How to Check Radiator & Coolant Hose

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Nate McCullough on behalf of expertvillage.com. In this clip we are going to talk about one of the items involved in a major tune-up or vehicle overhaul. The item we are going to talk about is inspection of the vehicle’s coolant hoses. Okay. On your hose, this is the hardest working portion of any radiator or coolant hose where it is actually clamped down to its corresponding coolant component. It could be the heater core, thermostat, housing or part of the engine block or the radiator. As I said that is the hardest working part because that is where it is actually squeezed out. There are things you want to check for at these locations. One of them is dry rotting. Dry rotting being anything that is going to be splits in the hose where you can see the rubber just through age has deteriorated. This one of course is a newer hose. You don’t see any dry rotting on it. Another thing you are going to want to check is the sponginess of the hose. The hose should be relatively rigid. As you squeeze on it, it should spring back in your hands like so. If you squeeze it and it stays flat, it indicates that the inside of the hose is beginning to deteriorate. Lastly one of the things you are going to want to check for is any leaks indicated at the corresponding clamping point. You can see right here that it is nice and dry. There are no leaks. If there are leaks there, again it is going to indicate a deterioration in the inside surface with the mating surface of your hose."