Radiator hose popped off

[Spartan7]

About 6 months ago, I pulled the radiator to have a cracked side tank replaced. While reinstalling the radiator, I decided to replace the large upper and lower hoses. I bought some Gates hoses, which said "Made in USA" on them. I reused all the factory clamps, which had plenty of spring tension and no visual defects.

Fast forward to today. I get home after a short drive, very nice Texas day (75-80 degrees), no overheating at all. I left something in the car so went back down to get it like 10 minutes later, and find coolant all over the garage floor. So of course I popped the hood and found the upper hose (between driver side of radiator and thermostat housing) popped off on the radiator side and made a nice mess. I'm very thankful it didn't do it while I was driving.

Now for the assessment. The hose had nothing visibly wrong with it. The hose clamp was not damaged and had lots of spring tension when I removed it. The plastic nipple on the side take was not damaged or cracked at all (keep in mind this side was not replaced). I did notice a bit of excess paint on part of the nipple from when the shop painted the radiator, but nothing crazy. In messing around, I found the Gates hose was a noticeably looser fit than the original hose I removed. I was able to easily push it off, while the stocker is a very tight fit.

Obviously I'm putting the stock hose back on until I decide what to do, but I'm not especially happy that a US-made hose popped off. Has anyone else had issues with Gates?

[Stormyweather]

Gates it the way to go might have been the paint letting go. Never clamp on paint and never reuse clamps. But Im a marine tech and a bit stuck in my ways. Oh and Id have your rad cap pressure checked.

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[kitt8090]

Yeah factory clamps are junk once removed.... Get some good (made in the USA) hose clamps. You won't regret it.

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[Spartan7]

Yeah factory clamps are junk once removed.... Get some good (made in the USA) hose clamps. You won't regret it.

I'm curious as to your assessment of that. Not to argue, but I've had the stock spring clamps off quite a few times and never had an issue, up until now, and it (possibly coincidentally) happened after replacing the hose.

That said, who would you recommend for US-made clamps?

[kitt8090]

I'm curious as to your assessment of that. Not to argue, but I've had the stock spring clamps off quite a few times and never had an issue, up until now, and it (possibly coincidentally) happened after replacing the hose.

That said, who would you recommend for US-made clamps?
I work at a used car lot. Factory clamps go to shit on us 90% of the time on trans/rads just from age and taking them off. Unless they seat in the old hose exactly like we took them off they usually blow out. And any new hoses just get new clamps right off the bat so we don't have to deal something dumb after a customer buys it. In all honesty I have no idea what brand we use. Shop manager gets em from napa by the case and we just dump em into a container and use as needed. I'll see what I can dig up today when I'm going around the shop.

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[Stormyweather]

i Use marine grade clamps. Awab
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=awab+clamps&tag=mh0b-20&index=industrial&hvadid=4161450644&hvqmt=b&hvbmt=bb&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_34qu7yalj_b

For for reasons ... Can use NAPA they are not all stainless.

[Stormyweather]

Peace of mind. Is what you want. Factory spring clamps are minimal at best prone to heat damage they may seem ok. But are weaker from age. Get some peace of mind. Buy some new clamps. And napa are ok. [emoji4]

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[Spartan7]

I understand clamps are wear items, but in this case, I just have serious doubts that the clamp was the issue. I was using the very same clamp up until 6 months ago on the stock hose and never had an issue. Then I change out the hose, and within 6 months, with very few miles put on it in that time (probably 100), it pops off. That's why I asked if anyone else had issues with Gates hoses. I also had the radiator cap pressure tested, which was also replaced with the hoses, and it passed at 16 lbs, so it's not over-pressurizing the system.

Anyway, the stock hose is back on, and I'll see how it goes. Thanks for the input.

[Stormyweather]

You are welcome. Im just saying the price of new clamps and peace of mind. And your safety. I had a hose go and sprayed on my belt loosing steering. That is scary. Good luck.

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