Heater core failure after 3 months

[Garak]

Originally Posted by dlundblad
Well, it looks like it was the hose clamps at the firewall.

Nice! That a long mile better than another replacement core!

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted by Trav
What kind of clamps are you using. Please don't say worm clamps.


Worm gear technically, but they have the metal lining on them so the hose doesn't get chewed up by the adjusting slots.

Should I get some constant tension clamps?

Kubota has some nice zinc coated hose clamps as well. Just not sure on sizes.

 

[Trav]

Unless they have a Belleville spring (looks like washers behind the screw) I would change them, they are not very reliable especially in winter.

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted by Trav
Unless they have a Belleville spring (looks like washers behind the screw) I would change them, they are not very reliable especially in winter.


Will do. I had a little gurgling this morning on my way into work so the issue isn't fully fixed yet. Definitely clamp related though.

 

[Trav]

In that case go ahead and use some Hylomar, do not use shellac you will have a hard time removing them without cutting them off. Just smear a bit on the pipes then push the hose on.

 

[dlundblad]

Constant tension clamps as well then?

 

[Trav]

Yes, always on coolant hoses.

 

[Black_Thunder]

In my opinion I think those spring clamps are garbage.

They work for awhile but sometimes in really cold weather they leak or if you try to reuse them they don't seem to fit back in the right spot and may cause a leak later.


as long as you don't go crazy when tightening the worm clamps work just fine.

 

[Trav]

You got that backwards. Worm clamps leak when very cold especially on plastic fittings and tend to damage hoses because of constant tightening, constant tension clamps work much better. Standard worm clamps and U exhaust clamps should go the way of the dodo.

 

[Black_Thunder]

I respectfully disagree as I constantly have to change them in class A trucks and a lot of the time because they eventually run out tension they are difficult to remove because the way they are installed from the factory and sometimes harder to reinstall. worm clamps are suitable in other situations as well like fuel lines and trans lines etc where spring clamps won't apply enough tension.


u-style exhaust clamps aka guillotine clamps are used for applications other then just clamping pipe like hangers and brackets and also used for cheap fixes on equipment that isn't exactly used on the road or very rarely used.

 

[Trav]

You can disagree all you want but that doesn't make it right. I said standard worm clamps and U exhaust clamps, meaning the garbage used to clamp pipes together on cars. That does not mean they are not useful for other things.
There are so many different styles of clamps of both designs, a worm clamp with liner and Belleville springs is not in any way the same as a standard worm clamp and many spring clamps would not be strong enough for the heavier and harder hoses found on a class A truck but work exceptionally well on cars, apples and oranges.

On a large truck I would probably be using Gates shrink clamps anyway. There are many variables but this forum generally is an oil, car and pickup maintenance forum not a class A truck forum.

 

[Black_Thunder]

you implied that they should stop making things because they sometimes don't work for one certain application when they are used for many.