Thread: Top radiator hose sliced by top engine cover

Originally Posted by Odysseyman

Ok so yesterday out in the Vic High Country in our 2016 D4 SDV6 after about 200 km I got a low coolant warning light. We found the top hose neatly sliced open, about 2cm long, by the top engine cover. Has anyone else had this problem??
I’m at our Indie at the moment and they say there is not a top hose anywhere in Aust or UK. Grrrr ! The car was serviced only 2 weeks ago and I have a feeling the top cover wasn’t positioned correctly but in the heat of the moment I was too distracted finding the leak to notice it’s position before I took it off.
So, is this a common problem? Surely not!
And can anyone help with a top hose please?
Cheers
David
PS I’ll post this in the urgent help thread as well.

You are my hero. Mine was on the way. I cut back the cover and will get the hose replaced next service.

Hi guys I noticed mine is has rubbing, so I've ordered and I received my replacement hose.

Any tips on replacement. Besides waiting for it to be engine to cool before changing it over? Access looks a little challenging, looks like I have to remove the intake cowl to get to one end which looks like a simple wishbone retaining clip, but not sure how to tension the hose clamp end? Can it be done with basic tools? Or can it wait till my next service?

Cheers
Andrew

Originally Posted by walahbro

Hi guys I noticed mine is has rubbing, so I've ordered and I received my replacement hose.

Any tips on replacement. Besides waiting for it to be engine to cool before changing it over? Access looks a little challenging, looks like I have to remove the intake cowl to get to one end which looks like a simple wishbone retaining clip, but not sure how to tension the hose clamp end? Can it be done with basic tools? Or can it wait till my next service?

Cheers
Andrew

When I found mine cut through I first went to my usual guys and, as they couldn’t source a genuine hose at the time, we temporarily bodgied up a similar one off a Hyundai. Both ends were relatively easily accessible with the top cover off the engine. I think if you ditched that strange looking clamp which goes on the motor end of the replacement for an aftermarket one with a screw/nut you can fairly easily reach to tighten it with an 8mm (I think) spanner.

When the dealer eventually fitted the genuine one I was concerned there still wasn’t enough clearance and they adjusted it by slightly turning the hose at each end to achieve the desired clearance. You may need to do this a few times, each time replacing the engine cover, until you are sure there is sufficient clearance. You can also trim a bit of the top engine cover with a Dremel or similar to achieve a lot more clearance. I believe at least 1cm all around the hose is desirable. I think there are photos of this further back in this thread.
Hope this helps,

David

Yep, giving any hose a bit of a twist & changing it's direction under tension can usually clear an obstruction but it is a bit trial & error as you sid.

I recently had all my hoses changed by an Indie here in Adelaide. I kept all the old hoses as spares, they appeared to be ok, no obvious cut in the top hose. On return from our 13000k trip I had a good look at top hose and sure enough was cut through about 50%. Happily enough indy replaced hose with new at no cost and dremelled the housing for me. End of problem.

AND I got bumped by the specter of the sliced hose. Thankfully I noticed mine before it had sliced through, but there is a deep scoring on it's side. I'll post pictures later.

I found a replacement hose, but they are charging a pretty penny for it, and I won't even bother going to the dealership because I know they will charge double for a part that will take 4 months to arrive (wonders of Brazillian customs), So I cooked up another more permanent and rugged solution: I'm considering making the bent part in metal (got a LOT of stainless laying around) and using industrial pressure clamps to hold each end of the hose together, maybe wrap it up with rubber so it won't make any clanking noises. We'll see how it goes.

At worse I'll have to buy a new hose, at best I got a permanent solution that will last longer than the car

How old is your car? It will be a warranty job? Or to get a new hose go to a Ford dealer instead as I think they will have an equivalent item.

Mine is from 2010, so no warranty there. And ford never even dreamed about bringing anything similar to Brazil (sadly). The only other make I can think of that would have that hose is Jaguar, and that would be expensive anyway.

So yeah, I'm going to try the stainless steel solution. It'll still have quite a bit of rubber preserved, only the bend and the section that touch the engine cover will be replaced, so the engine movement is not an issue.
The only other issue is rust, but since I'll use 304 stainless, it's non-existant. IF it works, it'll be a lifelong repair (stainless tube will probably last longer than the car's chassis) AND will be something I won't have to worry about ever again.
IF it doesn't work, then I'll have to take the bullet and just buy the proper hose.

That's why I'm going with the mod: It's a zero-cost solution to a problem that WILL arise again if I just replace the rubber hose for a new one (the engine moves quite a bit, so even cutting up the cover a little WILL cause the cover to rub on the hose, only less).