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Collapsed upper radiator hose... why?


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Here's the story, we have an '03 TS with under 10K miles. It was last driven on Friday, and on Sunday I replaced the air filter since we've had it over a year and it's dusty here. While I was doing that, I noticed the upper radiator hose was collapsed like it was under negative pressure. I opened the radiator cap, and the hose popped back into normal shape.

 

We haven't seen any CEL's or high temp gauge readings, nothing out of the ordinary. Do you think the radiator cap is bad? My wife won't have time to take it to the dealer until the end of the week but I don't want to cause problems by driving it in the meantime.

 

Steve

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Originally posted by Setright

A new rad cap, would be very good place to start.

 

Try running the car until the engine is at operating temp, and then checking the hose.

 

Steve, what he said above. If it still does it while running it's prolly the thermostat sticking. I've seen this wit my own two eyes. Hope it helps.

 

Quidam

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Nate:

 

I don't know. My wife didn't notice anything unusual, but I don't know how closely she watches the temp gauge... probably not as closely as I watch mine (Phase 1 2.5 DOHC with over 100K miles). I'm going to ask her to check the hose before she drives home from work tonight, and monitor the temp on the drive home.

 

Steve

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Update:

 

I talked to my wife, and it seems the hose is normal size when warm, but it collapsed again after the car cooled off this afternoon. She says the temp needle never got above just below the halfway point, which is normal.

 

Called a dealer, they agreed it was probably the rad. cap, at least that's the first thing they'd check. Although the car is within the b2b warranty, we'd have to leave it there to prove to them that it's happening, which means having it cool completely (at least a few hours if not overnight). Not very convenient since both of us work full time, in opposite directions from home, and not close to a dealership.

 

I think I'll buy a radiator cap at $17 and try that out, rather than deal with the inconvenience of having to leave the car at the dealership.

 

Steve

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It's most likely the rad cap. but when you remove the cap to replace it look at the under side there should be a metal button use your finger nail to see if it moves down a littleif it does check the over flow hose for a blockage.:burnout:

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The radiator cap replacement seems to have cleared up the issue. I replaced it, and topped off the radiator with distilled water (it needed 3-4 ounces to top off, the volume of the partially collapsed hose I guess) and all seems well, no collapsed hose this morning when I checked. Temp gauge was good when she drove it home.

 

I didn't notice anything unusual about the old cap, so I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with it, but the new one seems to work fine. The hose from the radiator to the overflow seemed fine, I ran some water thru it and there wasn't a blockage.

 

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

 

Steve

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