27
Had a coolant hose blow on a 6.7 Powerstroke in the middle of a job last Tuesday
It was a simple fuel filter swap for a regular customer, just a quick in-and-out. I had the truck up on the lift, filter changed, and was about to button up the skid plate when I heard a hiss and saw steam. A lower radiator hose, the one that runs to the oil cooler, had a split about two inches long right at the clamp. It must have been weak and the pressure from the system just let go. I had to drain the whole cooling system, which took over an hour because of how the air bleeds on that engine. The hose itself was only forty bucks, but it turned a thirty minute job into a three hour ordeal. Customer was cool about it, but it threw my whole afternoon schedule off. Makes you wonder how many other trucks are running around with hoses that are just waiting to pop. Anyone else had a simple job get wrecked by a random part failure like that?
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
abbynelson2mo ago
My shop started stocking the common hoses after the third time that happened.
7
I used to think stocking coolant hoses was a waste of money and space. After blowing a heater hose on a 5.9 Cummins during a simple oil change, I changed my tune. Now I keep the three most common ones for our fleet trucks on the shelf. It has saved my schedule more than once.
4
paul_taylor2128d ago
That split hose at the clamp is a classic weak spot on those 6.7s. The constant heat cycles from the oil cooler right there just cook the rubber over time. My advice is to keep at least one lower radiator hose and the two heater hoses on the shelf for those trucks, because it's not a matter of if they'll go, it's when. Also, get yourself a spill-free funnel kit for the 6.7, it makes the air bleed part a five minute ordeal instead of an hour long headache. A few bucks in parts and a little prep time saves you from losing an entire afternoon to a forty-dollar hose.
1