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Blown coolant hose - THAT one!

5K views 34 replies 10 participants last post by  Sledge4.2 
#1 ·
OK, for your enjoyment from a far, I have a new problem with Clyde. I entered the last stretch coming home from a ride a few weeks ago and looked in my rearview mirror to find steam and coolant fog trailing me. Thank God I was just coming up my neighborhood so I was able to get the car in and up on jackstands just before the needle went into the red. so no damage and no tow bill!

The coolant hose that runs between the firewall and the front of the engine on the passenger side split and shame on me for not proactively getting on thIs earlier. I have done a ton of research and talk to mechanics and bought OEM hose replacements and here is what I have found. That hose is the most problematic in Diablo‘s and will split and fail catastrophically without notice. It is also impossible to see it’s entire length and nearly impossible to get your hand in there even if your mechanic has inspected the car. that is a hose that really cannot be inspected, it can only be replaced which after reading this post I hope all of you will proactively do next time your car is in the shop. There are two hoses in the coolant system that are absolute bears to fix: this being one and the other being the heater hose that leads from the coolant tank forward along the passenger side and up behind the dashboard. That latter hose almost never fails, I am told, but the former hose that blew for me fails quite regularly. In speaking with Josh at Veloce motors here local to me he puts the car up on a lift and tries to get this particular hose out from underneath. I don’t have a lift but I have jacked my car up on stands as I normally do for changing oil. It is a pain in the rump and I will one day get a lift. That said I cannot get my elbow up between the frame member and the transmission far enough to get any leverage on that hose.

I have been distracted for the last three weeks with a large ride with my other car and some work but yesterday I started this process. First, off goes the bonnet. Do yourself a favor at this step and before you remove the bonnet nuts and washers: take a marker and draw a circle around where the washer is currently. This will go along way to helping you recenter the bonnet so that it fits properly and latches properly when you reassemble.

The last time I was in the engine I was kneeling on the two valve covers which wasn’t comfortable. I took the time yesterday to make a platform that lays on the two valve covers with carpet on both sides to protect the paint but will also protect my knees and allow me to get into the tight spaces much more comfortably. The next photo is taken from drivers side looking down in there underneath the fuel rail supply lines. Right in the center if you zoom in you can see the hose clamp that attaches to the split hose. The split is about 2 inches past the hose clamp. If you’re wondering, no one’s hand can fit down there certainly not unless you remove the fuel rails and other lines which I hope to avoid.

Lamborghini is a Latin word for “make your own tools”. It’s a 7 mm wrench on that hose clamp but there is no way to get there so this is the tool extension I had to craft. The rotation angle is very small and I’m getting maybe an 1/8th of a turn per rotation as I do not have a 7 mm internal ratchet that is thin enough to fit in this place. Once loosened you have to then pull off the hose. The hose is baked in place from heat and very hard, which is a good test for your silicon hoses if they need to be proactively replaced. They should be somewhat squishy, not hard. I don’t even bother to try pulling them off as I use a utility knife to score the end so that they will come off. Getting them back on requires heat gun and a small dab of soap.
 

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#30 ·
Four hours labor, which sounds about right to me when it’s up on a lift. Josh was able to get the hose back on from underneath the car whereas I tried it from under on jackstands and on top after having removed the bonnet. Back together!

Look what was right ahead of me on the next rack. Clyde’s twin.
 

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#32 ·
Look what was right ahead of me on the next rack. Clyde’s twin.
Oh! Looks to be three Diablos even! Clyde's twin, and what looks to be a silver 6.0 in front of the 360.

And I wonder if this is very similar to the coolant hose problem with the Murciélagos. I mean, likely so because of the engine being carried over, but you know what they say about assumptions! More importantly, hopefully this problem stays fixed for you for many years to come.
 
#33 ·
The other cars in the shop were not there for the same reason, but Veloce does many Diablos and Murchies. Every time you take an engine out you should replace that hose. Period. And yes, Murch goes or at least early ones had the same issue. I believe, but I’m not certain, that they changed the design in later models but I’m not sure.
 
#35 · (Edited)
if anyone is contemplating this job in the future, here is another tip in addition to what Mark has written up.

remove exhaust and all components from header back.
remove rear diff bolt
remove two main engine mount bolts.
remove front transmission mounting bracket and drop down shifter box

with this done, you can rotate the engine backwards by jacking up the front gearbox (put wood under jack to protect casing).

this will give you plenty of access to the offending hose in question.
 
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