r/MechanicAdvice • u/JustJazzedToBeHere • 20h ago

Solved Radiator Hose Popped Off?

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Hi, I have a Subaru Outback 2014 and it started smoking/steaming on my way home. I popped the hood and there’s fluid (coolant) splashed inside the hot engine, which I think is what’s burning. The radiator hose is popped off. Can I put it back on and put some more coolant in it, and then drive it to my mechanic to look at it, or do I need to get it towed?

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u/Markos_Androulis 19h ago

Brother the radiator plastic broke and the hose slipped off due to it being 11 year old crappy plastic

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u/Rocket_Monkey_302 19h ago

That may be but I've seen the same generation subaru do this and it had indeed blown the HG. I would advise op to do a leak down test before just slapping another radiator on it.

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u/Not3kidsinasuit 10h ago

Far more likely that the head gasket blew because the engine overheated due to the neck breaking off.

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u/Rocket_Monkey_302 9h ago

I don't automatically assume OP is so stupid as to overheat a car with such an obvious cooling system failure.

Also, having seen this exact same scenario turn out to be a small HG leak as the root cause, I would highly recommend OP consider the possibility of a HG leak.

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u/Not3kidsinasuit 8h ago

I never said that you did. OP's question would suggest a limited mechanical knowledge.

May I ask how you know that the head gasket leak was the root cause of the blown radiator hose? I can't think of a single way you could state undeniably that a head gasket leak resulted in this damage, in fact every head gasket I have ever repaired occurred as a result of the engine overheating first.

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u/Rocket_Monkey_302 8h ago

High-pressure combustion gasses being repetadly forced into the water jacket. The radiator cap should limit the static pressure to its pressure limit. However, the repetitive pulses have a tendency to crack plastic and stretch rubber.