2001 V70 2.4T Need advice on quality upper radiator hose and clamp

prwood · Post by **prwood** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 11:33 am

I've traced down a coolant leak to a perforated upper radiator hose. It's not obvious from these photos, but the welts left by the hose clamp do run all the way through, and when coolant pressure gets particularly high, coolant begins to leak from this area.

The hose I'm currently using is a Carquest / Dayco hose from Advance Auto Parts: https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/car ... 19590400-P It is attached with two off-shelf hose clamps also from Advance. I'd like to be sure I replace this with good-quality components. Is Genuine Volvo my only choice, or is there an OE/OEM brand that would have equal quality?

FCP Euro has the Genuine Volvo radiator hose for $52 https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... -9492889oe and the Genuine Volvo clamp is $4 https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... amp-988030

FCP also has an "OEM" hose from Rein for $5.49, but I'm questioning its quality at only 10% of the Genuine Volvo price https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... 60-9492889

Any suggestions?

93SCMax · Post by **93SCMax** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 11:53 am

I traditionally like to go with the Volvo brand or the OEM sub-supplier, but for a 17 YO car, I'd chance the Rein at 10% the price of the Volvo brand.

I'm still running my original upper radiator hose, so they do last. If you think you will have your V70 for another 10 years, drop the coin and get the Volvo brand. Do it once and forget about it.

Your bigger issue may be the clamps you were using...

YouTube · Post by **oragex** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 12:54 pm

I'd go with a used Volvo one from scrap yard, these rarely go bad even old. I remember a thread about a owner who put Ipd or like such aftermarket = leaks. As mentioned, the clamps must be the worm type, I got a bunch of these from the scrapyard as well.

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 1:34 pm

Include Gates hoses in short list of non OE alternatives.
Nothing bearing their name has ever disappointed me.

Post by **Rattnalle** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 1:39 pm

I'd probably put more energy on getting a proper clamp since that looks to have been the killer. The hose looks much too soft as well though.

Post by **abscate** » Mon Feb 26, 2018 2:34 pm

Georgeandkira wrote: ↑Mon Feb 26, 2018 1:34 pm Include Gates hoses in short list of non OE alternatives.
Nothing bearing their name has ever disappointed me.

Bill Gates?

Rick Gates?

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 7:22 am

Don't forget Pearly and Garden.

Post by **abscate** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:01 am

...and Horatio of course

Peter..it almost looks like your clamp wasn’t on the actual snout of the radiator but was crushing the hose? Is that possible? It sure would leak being crunched on the edge of the snout

prwood · Post by **prwood** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:00 pm

abscate wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:01 am ...and Horatio of course

Peter..it almost looks like your clamp wasn’t on the actual snout of the radiator but was crushing the hose? Is that possible? It sure would leak being crunched on the edge of the snout

Quite possible. The snout is at a weird angle and very difficult to get the hose clamp around in the proper position while also leaving the screw accessible for tightening.

I went over to Volvo Village Danvers' parts department and got the proper hose clamps. Today was the first day they addressed me by name without asking, so that's a milestone to be proud of, I guess.

I'm planning to clean the hose and then wrap it in silicone tape, with extra around the clamp areas, and see how well that holds up for now, with the proper clamps. Of course I will need to make sure not to wrap too tightly, since the hose does need to be able to expand with the hot coolant. The silicone will expand to a point, but less so if I pull it extremely tight when wrapping.

Some more photos for fun.

: Close-up view of the gnarly area where the old hose clamp tore things up.

: The old hose clamps, which were actually two different brands and sizes, both of which have open slots for the worm drive.

: Front view of the new hose clamp, which has worm drive but with surface-mounted slots (no open slots in the clamp). It also has a side-mounted closure, as opposed to the other clamps that have a closure mounted underneath which creates another pressure point.

: Another view of the new hose clamp.

: Detail of the underside of the worm drive mechanism. Notice the much sleeker design.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:26 pm

That does not look like an OEM radiator, no metal insert in the snout to keep it from deforming.