Collapsed Upper Radiator Hose

[2bits]

OK here is a long drawn out problem.

My Old Tank's temp light came on about two months ago and I replaced the thermostat at that time. No help.

I then noticed that the upper hose was collapsed so I replaced both upper and lower hoses and the lower hose has the wire inside it.

Then I replaced the radiator. still the truck would overheat. Then I replaced the Cap with a Stant radiator cap.

The car still would overheat and the coolant would come out of the overflow bottle.

This weekend I replaced the Water pump and the thermostat again and went to the dealership and got a new stock radiator cap.

This morning I cranked up and let the car warm up and checked it out.

After it was warmed up I opened the cap to check the flow and noticed that the water was low so I topped it off and watched it for awhile, and it started spitting back out. This is driving me crazy. The water is getting hot so I know it's running through the engine.

I started cussing like a sailor and put the cap back on and guess what I noticed then......

The upper hose collapsed when I put the cap back on.

What's wrong with "My OLD TANK" ?

Summary :

2 New Thermostats
1 New Water Pump
1 New Radiator
New Upper and Lower Hoses
New Radiator Cap
12 Gallons of Prestone

[James McClure]

2 Bits: Is the engine the correct year? Does it have a serpentine belt system or "V" belt? Lower hose has a wire in it to prevent it from collapsing because thats the suction side of the system. The upper hose is the pressure side. Take the thermostat housing off and see which side of the thermostat is up. If the spring side is up it's in backwards. Spring side should be down. This is the most likely cause and would explain why the upper hose sucks shut.
Next would be the waterpump. If somehow you got a pump for a serpentine system (one single belt drives all the accessories) and put it on a "V" belt system (any system that uses more than a single belt) or visa versa, pump rotation will be backwards from what it's supposed to be, but because the impeller cut would be backwards, the rotation couldn't develope alot of suction, so the upper hose wouldn't collapse.
Check the thermostat first!! As I said, it's the most likely cause. Jim

[piecesparts]

You have a head gasket that is leaking or you have a cracked head. Go to a radiator shop and have them check the radiator for carbon monoxide gases, with a chemical tester. That will tell you if you are blowing water out with the gases from a cylinder. I have had this one happen a couple times in the past.

[spudz]

The upper radiator hose can colapse when filling for the first time, like if you fill with water then the thermostate opens and then it will suck a vacume on the system.. But it shouldn't do it all the time. Is it something that just started happening or has it always ran hot??? Wrong water pump, wrong intake gaskets, head/gasket problem, etc... Pressurize the cylinders and see if the radiator bubbles. But if it was a blown gasket or cracked head, then there should be a huge amount of pressure on the system.. Make sure you got a good quality thermostat in it... sometimes it wont open when the block is empty, you can try pulling the stat and pouring water into the block then reasemble..

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by spudz

The upper radiator hose can colapse when filling for the first time, like if you fill with water then the thermostate opens and then it will suck a vacume on the system.. But it shouldn't do it all the time. Is it something that just started happening or has it always ran hot??? Wrong water pump, wrong intake gaskets, head/gasket problem, etc... Pressurize the cylinders and see if the radiator bubbles. But if it was a blown gasket or cracked head, then there should be a huge amount of pressure on the system.. Make sure you got a good quality thermostat in it... sometimes it wont open when the block is empty, you can try pulling the stat and pouring water into the block then reasemble..

Opening the radiator cap when it is hot, you will see pressure on the radiator tank, no matter what. however, if this displacement of water is repeating itself---then you have something inside forcing the water out.
You did not state that any other changes were made on the engine, but it could be that there is a wrong component in the assembly, if you did change out water pump, T/stat, belt (wrong direction on rotation), etc...