Bongo Fury

ive been losing coolant and have just found the leak its on the radiator bleed pipe is there any reason i cant cut it off at the leak and put the plug in while i get a new one.it will leave around 10inch to a foot of pipe from the block. ive quite a few miles to do before i can fit a new one so thought i would make sure. as to replacement pipe will a normal piece of rad hose be ok if correct diameter as the proper replacement seems pricey at25 quid for a piece of hose. thanks as usual b4 i recieve any answers becos so far ive never been let down by you guys and gals on here

I'd have though you'd be fine as long as you ensure no air gets into the system while you are doing the job. To that end I would ensure the engine was stone cold, aand release the header tank cap to ensure there is no negative pressure in the system. Provided the hose overall was in good nick (not brittle), I'd consider clamping it off near the cut while I did the job to prevent any leakage.

Having said all that, I'd have thought that some of that rad. hose bandaging tape would get you by OK until you could fit a new hose. Have you considered that option?

You might want to see what views others with more experience than me have about all this, before rushing off to perform an amputation etc.

Good luck

PS - do you have a low coolant alarm as insurance against coolant loss?

Can't see any problem with cutting it off - just, as Mike says, make sure there's no air in the system.

I had a tiny hole in the last few cms & just cut off the damaged part. You don't really need the 'proper' pipe with the hook shaped end: that's just so you can hang it up during the bleeding process. There are plenty of other ways to do this & in fact, if you use the 'see saw' bleed method, then the bend actually gets in the way.

I would recommend you give the system a bleed after discovering / repairing any form of leak. I got air into the system in Poland as a result of the damage to the pipe & that caused coolant to erupt out of the expansion tank. Don't take any chances when it comes to your coolant system: if it's not in perfect condition then you can't expect it to do it's job correctly. Here endeth the lession