'93 Turbo Wagon keeps blowing coolant lines... 3 lines in 2 weeks :\

[LiftedEA81]

Seems like every 2 or 3 days Im blowing a coolant bypass line. 1st it was the line that lead from my coolant resivoir to my turbo. Then as soon as I get that replaced, 3 days later I blow a line leading from the coolant passage to the manifold.

 

Today (3 days later) on my way to work, i blew yet ANOTHER coolant line. This one runs on the passenger side of the car, looks like it comes from a hard line to the bottom of the block.

 

WTF?? Any idea why all these lines are blowing? Im wondering if my radiator cap is faulty, and not relieving pressure? I guess I'll replace that when I do this 3rd line.

[nipper]

Couple of possabilities. First is a radiator cap that is not opening. Second is just old hoses. A blown HG can blow a hose, but it requires a bad cap to do it. Replace the cap first.

 

 

nipper

[Hodaka Rider]

General rule (in my experience): when one hose pops, do 'em all!!

[nipper]

i meant to ask, is the car running at a normal temp? When was the last time the t-stat was changed?

 

nipper

[porcupine73]

Hm....when you say blow do you mean it pops off the hose barb, or the line itself ruptures? If the line is rupturing I'd just replace them all with new. If they're popping off the hose barb then that is a little odd.....exhaust blowing into coolant?

[LiftedEA81]

They burst. They dont pop, or become disconnected. They burst. The 1st hose that went had a nice 2" gash in it.

 

The 2nd one that went split in two.

 

The 3rd one... well, i dunno cause im so frusterated the car has just sat in the garage since. Granted, they are old hoses, and i expect something like this to happen. But for three of them to go, 2 to 3 days apart from eachother just seems like more than a coincidence.

 

And I would love to replace them all... but there are ALOT of hoses on a EJ22T. Some I would have to remove the engine to get to.

[Cougar]

There must be a headgasket leak causing this to happen. Replacing the cap as Nipper suggested may save the hoses if the cap is bad but this must be one serious leak. I have never heard of this kind of thing.

[OB99W]

They burst. They dont pop, or become disconnected. They burst. The 1st hose that went had a nice 2" gash in it.

 

The 2nd one that went split in two.

 

The 3rd one... well, i dunno cause im so frusterated the car has just sat in the garage since. Granted, they are old hoses, and i expect something like this to happen. But for three of them to go, 2 to 3 days apart from eachother just seems like more than a coincidence. [...]

It might indeed be more than coincidence. There could be excess pressure due to a bad radiator cap (as Nipper mentioned), or in combination with a head gasket failure (as Cougar brought up), and those things should be ruled out. However, another possibility could be that the coolant, especially if it hasn't been changed regularly, is taking a toll on the rubber from the inside out. Or, if the car is somehow exposed to significant ozone levels, the damage occurs from the outside in. See: http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2833&location_id=3369

 

Since the hoses "age" at about the same rate, if one went bad from the causes shown in the link, you might expect others to follow relatively soon thereafter. The coolant hose change cycle of four years that Gates suggests may be more frequent than usually necessary, but once one goes the others should at least be carefully inspected, or replaced, unless another cause is found.

 

EDIT: Even if the cause is just deteriorated hoses, obviously if one dumps enough coolant before you catch the problem, there's the risk of engine damage from overheating (including more likelihood of HG problems). It seems worthwhile to change any questionable hoses before they can become a further liability.