Rourkey Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Does anyone else start their Saturday morning drive with a check of the fluids left behind on the garage floor ? Do you too have little puddles of coolant left behind from various slow drips from around the cooling system pipework ? Why do my jubilee clips seem to undo themselves as fast as I tighten them and what can I do to try and prevent this ? As far as I can see my Ford Focus manages to keep it all in, so is it just that I should be using higher quality clips, or is there a better alternative I can look to. Its so frustrating, as ever time I seem to stem the flow of one leek find two more have appeared the next !!! Any advise anyone has to offer would be greatfully received. Cheers All, Rourkey Quote
Asterix Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 When the motor's running and the car is at standstill, can you see the drips forming OR is the only evidence the stained floor OR other? Quote
Rourkey Posted January 30, 2008 Author Posted January 30, 2008 I must admit that I have never conducted a visual before and after engine start up test to see if it makes a difference. I usually just pull it out of the garage (noticing the liquid), identify all the loose clips which are then tightened. On return to the garage following the drive I see no drips, but then the following week when I pull her out again, there back !!! FYI, each drip is very minor, taking maybe a week or so to form a puddle the size of a fist. Its enough to take me from max to under min on the expansion bottle though and something I would really prefer to reduce as much as possible if not remove. Quote
Asterix Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Odd. Why would the jubilee clips undo themselves (not found this to be a common problem IME)? If not the clips themselves... You sure you're using the right hose spec.? How old's the hose? Bad batch of hose (maybe you bought them all at the same time)? Overtightening the jubilee clips (especially on the plastic inlets/ outlets, which may now be cracked)? You using some exotic coolant additive? Has this always occurred or just started happening this winter? Quote
DavidR Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Are you using silicon hoses with jubilee clips? Mine was a b*gg*r to stop leaks when I changed to silicon hoses. I found that I needed a hose clip where there was a overlap of the threaded part of the clip going under the static piece with the screw in it to avoid rucking up the silicon and causing a leak. Also the silicon seemed to relax under the clip and it needed tightening several times until the leak got worse. David PS Halfords jubilee clips were the worst at causing leaks. Quote
Rourkey Posted January 30, 2008 Author Posted January 30, 2008 I can only go from the original builder of the vehicle but all parts came from a 'Complete' Westfield kit in 2005 so should be to spec. I would say it has defintely started since the trumour I inflicted on it in the summer when I ground out on a speed bump and cracked my thermostat housing. In fixing this I did have to jiggle a few bits of the cooling system around to get the old one out and the new one in but it all went back together fine. Again, now you ask it has become more noticable over winter but this way just be because it has been standing still longer ?!? Also, interesting you mention additives in the coolant as the liquid that escapes when I cracked the thermostat was green which I noticed in the manual says should be avoided. I did replace it with the manual and Ford recommended stuff and figured the green stuff came in the kit so must have been right. (naively maybe ?) Guess I will just have to keep an eye on it and if it continues to get worse I will have to look at the pipes themselves. For now I might see if I can find out if there is anything else other than the J clip I could try out. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 I have a leak from the spigot on the thermostat housing to the hose. I've sandpapered it to smooth it off with some improvement but one of the double wire clips which put a higher level of localised pressure on the hose rather than the wide band of pressure of the usual Jumbly clip would improve it I feel. Where to get them, though... Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 Mr MOTCO have you tried these ? PB, I had not! Thanks for that - added to my favourites for future reference. They make the pressure point well, too. Quote
oldman Posted January 30, 2008 Posted January 30, 2008 k****l!When I wos a lad, I loved a jubilee.Think it cost fourpence and yer couldn't lick it for that price. Quote
bhouse Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Oldman - Fourth one down! or the modern impostor!!! Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Oldman - Fourth one down! or the modern impostor!!! The trick with a frozen Jubbly was to discover which end was the watery one and which was the really concentrated end that had been downwards in the freezer so all the orange concentrated in the corners. If you started with the watery end then the flavour got stronger as you sucked. Quote
FW500 Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 I use these Murray Clips. They're a bit expensive but they will not come off. They also wont b****r up your silicone too if that's what you use as they apply an equal pressure around the hose without biting into the hose. Website: http://www.murraycorp.com/index.pl/tss_turbo_seal_series.htm Order from: http://sorensenroadsport.co.uk/ I quite like the industrial look of them too and are used on nearly all the WRC cars nowadays. Quote
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 "Murray Clips, Murray Clips, too good to hurry clips!" Who sang that? Quote
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