I've had a small coolant leak on the hose which connects the thermostat housing to the bottom hose from day 1 in my ownership. It's never been more than irritating, and I tried last winter to stop it, without success. It's a short straight length, 32mm inside diameter and approximately 100mm long.
It sits between the nearside bulkhead and the water pump drive belt and access is tight. Where the thermostat housing presses against the bulkhead I've inserted some woven heat barrier to cushion the pressure. You can see here that I added two lower clamps in a last ditch attempt to stop the drip.
This picture shows just how close the clip worm drive is to the drive belt. here I'm teasing the joint free with a screwdriver.
I fitted a plastic bag over the cap to hold as much coolant in there as possible.
I also use a special oil drip can for "coolant only" and this just fits under the Mog where the coolant will run out.
The bottom hose is connected to the problem hose by a long stainless pipe, which is shaped to fit snugly between the block and exhaust manifold. This is the pipe I insulated with "Reflect-A-Cool" on a previous post, to reduce the impact of radiated heat from the manifold into the coolant. At the front this pipe is secured to the block by a single bolt, which also locates the timing chain cover to the block. This needs loosening off - 10mm socket.
I ended up taking this bolt out. It came out wet, so it must go into the water jacket. Here it is with some thread sealant, awaiting refitting.
With the stainless pipe loosened, I took the easy route and carefully cut the old hose off with a Stanley Knife.
The old hose looks past its best. The writing is "32 x 41 MM HY/H*" 32 is inside diameter, 41 is outside diameter. The last character is indistinct.
More to follow>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
