How to Look for Wear or Leaks on Hoses and Clamps in a Mercury Villager

Performing regularly scheduled maintenance like checking your hoses and clamps for wear and leaking will help your Mercury Villager perform better and save you repair bills.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Move the Mercury Villager to a well-lit area where you can easily see and reach the engine compartment.

2. Find the upper and lower radiator hoses, which go from the radiator to the engine and from the radiator to your exhaust manifold. The coolant hose runs from your radiator to your intake manifold. The heater hoses run from the radiator to the back of the engine block, as do the hoses attached to the intake manifold.

3. Use your hands to run the full length of each hose. Pay attention to how the hose feels: it should be firm, not soft or pliable. If you feel softness or you can easily pinch the hose with little give, it needs to be replaced.

4. Pinch the end of each hose and try to feel ridges or gaps inside the hose. Feeling pits or ridges means the hose is failing from the inside and needs to be replaced.

5. Wipe each hose with a clean white cloth to remove grease and oil so you can visually inspect the hoses. Look for tiny cracks and tears. Replace any hoses that have such defects in them.

6. Look at each clamp. Make sure they fit snugly and securely hold the hoses in place, but aren't so tight the clamps pinch into the hose. Use a screwdriver to tighten or loosen as needed.

7. Pull the Mercury Villager into an area underneath of which the ground is clean and allow it to run for approximately five minutes. Inspect the area beneath the vehicle to see if you can see any evidence of leaking.

8. Reinspect the hoses for any signs of moisture or leaking at the clamps. Adjust or replace those parts accordingly.

Tips & Warnings

• Any time you replace a hose in your Mercury Villager, replace the clamps that secure that hose at the same time.
• There is a great amount of variance in the radiator hoses for the Mercury Villager. Take the radiator hose from your Villager with you to make sure you purchase the correct replacement.
• The fuel vent hose on the Mercury Villager model years 1997 and 1998 were recalled because they allow air to vent from the fuel hose. If the tank is too full and there is enough heat generated, this can cause a fire. Contact your dealer for instructions.
• The fuel lines in the 1997 Mercury Villager were incorrectly manufactured, and are subject to cracking and leaking. Replace those lines with new hoses.
• Several 1993 Mercury Villager models had several fuel filter hoses that were sliced with a box cutter prior to installation. Contact your dealer to see if your vehicle is one of those recalled and have your fuel filter hoses replaced.
• Allow the vehicle to cool before inspecting the hoses and clamps so you don't burn yourself.

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