Spent $12 on a quart of coolant but it turned out I just had a loose hose clamp the whole time

After my engine temp gauge shot up on the interstate I bought the expensive pre-mixed stuff from AutoZone, tightened the clamp with a screwdriver, and now I feel dumb for not checking the simple stuff first, has anyone else pulled a similar move with something that seemed way worse than it was?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileyl6714d ago

Same boat last fall with my washer. It started shaking like crazy during the spin cycle, sounded like it was gonna take off. I spent an hour watching YouTube videos about bad drum bearings, already had a $300 part picked out on my phone. Turned out one of the shipping bolts was still in the back from when I moved it two years ago. Pulled it out with a socket wrench and it ran smooth as butter. Felt like a real idiot but at least saved the cash.

amy_murphy1514d ago

Haha, "sounded like it was gonna take off" is EXACTLY what mine did too. But hold up, you said you pulled it out with a socket wrench? Those shipping bolts usually have a plastic piece that snaps off if you just wrench on them. I had a friend who did the same thing and ended up with a broken bolt stuck in there, had to drill it out. You might wanna check that the plastic bit didn't snap inside the hole, because if it did your washer could start leaking down the road. I always just use a pair of pliers to turn the whole thing, bolt and plastic sleeve together. Most washers have four of those bolts too, not just one, so make sure you got ALL of them.