Rad Hose Exploded

[ry94stang50]

So I'm driving to work and noticed my car was running hot then boom my upper rad hose exploded so I went to drain the rad pulled the plug and nothing came out but the rad was full does mean its clogged..? so should I get a new rad or could it be something else

 

[88stang88]

Well it sounds like it is clogged. What happens if you take off the bottom hose does it come out from the radiator?

I would try and flush out the radiator first before buying a new one.

 

[ry94stang50]

Well first I just bought new hoses thermostat and a new cap I don't think its the rad or water pump I'm gonna install everythung tomorow hope it works

 

[88stang88]

Well just from what you said in your first post here you pulled the drain and nothing came out but the radiator was full....That is a issue reguardless because it is not draining like its designed to.

Another thing is your radiator hose should not explode without a build up of pressure instead just leak like crazy from dry rotting or cracks.

Check and make sure you can push coolant thru the radiator before you hurt your block with heat cycles.

 

[ry94stang50]

Well when I squeezed the top hose last night it would shoot water out of the radiator so it should be fine right? It seems to me that either the cap was bad or the thermostat was stuck closed and I already have replacements for both so well see tomorow....I have been having issues for two weeks with the car running hot but not overheating then it started to run hot then back down to below normal....and when I opened the cap there's water in the radiator and its dirty as all hell so I'm thinking the thermostat is either clogged or broken I hope....so when I pull the thermostat out ill pull tge drain plug from the radiator and it should drain then correct? And if it doesn't the problem lies in the rad right?

 

[88stang88]

I had a bad cap cause me alot of headache before as well. I definitely recommend replacing supporting components like thermostat and cap whenever your changing a part anyways just bc they are so cheap and good to change regularly.

You are referring to the drain on the bottom of the radiator correct?

If you had the cap off the radiator and squeezed the top hose it will come out regardless if you have a clog or not because the cap is directly above the upper hose. Now if you open the drain and nothing comes out it sounds like your thermostat is stuck closed and you probably have a clog because your radiator should be able to drain even if the t-stat is closed from both sides.

Sounds like you should just do a good flush anyways and get any kind of crud that might have been hanging around. You should know pretty quickly if you have a clog when you try and flush the system out.