motor help

[tucker71]

anyone have any suggestions what would cause both radiator hoses to swell up big after you run. looked like they were about to blow. car got about 220 and never puked any water out.

[runyou-2]

Yea,head gasket or cracked head causing pressure on the cooling system.Running hot,junk hoses,high pressure cap.Take the cap off,fire it up cold and see if it pushes water out or any air bubbles in the water.If not,keep it running to let it warm up some to see if it pushes water.

[diggindirt]

Only thing I can think of is a head gasket.

[roybeckett13j]

If its not getting hot, really hot, and its not putting water out i wouldnt think it was a head gasket.

my thoughts are that its just warm after it runs, heat builds pressure in the cooling system which swells the hoses some...to an extent.

[stock car driver]

Ive had piston to head to close and the piston would tap the head just enough to lift it and allow compression in the water system. I could race a night or tow with no issues then walla issues again... my water temp would spike when this happened though but thought I would throw it out there because you cant always see bubbles and you may still have a issue.

[runyou-2]

DDDDDaaayyyyyuuuummmmm jeff...you've done it all. what you call that? head lift?hahahhaha

[tucker71]

thanks. the hoses are old i should have replaced them last week when putting the new engine in. motor ran fine we won the heat and feature. took hood off after heat race and the top hose looked swelled up. ran 15 lap feature and temp was about 220 to 230 by the time we got to where we take pics. didnt push water out. checked water in it next morning and could touch it with my finger still. someone said something about bubbles what does that mean? also was checking it over and it has no thermostat but it had a little metal plate in the intake where your hose goes like a divider where your thermostat goes

[stock car driver]

DDDDDaaayyyyyuuuummmmm jeff...you've done it all. what you call that? head lift?hahahhaha

yes in 20 years of racing I have had almost every problem twice... including the head lift issue....

worse to diagnose was hose in fuel cell loose at the fitting.... weeks and weeks

[dirtrace09]

Head cracked is probably the culprit. Top swollen hose is a telltale sign of a cracked head.

[joedoozer]

Head cracked is probably the culprit. Top swollen hose is a telltale sign of a cracked head.

Also the sign of an old spongy hose.

[tucker71]

This is your only issue. We've had brand new hoses that swelled up. Some types of stock hoses aren't made to run 22-26 psi, which is what most racing radiator caps maintain, especially if you have a couple seasons on them.

Buy some new, better quality hoses and you'll be fine. Like you said, everything else indicates no problems. You really answered your own question.

Good luck.

thanks to all. i think i was just worrying for no reason. getting new hoses today. my engine builder said the same thing as you and another guy.

[dave41]

that one is B.S.

[tucker71]

which one is b.s

[stock car driver]

Hoses should have springs in them for high flow water pumps. fyi

[26-62 racing]

Rent a radiator pressure from a local parts house. Remove the radiator cap install the tester and pump the cooling system up to 22 to 26 psig. If the hoses expand they have defective rubber in them. While the cooling system is under pressure, look for any loss in pressure by the gauge. Which could could be a sign of additional problems. Diagnose the problems dont just tear into the motor and waste money. There could be a problem not found on a cold motor, but eliminate the easy problems first.

[tucker71]

thanks for all the suggestions. i think it was just the hoses are old. new ones will be in thursday.parts house never seems to have what you need lol.will check and see if they have that pressure tester also just to be sure.

[Graff Spee]

If this block was ever sleeved it could have a leak around sleeve. If engine was hot tanked during rebuild ,the caustic acid can eat away at epoxy on sleeve. Had this happen once. Itwas hard to find. Sounds like old hoses to me though. Make sure you have a spring in the lower hose to prevent it from collapsing from suction.

[parrot69777]

Only time I have seen guys run a spring in a hose is with the cheap rubber hoses and that was 20 years ago. Run a ribbed hose and you not have a problem. Ribbed hoses have the spring built inside the rubber. Besides....the internal spring only helps the hose to keep from collapsing.....does nothing to keep it from swelling. Ribbed hoses will also slow the water some and help with cooling.

No matter what you do....anytime an engine is shut off after a race....it will gain 20-30 degrees because there is nothing to cool the engine.

[hogracer3d]

NAPA had a dyed block check solution, you put it in a like a turkey Baster type syringe that has a rubber cazootska that actually sniffs the air in the top of the radiator while running and warm.

It pulls the sample of air through the dye solution, if it changes color from blue to green, you have combustion gasses in your cooling system.

Not really expensive either

[hogracer3d]

Here is another brand, but same thing

http://blockchek.com/