't come off again. Not really in a place to get a new car at the moment or spend £1000+ on fixing it if its a gasket issue. With the age of the car it would be pointless keep putting money like that into it. 

[Roy124]

KaiEnix, a month is an unimportant detail.  You might not have driven it for a month.  Or your driving might have been a few short trips. 

What was its usage in that month?  What were you doing when you noticed it blowing cold, for instance how long had you been driving?  Were you driving hard, ie hot, when it happened. 

[KaiEnix]

Hi Roy.

Thats a good point, I spent most of Xmas and new year in hospital. So I would say for the last week I had been driving about 30 miles a day. 15 to work and 15 back. 40 mins each times. 

It was yesterday. The air was hot in the way to work. And cold on the way back. Checked and the coolant was empty then I found the leak. Took the garage this morning. Max speed was about 60mph. Average speed 50mph. 

[xrhstosgr]

7 hours ago, KaiEnix said:

Ναι είχε διαρροή πριν αλλά το παλιό καλοριφέρ ήταν κατάσταση όταν το έβγαλαν. Ναι ντίζελ είναι. Απλώς ήθελα να δω αν είχε νόημα σε κανέναν άλλον, καθώς δεν με ενδιαφέρει καθόλου μηχανικά. Θα άξιζε να επισκευαστεί; Δεν είπε πόσο θα ήταν εκτός από «πολύ». 

Good Evening How many kilometers is your car? I do not think the head flange is worth repairing. The whole engine in my area will not exceed 800 euros in Toyota auris 2008 diesel model, plus installation. Make sure it is a head flange first. Only if you know and deal with it yourself is it in your best interest. In no other case

[Roy124]

6 hours ago, KaiEnix said:

Hi Roy.

Thats a good point, I spent most of Xmas and new year in hospital. So I would say for the last week I had been driving about 30 miles a day. 15 to work and 15 back. 40 mins each times. 

It was yesterday. The air was hot in the way to work. And cold on the way back. Checked and the coolant was empty then I found the leak. Took the garage this morning. Max speed was about 60mph. Average speed 50mph. 

So about 150 miles in 10 journeys and nothing particularly stressing.  Tube off is hardly a leak unless.... 

Now I don't know, but if you had a real leak such that you had been losing water over the previous trips. Could the low water level lead to an overpressure and a filler cap not releasing the pressure. 

I leave it to others to comment. 

[Red_Corolla]

15 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

So about 150 miles in 10 journeys and nothing particularly stressing.  Tube off is hardly a leak unless.... 

Now I don't know, but if you had a real leak such that you had been losing water over the previous trips. Could the low water level lead to an overpressure and a filler cap not releasing the pressure. 

I leave it to others to comment. 

Pressure caps usually fail the opposite way, allowing coolant to pass when the pressure is normal. That's because the spring weakens and the  rubber seal hardens with age, so they begin to 'pass.'

I would not expect a pressure cap to seize unless the pin that keeps everything together somehow became severely corroded. With a new radiator, I would want to have a new cap at the same time, but not everyone thinks like that.