The hose between my thermostat housing and my water pump is leaking.... On both sides! When I replaced the old hose with a new one, I discovered quite a bit of corrosion, and after cleaning it off I can now see a lot of pitting. I have already tried permatex gasket maker, but it is still leaking. I've had to remove the thermostat housing four times in the last week, and I'm really fed up with it. From what I've seen taking radiator hoses off of various vehicles at the local junkyard, this must be a common problem with a common solution, since corrosion is so prevalent on almost every aluminum nipple I have seen. What is the solution???
This must be a common problem! How to stop leak between pitted aluminum and hose?
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Fill it with JB weld and them smooth it down.
I saw several 13 year old cars with the same issue. Since that's a pretty common age for cars, and a radiator hose change is a very common maintenance procedure, this must happen hundreds of times a day across the world, if not thousands. Is this really the solution that is used by thousands of mechanics every day? Is that seriously the least labor-intensive way of fixing this problem?
I appreciate the answer, it just sounds like a pain.
I appreciate the answer, it just sounds like a pain.
That is the only way many people have fixed this problem....I suppose you could go to the dealer and order new housings which won't be cheap on many newer cars.....these parts are plastic and many mechanics will simply order a replacement housing....
This corrosion is caused by using the improper coolant, green and not changing the coolant every 2-3 years....this is the easiest way to keep this issue from happening....another easy fix, which most of us do....is to never replace this hose as maintenance....deal with the headache when or if it leaks....other wise don't touch it....
So either do the jbweld fix or junk the car.....not many options....sorry...
This corrosion is caused by using the improper coolant, green and not changing the coolant every 2-3 years....this is the easiest way to keep this issue from happening....another easy fix, which most of us do....is to never replace this hose as maintenance....deal with the headache when or if it leaks....other wise don't touch it....
So either do the jbweld fix or junk the car.....not many options....sorry...
I had the same issue when I replace that short Fat overflow House. And, I indeed filled the holes with JB-Weld Epoxy. But, it is not that simple I scraped and ground out all of the white powdery corroded Aluminum down to the bare metal. I degreased the area with Brake Cleaner.
The problem with applying a lot of epoxy on something that is not flat is going to have the Epoxy running off of the part in some areas. I applied excess Epoxy and Taped over the whole of the Nipple so there was no way for the Epoxy to run off.
After the Epoxy cured I removed the tape and filed and sanded it back to the normal shape. if there was any large voids I applied more Epoxy.
In an emergency you could do the same cleaning method and apply a bunch of Silicon Sealant over the whole area where the Hose seats and assemble it quickly, tighten down the Clamps and hope for the best.
But, if you apply the Silicon over that white powdery corroded Aluminum the Water can seep past because the corrosion is porous.
Let the Silicon Sealant cure for several hours before you fill with Coolant.
The problem with applying a lot of epoxy on something that is not flat is going to have the Epoxy running off of the part in some areas. I applied excess Epoxy and Taped over the whole of the Nipple so there was no way for the Epoxy to run off.
After the Epoxy cured I removed the tape and filed and sanded it back to the normal shape. if there was any large voids I applied more Epoxy.
In an emergency you could do the same cleaning method and apply a bunch of Silicon Sealant over the whole area where the Hose seats and assemble it quickly, tighten down the Clamps and hope for the best.
But, if you apply the Silicon over that white powdery corroded Aluminum the Water can seep past because the corrosion is porous.
Let the Silicon Sealant cure for several hours before you fill with Coolant.
I finally did it last week. It was not as bad as changing out the water pump, and now I have no more leaks! Thanks.
'86 W123 200, OM617 non-turbo, bastard 5-speed; '95 W202 C250 Diesel, OM605 non-turbo, 5-spd man
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This is the option I'd least prefer. But, perhaps if my other car is back and Donkey has a week to stand, I'll just do this then. Not sure the epoxy-aluminium mixture will hold during hard work, though.
