17 replies to this topic

[sonscar]

Are you entirely sure it is the hose?On some heaters the plastic stubs are fastened to the matrix with self tappers and O rings prone to leaking.
May be rubbish but I was taught to leave a gap at the stub end,2 to3 mm and fit the hose clamp 1 mm from the end of the hose.Is the end of the hose hard and imprinted with the outline of the old clips?Steve..

[slidingdog]

Well the sealant suggestion was just an attempt to get it going. Would not like to have it there long term....might work though, worth a try?  If it fails, you can still try finding a tighter fitting hose. If the matrix stubs are a plastic, then over tightening the hose clamps might be distorting the plastic enough to make for a poor seal with the hose. With tighter fitting hose, there should be less need to use higher clamping force, assuming the stubs are not permanently distorted or cracked. Make sure there is no protruding plastic on the stubs from the moulding process etc... Can be knocked down with a bit of emery paper or similar.

 
I guess it's time to drain down the system again and double check the stubs to rule them out. I had the leak on the old matrix with the new hoses as well though, since it was the first time the car had ran in 13yrs I assumed it was the old matrix causing the issue rather than the new hose I had fitted, so I'm leaning towards the hose being the problem. Will check and measure against the old matrix anyway to be sure.
 

Just a thought, but might it be worth copying the solution used on plastic MPi header tanks?
Slide a tight fitting metal sleeve inside the plastic stub to stop it deforming when clamped.

Thanks, not heard of that so will look into it!
 

Are you entirely sure it is the hose?On some heaters the plastic stubs are fastened to the matrix with self tappers and O rings prone to leaking.
May be rubbish but I was taught to leave a gap at the stub end,2 to3 mm and fit the hose clamp 1 mm from the end of the hose.Is the end of the hose hard and imprinted with the outline of the old clips?Steve..

I have the mk3 - '84 matrix, which I think has the stubs and body as one piece, but will double check that. I had tried different positions for the hose and clamp and it definitely reduced the leak but not entirely fixed it.

I think I'll order some more hose from Minispares, the one I have now is the kevlar one so will try the standard one, hopefully is a tighter fit.

In the meantime I read that putting rubber in boiling water can shrink it slightly, anyone heard of that? Would it not return to it's original size when it cools?

Thanks all for the advice,

Tim

[Tornado99]

 

Well the sealant suggestion was just an attempt to get it going. Would not like to have it there long term....might work though, worth a try?  If it fails, you can still try finding a tighter fitting hose. If the matrix stubs are a plastic, then over tightening the hose clamps might be distorting the plastic enough to make for a poor seal with the hose. With tighter fitting hose, there should be less need to use higher clamping force, assuming the stubs are not permanently distorted or cracked. Make sure there is no protruding plastic on the stubs from the moulding process etc... Can be knocked down with a bit of emery paper or similar.

 
I guess it's time to drain down the system again and double check the stubs to rule them out. I had the leak on the old matrix with the new hoses as well though, since it was the first time the car had ran in 13yrs I assumed it was the old matrix causing the issue rather than the new hose I had fitted, so I'm leaning towards the hose being the problem. Will check and measure against the old matrix anyway to be sure.
 

 

Just a thought, but might it be worth copying the solution used on plastic MPi header tanks?
Slide a tight fitting metal sleeve inside the plastic stub to stop it deforming when clamped.

Thanks, not heard of that so will look into it!
 

 

Are you entirely sure it is the hose?On some heaters the plastic stubs are fastened to the matrix with self tappers and O rings prone to leaking.
May be rubbish but I was taught to leave a gap at the stub end,2 to3 mm and fit the hose clamp 1 mm from the end of the hose.Is the end of the hose hard and imprinted with the outline of the old clips?Steve..

I have the mk3 - '84 matrix, which I think has the stubs and body as one piece, but will double check that. I had tried different positions for the hose and clamp and it definitely reduced the leak but not entirely fixed it.

I think I'll order some more hose from Minispares, the one I have now is the kevlar one so will try the standard one, hopefully is a tighter fit.

In the meantime I read that putting rubber in boiling water can shrink it slightly, anyone heard of that? Would it not return to it's original size when it cools?

Thanks all for the advice,

Tim

 

Well the hose is already subject to higher then boiling point liquid when engine is up to temp. So, placing in boiling water will not achieve any shrink...it will just soften it while it is hot. 

Edited by Tornado99, 07 October 2021 - 10:06 PM.