With the recent heat wave in PR, the temperatures have not been kind to the cooling system. Especially not after some very spirited driving. My RealGauge alerted me via alarm that the system was overheating. I thought that was probably a consequence of how I was driving and the ambient temperature. I pulled over, shut off the car, and in that moment, my octopus hose burst between the T and the norma connector on the passenger side. Not wanting to pay a tow, I limped it to the nearest parts shop, paying close attention to my RealGauge. Whenever I was going downhill, I shut off the engine and let it coast or when in flat ground with momentum, fully aware that I now could not count on power assist steering and vacuum operated brakes. I would turn the car off in the red lights as well.

I made it to the parts shop and referenced this thread: $5 octopus hose fix. I bought a foot of ¾" heater hose, a barbed fitting, a utility knife, hose clamps, gloves, a flathead screwdriver, 3 gallons of distilled water and water wetter. Then I got to work. I removed the norma connector, cut off the broken section of the octopus hose, spliced in the new hose to the pipe, and filled the system up. This was supposed to be a stop-gap fix to make it home. I noticed it's holding water under pressure, but I don't trust the fix quite yet. I checked the rest of the octopus hose and it's in good condition.

I made it to home depot and bought a brass T barbed hose fitting for ¾" hose. In the weekend I will cut off the existing rubber T since it felt delicate and I will splice in the new brass T.

The octopus hose in my car is only 3 years old, I did not expect it to fail. I will use this for a while and then buy a new octopus hose.

 

Since I saw the $5 fix I carry a couple of brass connectors and clamps but had not thought of gloves because its hot .....great tip.

 

Curious: - Is it OEM or aftermarket?

 

I will have to take a look at my invoices because right now I do not really remember.

 

You are significantly better off with the properly-done brass hose barb repair than you would be with any new octopus hose, OEM or aftermarket. Removing the lousy plastic Norma connectors from the system is always the way to go....

 

Nicely done @giandanielxk8 - as others have said and I agree - this forum is the best tool in a Jaguar owner's tool box

 

Here's the final result. I removed the T section because it was delaminating, and I fit in a brass T.

 

Well done. Leave it just like that and you will be fine for many years to come....