Coolant leak at hose clamp help.

[Johnny-T]

Since its gotten colder out, I noticed that I was having some coolant leaking from the front end passenger side. It only happened maybe once a week but a few days ago it was worse than usual. I was able to see that the leak is coming from the hose clamped directly onto the bottom of the radiator. The short hose section looks to be in good condition and it was suggested to me that the cold had just caused the seal to open and all that was needed was to tighten the clamps a bit. The screw on the clamp was stuck so I loosened it 1/4 of a turn first and it just started pouring coolant out. I quickly tightened it again and tried to twist it tighter than it was but it just didn't want to go anymore. I think the issue is that I was able use enough force to dislodge the years of crud on it to loosen it, but there is still some on the notches preventing it for going tighter. Now it seems that Ive made the leak worse as its been creating a nice puddle of coolant under the car every day since.

My main questions are should I try to use a ratchet on it to get more torque? (I just used a screwdriver on my first attempt.) Or should I just get new clamps and put those on? Because the clamp I'm working on is the one over the plastic bit of the radiator, I don't want to do anything that might cause it to crack or break. And if the best option is to get new clamps, can I buy any correct sized clamps or do I have to get specific ones that wont rub the hose?

Any thought or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

[sdg3205]

How old is the hose? When was the last time you changed your coolant? If it's been a few years, might be a good time to swap out one or more hoses, especially if they're original. Hose is cheap. So is coolant. Grab a foot from your local store (or DMC vendor if you choose) as well as new hose clamps.

Clean and remove any corrosion from the piping. Is the rad OEM or an aluminum unit?

Once the gears in those hose clamps slip even once, they're toast. Not worth the chance.

[Bitsyncmaster]

You can not get enough torque on a hose clamp using a screwdriver. Most times it will work with new hose, clamps and clean pipe but good clamps are specified at 40 in/oz torque for those large hose clamps.

[jamesrguk]

I use my car daily and I too have recently had a couple of hoses which have started dripping no doubt due to the drop intemperature, the hoses are all less than 6 months old so a quick re-torque with a 7mm socket and a top up of fluid and I'm all good.

I don't know if the DeLorean coolant system runs at a higher pressure than most cars, I appreciate there is quite a lot of fluid in due to the fact that it is rear engine with the radiator located at the other end of the car, but when you look at cooling systems on modern cars they often just have spring clips holding the coolant pipes in place, where as the DMC has hose clamps and they have to be pretty damn tight to ensure a leak free system.

James

[David T]

I use my car daily and I too have recently had a couple of hoses which have started dripping no doubt due to the drop intemperature, the hoses are all less than 6 months old so a quick re-torque with a 7mm socket and a top up of fluid and I'm all good.

I don't know if the DeLorean coolant system runs at a higher pressure than most cars, I appreciate there is quite a lot of fluid in due to the fact that it is rear engine with the radiator located at the other end of the car, but when you look at cooling systems on modern cars they often just have spring clips holding the coolant pipes in place, where as the DMC has hose clamps and they have to be pretty damn tight to ensure a leak free system.

James

Trying to tighten the clamps is not a good, long-term fix. You take a big risk of over-tightening the clamp and breaking it. The proper way is to drain the coolant, remove the hose from the pipe, clean the hose and pipe and if everything looks good put the hose back on with some sealant. If a quarter turn more on the clamp doesn't stop the leak, tightening the clamp more won't help.