My foreman insisted on using a $20 plastic coolant hose for a titanium job, and I was sure it would melt.

Ran the 8-hour cycle and the hose held up perfectly, no kinks or heat issues. Anyone else had a cheap part surprise them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara848d ago

Remember my old boss swore by the cheap generic brand of electrical tape for everything. I mean, the stuff looked terrible, like it came from a dollar store. We used it to wrap some temporary wiring in a really hot engine bay, fully expecting it to just slide right off. That tape baked on there for two years, turned all crusty, and still didn't peel until we cut it off. Makes you wonder sometimes.

graym493d ago

turned all crusty and still didn't peel" - that's exactly what happened with my buddy Dave's truck. He used some no-name brand tape from a flea market to patch up a coolant hose clamp on his old Accord. Thing was literally dripping green fluid when he did it. Figured it would last maybe a week until he got real parts. That tape dried out hard as a rock but held that hose together for like 18 months. The hose itself rotted away eventually but the tape was still stuck to the fittings. We had to break out the pliers and wire brush to clean it off. Sometimes the junk stuff just has that weird luck factor.

xenawhite7d ago

What was the coolant temp at the nozzle? Gotta know what that cheap hose actually survived.