radiator hose question

[scruffy63]

Ok I know this is stupid but after doing some donuts with friends, in an empty factory lot, I left my engine running with no fan on. it over heated and and started smoking so we ran over to it.and popped the hood(after I turned the engine off). it was spraying coolant everywhere.so we got the car home.2 days later i decide to fix it.I find that my lower radiator hose had a big crack near the engine. so all I did was cut the end of the hose off and then put it back on. My question is will this work or does the hose have to be a certain length? sorry about the long post

[scruffy63]

any tech heads have any info on this.all help is really appreciated.

[IvoryJ30t]

as long as its not leaking anymore, its fine.

[Nismo_Freak]

Length of the lower hose has no bearing on coolant system operation. Your fine as long as it's not leaking.

[scruffy63]

yes but right now the hose is pressed against the alternator. doesn't the hose need room to expand?

[NISTECH]

the hose shouldnt be kinked. but the hose should not expand that much if it does you are in jepordy of it poping under high flow conditions when accelerating. if you got the car hot engough to split a hose you might want to go through all your hoses and see how soft they are. replace any that feel like you are pushing in on raw meat. best describtion I could come up with..lol

[180fan]

how far did your car overheat? A few buddies of mine had their radiators crack on them and their engines were shot after their engines warped. Also if you've got like 20-30 bucks, I say just get some new hoses from your local parts store. Not too expensive, and gives peace of mind.

[scruffy63]

it was pretty high but I don't think I really injured anything on my car. since I fixed it I haven't had any problems at all.

[Nismo_Freak]

Is that defrosted raw meat or frozen raw meat

I'd just go ahead and replace the hoses, and replace the coolant as well. Once it's boiled the coolant will lose some of it's properties.

Living in GA... if you don't have alot of winter weather (IE. 30 degs. and below) then I'd suggest running a 60/40 H20/Coolant mix. Then add a little water to the mix in the summer.

[NISTECH]

that would be defrosted,preferrably tri tip..

[scruffy63]

thanx for the info nismo. i'll do that today. wait, if its hotter wouldn't you need more coolant than water?

[mikew04]

water transfers heat better i believe. 50/50 max, i think most people suggest 70/30 water/coolant

[Nismo_Freak]

70/30 is what I use here in Texas... it works like a champ.

The coolant just raises and lowers the freezing and boiling temps of normal water so that you don't end up boiling over when it's 100 degs. outside and you don't wake up to a blown up radiator when the water freezes (since water expands when it freezes).

The "coolant" itself is Ethylene Glycol, a colorless syrupy liquid that has a sweet taste (I can attest to that, however the rest of the crap in coolant doesn't).

C2H6O21,2-dihydroxyethane Melting point: -13 C Boiling point: 196-198 C

Notice the difference... water has a melting point of 0 C and a boiling point of 100 C.

Long story short, the water does most of the actual cooling, the coolant is there to prevent the system from failing.