Radiator leak

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Splinter
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Radiator leak

Post by Splinter »

I noticed on my drive home today, when I stopped to make an errand at the bank, that the front of my car was hissing and dripping. I popped it open but couldnt see where it was coming from. I drove the rest of the way home, and when I got out of the car it was LOUD. I popped the hood again, and there was a big jet of steam coming out of the hose on the left hand side of the radiator.

I couldnt really get close enough to it to see where the jet was coming from, but it looked to be right at the join between the rad and the hose. What should I do? Im new to cars in general, never had to deal with this before.
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Legacy777
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Post by Legacy777 »

Look and see if it's coming from the hose, or if it's coming from the plastic end tank on the part that faces the front of the car.
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Splinter
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Post by Splinter »

As far as I can tell, it's coming from the hose.

I was just on the phone to my dad and he told me to try tightening the hose clamp
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Manarius
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Post by Manarius »

If it's coming from the rad..you're going to need a new rad all together. More than likely, however, it's just the tube, which is an easy replacement.
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Splinter
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Post by Splinter »

Tightening the hose clamp *seems* to have fixed the problem.

A few questions tho:

Should I replace the hose anyway?

Any particular steps I should take to clean up the rad fluid that sprayed out?
98 Steel Widebody RSTi-RA Superbeast
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