As with any glue it is all in the surface preparation
'86 W123 200, OM617 non-turbo, bastard 5-speed; '95 W202 C250 Diesel, OM605 non-turbo, 5-spd man
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My concern is that aluminium is a good thermal conductor and an elastic material, while epoxy is a thermal insulator with a low thermal expansion ratio, and it's brittle to boot. In my naughty fantasies I'd have preferred a more flexible bond, such as urethane, which is also more chemically inert and thermally stable. But will it stick? I'm not risking an engine to find out.
But hey, if someone confirms that this fix has survived 10 years of daily driving with no need to repeat the operation, I'll take it.
Well I can almost give that confirmation - although not quite!
SAAB give this advice for pitted (cast iron) block surfaces =>
http://www.thesaabsite.com/faqfiles/Technical-Service-Bulletins.608.5.pdf
This is a slap on epoxy and sand it smooth advice.
You can automatically react by saying
1) Aluminium alloy != cast iron
2) This is advice from SAAB!
But then the heat at a head gasket is going to be more than that at a coolant hose...
...so may be it isn't as bad as our engineering training might suggest. Sometimes you have to give it a go and see.
'86 W123 200, OM617 non-turbo, bastard 5-speed; '95 W202 C250 Diesel, OM605 non-turbo, 5-spd man
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4,887 Posts
wire brush it, then use Permatex
I put NeverSeize on all of my replaced hoses
I put NeverSeize on all of my replaced hoses
Mine has been working for since sometime in 2008.
In truth you need to be careful what Epoxy you use. The regular slow setting JB Weld Epoxy is up to any temps except Exhaust temps that you would be safe for your Engine.
The fast setting Epoxies will not hold up as the cannot take the temp.
The DURO Company also makes an Epoxy similar to the JB Weld that can take the temperatures.
If in doubt you can get on the internet and look up the specs on the Epoxy you want to use.
Story: Where I worked We had this huge Shipping container lifter that had a Freeze/Core Plug leak at the very back or the Engine Block. But, the Bell Housing covered over 1/2 of the Plug preventing it from being removed.
I tried to grind out and open up the area of the Bell Housing but the Metal of the Housing was extremely Hard.
I had some regular Epoxy and filled the area in with that. That repair lasted about 2 Days and it was leaking again.
In the mean time I had brought what was either the Duro or JB Weld Epoxy that could take the temp from Home.
I scraped all of the other Epoxy out and filled it in with the high temp Epoxy and that fixed it and it still was not leaking 2 years later when I quite working there.
Gee you are tough. A new replacement Hose or even a brand new Aluminum Part that the Hose slips over might also cause a leak within a 10 year time period.
I did the Epoxy Repair and I believe it is more likely the Aluminum will find some other place to get eaten up.
Sometimes we overthink problems to the extent that we pass up something simple that simply works and has a record of working.
I don't like Bondo and have been using JB Weld as a Body Filler after backing up the holes in the Body with Sheet Metal that I JB Welded to the body. I can assure you that after it cures it is it can be flexed some. As you can push on it and see it flex.
With out going into the details I also made a Casting of the inside diameter of a Metal Part using JB Weld. To My surprise I found that the JB Weld expands as it cures.
Once I knocked out the Plug and measure it I found out the OD of the Plug was larger than the ID of the Part the Plug was cast in.
I have been using the term JB Weld rather loosely. JB Weld makes quite a few products and they have different qualities and detractions.
I buy the big 5 ounce per tube seat of Steel Reinforced Epoxy J-BWeld Industrial Professional Size and I make all kinds of repairs with that stuff.
If the repairs did not work I would have stopped using it long ago.
There is a possible repair that no one has mentioned. There is low temp Aluminum Repair Rods (that melt at about 750 degrees F). I think the name of one of them is Alumoly but I may not have spelled that correctly.
Harbor Freight Stores sell that Brand. I had bought some last year for a project the fizzled out so I have yet to use it on anything and cannot comment on how well it would work.
Harbor Freight Stores sell that Brand. I had bought some last year for a project the fizzled out so I have yet to use it on anything and cannot comment on how well it would work.
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