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MkI Moandeo V6 collapsed radiator and coolant leaks   
One persistent problem on my tired old 1995 Ford V6 Moandeo is slight 
leakage from around the cooling system hoses, most notably around the hose 
connections to the in-line thermostat housing.

I've tried unsuccessfully to stop the leaks by thoroughly cleaning the 
aluminium spigots, fitting new hose clips and praying.  As the leakage has 
been minimal, I finally decided to ignore it.

My radiator has just (literally) collapsed. The bottom steel U-section 
radiator cross-member has snapped and the whole cooling matrix is sagging 
and heading south!

For some reason, the radiator cross-member has two large vee-cuts for almost 
the full width, one at each end of the radiator.  This seriously weakens the 
cross-member and it is at one of these vee-cuts that the cross-member has 
snapped.

I now have to disturb a lot of hose connections next weekend.

Can anyone recommend a good hose sealant that I could apply to the aluminium 
(and steel) spigots before I refit the hoses?  There must be something that 
will seal the slight coolant leaks without damaging the rubber hose.

I've got Hermetite and Hylomar blue in stock.
-- 
Mike
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Date:Mon, 12 Sep 2005 12:21:04 +0100   Author: