98 v70 Trouble w/ ATF line couplers on replacement radiator

[rwmm415]

Yes, I know what you mean. Like the wire work that holds the cork on the top of a champagne bottle.

[abscate]

You actually want a soft wire for this application. Once you run out of room for wire on the flange, you can wrap around to tension it more.

You might be able to tell I'm a sailor too....

[rwmm415]

CN90, You've pointed out what I was missing. Sure, the tapered collar on the replacement rad is part of the problem (it's slightly longer than the one on the OE). But the "clear O-ring" is the other part -- and the way to solve it too. Lemme explain...

I didn't even notice there was a clear O-ring until you pointed it out. I thought that raised profile on the hose next to the collar was a hard metal stop. I thought the collar-to-collar distance was fixed because it was the sum of the lengths of the two collars plus the stop. It looked like metal to me because I was seeing metal though the clear neoprene rubber. What it really is is a flexible bushing, or like you said, a shock absorber. Once you understand that it's rubber, then the collar-to-collar distance becomes variable. The clear O-rings on my hoses are about 3.5 mm wide measured under no pressure with the caliper. Now if I force the hose into the radiator port by hand I can compress it down to about 2.5 mm, but it's still not enough to seat the clip. But now that I realize it's compressible, if I squeeze it down another half millimeter or so then I can get the clip to seat correctly. I got out a pair of needle-nose visegrips and went after it with a hecka lot of force and I managed to get the clip to seat behind both collars with a nice loud snap.

So now I know. The clear O-ring is there to take up the slack in the coupler so the bands on the clip are always snug against the collars. In my case, a human hand wasn't strong enough to compress the O-ring sufficiently to engage, but with some mechanical assistance it can still work.

I don't really like having that much tension in the joint. I'd prefer it be like the OE where you put the coupler back together with hand force. So I'm going to look for new bushing (O-rings) that are about 0.8 mm thinner than the stock ones. Then my hoses should snap on to the ports of the new radiator by hand just like they did on the old one.

Thanks, CN90, Holler1, and Abscate for all your help!

[cn90]

Couple things:

1. You can remove the Clear O-ring and use a utility knife to trim it a tiny tiny bit.
Be careful not to cut your finger!

2. Then once it is in, I strongly recommend a screw-type clamp around the factory clip.
Actually it is a must!

PS: As I mentioned above, the Clear O-ring is simply a shock absorber, you can trim it a tiny bit w/o any issues at all. It is the black O-ring that gives you the tight seal.

[erikv11]

I think OP's idea is the best solution: just find an o-ring of the right diameter, then be done with it. Should be easy to do with calipers.

I use zip-ties to secure the clips.