Ford KA Cooling

[crship]

Tried to post this earlier but dont think that it uploaded.

I replaced the Heater solonoid in my KA on Sunday. Not too hard a job. Heater works well. Water seems to be flowing through all the pipes, engine etc.No overheat lights

However after running for about 30 minutes I notice that the large diameter hose leading to the thermostat is "fit to burst". Imagine a size 40 waist in 36"trousers.

If I open up the overflow resevoir cap the tank fills up with water and the hose goes back to normal.

Not sure if this sounds right for the hose to be under such pressure, but obviously the thermostat is working or the inlet outlet hoses would not be hot.

Any thoughts?

[v64paul]

my first thought is, the hose in question may be in poor condition. does it feel spongy ? the next thing is that when you release the pressure you say that the expansion tank fills up with water. something does'nt sound right although it's been a long day... with the engine at normal working temperature is the coolant level correct, with the cap in place on the expansion tank?

[crship]

thanks Paul.

After a normal day the coolent level in the tank is correct. When I undo the cap a little air rushes out, the water level increases and the goes from being hard to being soft.

Drove it last night in a lot of traffic and still no warning light or overheating so figure that it must be ok.

[qapmoc]

Hi crship, from your last post it sounds very much as though the cooling system is operating normally, Is this pipe the only one behaving like this or are they all doing it? if it is the only one then it is likely that the hosepipe in question is getting ready to fail, probably just when you most need the car!!

The hoses should get normally get slightly harder as the pressure increases with the temperature increase during operation, but they should not feel ''very'' soft when the pressure is released.

If it is only this pipe then I strongly suggest that you get and fit a new hose to this position ASAP.