hose clamp at lower radiator blown off

98expeditionXLT · Post by **98expeditionXLT** » 02 Jun 2012, 19:58

Today my son was driving and the 850 non turbo overheated again. Had it towed home and the lower radiator hose was blown off from the radiator with the clamp nowhere in sight. No damage to the radiator nor the hose. This is the second time this has happened in 8000 miles. The car has 279k miles on it. I'm wondering if the fact that the hose clamp is an aftermarket one not the beefy Volvo ones is the reason. This engine never runs hot and it is exposed to a wide variety of driving conditions. The temp gauge always reads at the middle of the gauge once the engine is warmed up, in summer and winter and in city traffic. Any ideas what may be causing the problem?

Post by **jblackburn** » 02 Jun 2012, 20:08

Cheap URO hose? I hate that company...so much.

Go to Carquest and get a Gates radiator hose clamp. You shrink it on to the hose and port with a high powered hair dryer or heat gun. It has much more surface area than a normal clamp and should keep that on there.

I had a hose that kept leaking, and this turned out amazingly for me. Not a drip since.

98expeditionXLT · Post by **98expeditionXLT** » 02 Jun 2012, 20:38

The hose clamp was the generic hose clamp that Advance Auto sells. I used to have two clamps on there but when I had the rear main sela done about 20k miles ago my mechanic only put one back on.

Post by **jblackburn** » 02 Jun 2012, 21:51

Many of the aftermarket hoses that are put on will squish down too easily and leak or blow off. The Gates Powergrip SB clamps look like this and heat shrink around the entire outlet fitting to ensure a good grip on the hose.