[Dragon2U]

Hi all,

Radiator - I started washing my new toy this morning and I started in the engine compartment. I notice that the large hose laying over the radiator support, under the air cleaner duct, is flat almost the entire length of the straight part that rests on the support. Usually this problem is caused by a bad radiator cap. The only cap I see is on the overflow tank, is there another one somehwere?
I took off the overflow tank cap and it was rather sticky on the threads and seal(from the Dex?) so I cleaned it up and placed it back on. Could this be the trouble or should I take it in for service? No cooling issues that I am aware of but I've only had it a few days.

Radio - Auto level sound. The manual says that if you press the auto vol button you should get 5 readings (off, on, low, med, high) but all I get is "on" and "off" and I don't notice much if any change in volume. Am I missing something or is that another dealer repair item on my list?


Thanks in advance for any assistance,
Mike
:seeya

 

[JAustin]

Mike:

I can't help you with the radiator hose question; then again, I have an '05, so I don't know what the changes are, if any.

As for the radio's so-called AutoVolume control: I hijacked a related thread recently, and asked this same question. Consensus seemed to be that -- apart from raising the volume level when the top is dropped, and lowering it again when the top is raised -- AutoVolume doesn't seem to do much, if anything.

I've tried without success to cause the Low, Med and High readouts to display on the radio, to no avail.

 

[Flassh]

I have an 03, and have noticed the upper rad hose goes flat when the engine cools down - it regains its shape under pressure as the engine heats up, so I don't think it's a problem.

I suspect if there was a potential problem, GM would have used a wire reinforced hose.

Ray

 

[Mike in AZ]

Collapsed hoses are not acceptable. Take a good look at the pressure cap!

The cap has two functions, pressure relief at the rated pressure on the cap and vacuum relief when the system cools. If you have a collapsing hose, it is an indication of a plugged up vacuum valve in the cap. Most often, you can take it into the kitchen (when your wife is not looking) and run a lot of fresh water through it and clean the passage.

Remember, sucking on this as a test (although effective) is not recommended, as anti-freeze is bad for you.... it tastes like crap too.

If all else fails, have your dealer replace the cap under warranty. Reference the Description of Operation for the pressure cap in the maintenance manual. Pg. 6-313 in the 2005 manual if he doubts you.

Good Luck,

Mike

 

[beer100]

Fyi

The high low and mid settings are only on the base model headunit. The 6 disc headunit only has on and off.

 

[ykp53]

Flat Hose

My 03 does this also, so i should take it in and get a new cap? what damage does it do to leave it the way it is?

 

[Mike in AZ]

ykp53,

The intention of the vacuum valve in the cap is to allow the backfilling of a cold system with coolant. This provides a single benefit to the cooling system. It keeps the system operating at the proper pressure level. The full cold system will heat up and expand to provide the rated pressure in the cooling system by venting of the excess pressure. The venting is done with the air above the coolant in the recovery tank.... this is why you always filll the tank to the indicated full level - no more.

A normally operating system will actually cause an amount of air to escape from the storage / recovery tank while maintaining the pressure on the system. Coolant under pressure has a significantly higher boiling point than when at ambient pressure. Note here: This is why you never open a hot system..... if it is below the pressurized boiling point, it may be above the unpressurized boiling point and will spew all over you when you release the pressure.

Sorry for the long dissertation. This is really a small, but key part of the cooling system that is often ignored. If the hose is collapsing, you are not going to operate at "normal" pressure conditions, even though there is plenty of fluid in the tank.

My Best Regards,

Mike

 

[Dragon2U]

Thanks to all that replied. Yes, the collapsed hose is an issue but it was solved by cleaning as mentioned in my first post. I took a run last nite and came back without problems. I think the factory used some sort of grease on the cap seal, the interaction with the Dexcool after sitting awhile. The heat and moisture made the grease sticky and plugged the vent.

If you have a colapsed hose and want to take care of it yourself this might work if it feels sticky on the threaded area. I rinsed off the cap with hot water, scrubbed some dishwashing liquid on it, rinsed it off and dried it well then placed it back on the tank. Seems to have worked at the moment. mikem-2005 is right, it is important to make sure the cooling system is operating correctly on these things, they tend to run hot like Vettes anyway.

Mike
:seeya

 

[FUZZY]

Flat hose?

I spoke with one of the SSR repair techs on Saturday on this issue about the flat hose. They are going to look into this and let us know what they find. They may come up with a propper fix and reason for why it does this.

Till we know more, I'm fine with mine. No cooling problems.

 

[Pretzel]

My upper radiator hose was also collapsed and vent cap was clogged. Soaked the cap in some hot water as advised. Worked great. Thanks everyone !

Cheers !
Pretzel