Coolant Tank Replacement - What's the Secret to these F***ing Hoses?

[XanRules]

Hi all,

My coolant hose (the one that goes behind the engine to the turbo line) exploded on the freeway the other day - the plastic connector going to the coolant tank ruptured and spilled coolant everywhere. I'm thinking the car is probably fine - I drove less than a mile and kept it out of boost just to get it off the highway - but I can't figure out how to put this back together.

I've bought all new hoses and a new coolant tank. I am, by all accounts, a pretty strong person. I cannot for the life of me get the top two hoses to "click" into place to secure them to the tank, they just won't go in all the way. There's room, it just seems that once I get to the O-Ring or thereabouts I physically can't push them in any further.

What's the secret? I don't want to grease them up since I don't want to introduce anything other than coolant into the tank, but I've tried for over an hour and I just cannot get the little bastards in.

Anyone got any secrets?

 

[Sprinkle_Star]

i remember that i actually needed to buy a new o-ring since the original one swelled so maybe thats what you'll need to do. i also added silicone grease to the new o-ring and ultimately i was able to get everything back together. also, the bottom hose in the front of the tank actually has a clip that just slides off so that will make it easier to disconnect and reconnect the hose to the tank. you just spread the clip and slide it down to disconnect it

 

[Stupidbutt]

I know it may sound silly but try KY Jelly as an o-ring lube. Just make sure to use the water based KY. It will not harm the o-rings, dissolves with water, and is cheap to purchase.

 

[Bull Run]

Wetting the O rings with coolant worked for me.

 

[XanRules]

i remember that i actually needed to buy a new o-ring since the original one swelled so maybe thats what you'll need to do. i also added silicone grease to the new o-ring and ultimately i was able to get everything back together. also, the bottom hose in the front of the tank actually has a clip that just slides off so that will make it easier to disconnect and reconnect the hose to the tank. you just spread the clip and slide it down to disconnect it

yeah, I'm using all new hoses.

But that's multiple votes for silicone grease (or some kind of, uh, alternative lubricant) so I will try that. Thanks!

 

[XanRules]

Okay, well, I greased all the hoses and clips up and finally got the bottom one on, but it looks like the O-ring somehow backed off of that little plug and now it's dumping coolant everywhere again.

Any thoughts on how to get the o-ring to stay in place while also getting the hose to stay on?

 

[XanRules]

Well, that was an adventure. It was a slow enough leak that I felt confident limping it to a shop down the road - the o-ring had somehow torn while I put the bottom hose in. They had another o-ring on a shelf, popped it on, greased it up, everything clipped into place trouble-free.