TLDR: After replacing my cooling system as outlined here the hose connecting the thermostat housing to the radiator blew off at the thermostat housing today. I must have used the wrong size constant tension clamp. How do you properly size these?
The rest of the story.
I drove my TJ today as my F150 daily was supposed to stay home so the family could load it up for the drive to the in-laws' tonight for Thanksgiving.
About 10 minutes into the drive, I noticed white smoke (steam actually) blowing out of what appeared to be the back right but was really from under the hood. I was lucky to notice it when I did as I only had a few seconds to take the last exit before hitting the Fort Liberty access control point which would have had me a good 10 minutes away from being able to safely pull over and do anything. I exited and went to a nearby 7-11.
I popped the hood and saw the hose was disconnected. I'm pretty sure I oversized the clamp. I was able to recompress it enough with my bare hands to get the hose back on the outlet from the thermostat housing. I topped off the radiator with some 7-11 branded prediluted coolant that was labeled as "being able to mix with any coolant" and drove home, monitoring temps on the Torque app just to be safe. Parked the TJ, cleaned up a bit, switched back to the F150, and drove to work.
I thought I had followed the guide on which clamps to use posted elsewhere in the forum, but I likely used the wrong clamp here. I bought at least two of each clamp, so maybe I used a clamp from one of the areas that needed a larger clamp. I do not think I could compress any of the other clamps with my bare hands enough to remove the hose. I yanked on the ones I could easily access without dirtying-up my work clothes and they all seemed tight.
That said. If I want to be sure I am using the correct size constant pressure clamp, how do I do that? Using the thermostat housing as an example, should the clamp be snug on the housing without the hose attached, ensuring it will be tight when the added diameter of the hose is added?
Another observation. I used this housing (Dorman 902-306). I assume the hose should be pushed up against the stop and the clamp should be centered between the stop and the lip on the output. The current clamp sits a little askew when on the hose - there is not enough space between the hose and the engine for the clamp to be fully centered between the stop and the lip all the way around. Is this likely another sign that the clamp is too big? I have a box full of worm gear clamps if I have too.....
The rest of the story.
I drove my TJ today as my F150 daily was supposed to stay home so the family could load it up for the drive to the in-laws' tonight for Thanksgiving.
About 10 minutes into the drive, I noticed white smoke (steam actually) blowing out of what appeared to be the back right but was really from under the hood. I was lucky to notice it when I did as I only had a few seconds to take the last exit before hitting the Fort Liberty access control point which would have had me a good 10 minutes away from being able to safely pull over and do anything. I exited and went to a nearby 7-11.
I popped the hood and saw the hose was disconnected. I'm pretty sure I oversized the clamp. I was able to recompress it enough with my bare hands to get the hose back on the outlet from the thermostat housing. I topped off the radiator with some 7-11 branded prediluted coolant that was labeled as "being able to mix with any coolant" and drove home, monitoring temps on the Torque app just to be safe. Parked the TJ, cleaned up a bit, switched back to the F150, and drove to work.
I thought I had followed the guide on which clamps to use posted elsewhere in the forum, but I likely used the wrong clamp here. I bought at least two of each clamp, so maybe I used a clamp from one of the areas that needed a larger clamp. I do not think I could compress any of the other clamps with my bare hands enough to remove the hose. I yanked on the ones I could easily access without dirtying-up my work clothes and they all seemed tight.
That said. If I want to be sure I am using the correct size constant pressure clamp, how do I do that? Using the thermostat housing as an example, should the clamp be snug on the housing without the hose attached, ensuring it will be tight when the added diameter of the hose is added?
Another observation. I used this housing (Dorman 902-306). I assume the hose should be pushed up against the stop and the clamp should be centered between the stop and the lip on the output. The current clamp sits a little askew when on the hose - there is not enough space between the hose and the engine for the clamp to be fully centered between the stop and the lip all the way around. Is this likely another sign that the clamp is too big? I have a box full of worm gear clamps if I have too.....
