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[Olympia5776]

There is a slight but noticeable leak of a red fluid immediately under the AC compressor on my 2.0 FL.
It's been there for some time , a couple of years some time , but as the car was laid up and only started each month it was an irritant rather than an problem.
The fluid in the catch tray under the car seems to turn to a crystaline residue after a period . I initially thought it was a leak from the PS reservoir or hoses above but all seems to be OK there ,but besides ,the colour of the leaking fluid does not match the PS fluid ( nor taste like it ) .
So my thoughts are that it is leaking from the AC system .I've owned the car for 14 years and the AC was needing a recharge when I purchased it but I never bothered , could it be a dye in the system leaking past seals in the AC compressor ?

[frostbite]

That looks like pink coolant

It also leaves salt type cystals when it burns up, I had it all over my V70 when I had the engine changed

[Lazydocker]

I would say it's slightly rusty coolant

[frostbite]

  also AC refrigerant is sort of lumo green, dont ask how I know 

[Olympia5776]

Miniscule seep when hot  from top hose at head clamp.
Clamp was the original spring type now replaced with a quality hose clamp .
I foolishly discounted coolant as I always found coolant with antifreeze sweet to taste but the red mix in the car is very bitter ......Hic ....
Thanks for the replies .

[Nick W]

Miniscule seep when hot  from top hose at head clamp.
Clamp was the original spring type now replaced with a quality hose clamp .

You can't do that! The Omega inquisition will have you in the comfy chair after they've held a funeral mass for the holy object.

[frostbite]

Be carefull the hose should have been replaced and not tje spring clamp

Jubilee's can cut into the rubber when the pipe expands where the jubilee holds a constant pressure.

Spring clamps move with the pipes but the hoses need replacing when the rubber fatigues

[Nick W]

Be carefull the hose should have been replaced and not the spring clamp

Jubilee's can cut into the rubber when the pipe expands where the jubilee holds a constant pressure.

Spring clamps move with the pipes but the hoses need replacing when the rubber fatigues

I rest my case! The usual cant about spring clamps.


A new hose is about £30 from Vx, and is a good idea. They get soaked in oil from leaking cam covers, and the rubber perishes.

[Olympia5776]

I use these at every opportunity and have done since I equipped my E24 BMW that I restored with them.


I appreciate your concern re the thermal expansion of the hose  under compression but these allow a far greater scale of adjustment than can be achieved with a worm drive Jubilee clamp.
The hoses were replaced about three years ago but the car has been laid up and covered > 500 miles since so we should be OK.
The cambelt and water pump is due it's four year change next year and the car is sorn'd after end of October again so prior to it going back on the road in may I'll check all the hoses when the coolant is emptied.
Covered a comfortable and relaxed 140 mile round trip down to Kinsale today for a late lunch ,the Omega just glided us there and back.No leaks found upon return .
It's interesting but I've been using a 2014 Lexus GS450 sport recently .

I'm looking after it for a chap who is living in Paris and he asked me to exercise it as often as i could as the ignition circuit battery discharges after two weeks . It cost €70K when he bought it new  and although extremely powerful and complex ,once you have bored yourself driving like an idiot the real driving experience is not €68.5 thousand euro better than my well looked after Omega . 

[Olympia5776]

Be carefull the hose should have been replaced and not the spring clamp

Jubilee's can cut into the rubber when the pipe expands where the jubilee holds a constant pressure.

Spring clamps move with the pipes but the hoses need replacing when the rubber fatigues

I rest my case! The usual cant about spring clamps.


A new hose is about £30 from Vx, and is a good idea. They get soaked in oil from leaking cam covers, and the rubber perishes.

How dare you Sir ....a leaking cam cover ?    Nay I say , Nay ...

[Nick W]

I use these at every opportunity and have done since I equipped my E24 BMW that I restored with them.


I appreciate your concern re the thermal expansion of the hose  under compression but these allow a far greater scale of adjustment than can be achieved with a worm drive Jubilee clamp.
The hoses were replaced about three years ago but the car has been laid up and covered > 500 miles since so we should be OK.

The T-bolt clamps are a little over the top for a low pressure cooling system, and I don't find the expense over a decent worm drive clamp is worth it.


There are millions of hose clamps holding cooling hoses that give years of faultless service, so the thermal expansion concern is largely theoretical. A look at the expansion coefficients confirms this.

[Olympia5776]

I couldn't agree more with you Nick . Historically I've never had a problem with good quality Jubilee clamps cutting into hoses , never .
Down here in SW Ireland  the quality of worm drive "Jubilee " clips is dreadful. There are three sources in my small town and none of them match the genuine Jubilee clip from yore . Unless i want to drive 60 miles round trip I would have to use the flimsy ,weak and Chinese sourced local rubbish . As I said I used the clamps in my photo on another car that was equipped with new ,and bloody expensive hoses sourced from BMW main dealer ,throughout the engine bay .
If truth be told the reason I use them at every opportunity is that I purchased a number somewhat greater than I needed for the E24  from a supplier in Germany and after a slow delivery I complained and he sent another delivery resulting in me swimming in these excellent clamps ...........He never asked for the initial quantity back hence  " I use them at every opportunity " 

[New POD]

Having worked as a Manufacturing Engineer, for various automotive and aerospace companies, including  (in the last millennium), Honeywell Engine Boosting Ltd (or Garratt Turbos if you prefer), I'd hazard a guess that spring hose clips are ALOT cheaper (being one peice, they have 100% design parts count efficiency), probably most consistent, and take a couple of seconds to install with the correct tool.  We fitted two on the house from Actuator to the compressor housing. Probably 200 clips an hour across the Skem Factory (RIP - alll work moved to Romania and Italy and Mexico and France.)

[Nick W]

Having worked as a Manufacturing Engineer, for various automotive and aerospace companies, including  (in the last millennium), Honeywell Engine Boosting Ltd (or Garratt Turbos if you prefer), I'd hazard a guess that spring hose clips are ALOT cheaper (being one peice, they have 100% design parts count efficiency), probably most consistent, and take a couple of seconds to install with the correct tool. 

We've had this discussion before, and your reasoning is considered blasphemy here. Spring clamps are holy objects, and also have feelings; don't make them cry!

[Diamond Black Geezer]

 


I have to say, however, those clamps Olympia5776 uses are pretttyyyyy 

[Ever Ready]

Used them several times on high pressure water lines with excellent results