Wow what are the odds of this thread being near the top tonight?!

I let my Disco warm up a few minutes before leaving work, and 5 min later when I opened the door I smelled strong coolant (I was used to a little bit since I had just bypassed the manifold heater and some coolant on engine parts) but it was very pronounced so I shut the car off and checked.

One of the hoses was leaking at the barb fitting I installed (strange) so (in -5 gusty wind chills!) I took the clamp off and tried to rotate the hose to see if it was loose.

BAM! The stupid plastic hardline that returns the coolant to the expansion tank cracked, and warm (hot-ish, but not full temp yet) coolant shot ALL OVER THE PLACE!

The hard line cracked EASILY when I tried to move it around.. so I went to Lowes and replaced it with fuel hose and used a 1/4-3/8 reducer for the tank side.

Anyways (I was already being paranoid) after letting the car warm up, I shut off the HVAC and radio and listened.. heard the exact same water trickling sound!

I automatically assumed that air couldn't have really got into the system since the line that broke was the RETURN to the expansion tank, and under positive pressure the entire time (ie. any air would just be pushed back into the expansion tank anyways and bled automatically) but who knows?

Crap maybe this is why my already-swelling upper radiator hose (the one going around alternator) seems to be uber fat lately.


GRRR.

Well at this point I really just need to replace all the hoses, since after tonight I'm well aware of just how shot they actually are, plus I already have a new tstat.
$$$

 

if you are getting air in the coolant system it means one of two things. either whoever filled it last didnt bleed it properly OR there is a leak somewhere that is allowing coolant to escape and air to get in.