I think I found my coolant usage gremlin..

[dgcantrell]

So, for a while, I've been having slight coolant issues with my 87 N/A. Had a bad fan switch and replaced it last week thinking that was causing the issue with it loosing coolant via the overflow every so often. I'd have to add a little coolant and I'd bleed it again and again. Still, it would run a little warmer than usual, nothing major but still it ran around the top of the range especially after a couple of mile pull up the mountain.

I drove it out into town (a couple or three miles there and back) Saturday and it was puking big time by the time I got back to the house. I really couldn't tell where it was coming from. Today, I stopped by and got an 1-1/8th" deepwell socket (they didn't have a 29mm) at Lowes to double check the tightness on the temp sensor. It did need a smidge more tightening. So topped off the coolant tank and bled the air out. Cranked it up. All was going well.. So I thought..

I look over at the coolant tank and I see coolant bubbling out of the small return hose from the radiator.. I'm thinking, ah HA!! The clamp must be a little loose. I go to tighten it and put just a little pressure on the clamp and a small stream of coolant spits out at me.. The stupid thing was cracked.... I snapped the damned thing off to put it out of it's misery...



On top of that, I've bled this thing so many times, I noticed that the bleeder bolt started to feel like it was stripping out of the threads on the hose fitting on the head. Well, I go to gently tighten it after refilling the coolant tank and the head snaps off... I was kind of relieved that it was just that instead of stripping the threads on the housing. Anywho, I promptly went over to the other problem child I've been working (the 88 S model) on and stole the coolant tank and bleeder bolt from it and swapped them out.



Got the "borrowed" tank and bleeder installed. Refilled and bled the coolant. Fired it up and got it hot. Fans kicked on and the temp never got but about halfway between the two "range" marks. I'll take her for a spin tomorrow evening to make sure things are fixed. Then it's time to get on the 88S and pull that damned oil cooler and assess the damage to the oil cooler and seals..

[djnolan]

My ford explorer has spring hose clamps. From year to year, it doesn't loose a drop of coolant. Spring loaded clamps continually re-tighten themselves as rubber shrinks or swells from heat without overtightening and damaging the hose.

Barrel hose clamps are the main cause of mysterious coolant leaks IMHO. I rented a pressure tester and got everything tight on the 944 and a few weeks later more coolant disappears.

I wish somebody sold a set of spring clamps for the 944, they are frustrating to install but once installed you will never have to touch them. And the hoses will last longer, too.

[djnolan]

Not to say all of those things that are threaded into the radiator or coolant tank are perfectly reliable...

[dgcantrell]

You know you could probably match up a set of spring clamps for these things.. They make them in about a 1000 sizes..