Hi everyone,

Pretty much what the tittle says. I used a Zerex pink Coolant which seemed to match the specs and now its caking on some of the connection point of some of these hoses (picture attached). Did I use the wrong coolant or are these hoses just know for failing? Its still holding enought to run it for a while, but would like to fix it eventually.

 

The coolant looks fine, what's the milage?

 

Little over 130k
XJ8L 2005

 

The hoses are starting to show their age.
The plastic housings, are likely showing their age as well.

 

The clamping pressure on the barbs on the plastic fittings can eventually pierce the internal rubber layer of the hose, allowing coolant to enter the fibre reinforcement withing the hose, then it can then slowly wick out to the ends and leave you with the coolant crystallizing.
Unfortunately the hoses are sold as assemblies, so you are usually replacing several hoses and the incorporated plastic fixture with each purchase.

The plastic parts are an absolute curse as they definitely have an expiration date.
I ended up finding a stainless steel T pipe to replace a failed plastic T in a hose assembly I had only replaced 15 months prior. (different hose from your one as mine was the upper coolant hose). The new plastic T had unfortunately developed a pin hole leak in at injection molding point.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah, I've had to replace a bunch of rubber and plastic from his car. I though I saw a part number for that T hose. Any recommendations on where to get one?

 

If you are talking about the top radiator hose I had issues with, I purchased a 304 stainless Tee pipe (image below) from a trader on Ali-Express and carefully cut the factory clamping bands off to release the good rubber hoses and just replace the Tee pipe.
Clamping was a bit interesting as I had to use some pretty nuggety clamps to get good even pressure to ensure no leaks.
I also had to use some silicon tape to slightly enlarge the 20mm branch as it ideally needed to be 22mm but I have no issues with the result.

 

In my sig you'll find a link to my coolant system overhaul, which started with a cracked radiator. The only hose that actually had to be replaced was the valley hose, which is of course the most difficult to get to, requiring removal of the intake manifold. Still, I replaced every hose except one that I could not find anywhere, and that was the one that snaps to the back of the expansion tank, has a Tee that drops to the auxiliary pump while the hose continues to one of the heater pipes. None of the hoses showed any staining or swelling except the valley hose, and it was definitely soft, and on borrowed time.

Regarding yours, that caking of coolant doesn't happen if the hoses aren't seeping, and I feel like your hoses are showing a little bit of ballooning.