So, ran the truck into town last night, picked a few things up, and drove back home. Parked the truck, went in the house and went back out to get some things from the truck only to hear the sound of gushing water.

I had the hose outside turned on and thought maybe it had sprung a leak... No, no... there was antifreeze gushing out under my truck. Popped the hood to find the upper hose had popped off the rad.

Its got a worm drive clamp holding it on, so I dunno if it backed off, or what??? I find that unlikely

The rest of the connections still have the factory spring type clamps. Just wondering if its a fluke, or whether I need to be worried about something being wrong? I don't wanna have something else burst

It has a 1 year old Rad, new upper and lower hoses, new rad cap, and new Thermostat. Truck was not running hot at all.. Maybe just the force of the T-stat opening caused it to pop? If there was excessive pressure the cap should have burped it off...

 

Loose clamp could be the culprit, but its a guess.

What did you replace the cap and t-stat with? I've seen cheap (Non-Motorcraft) caps and t-stats fail numerous times. I only buy OEM.

The only thing to do would be to fill it, run it in driveway at idle, and wait for the air to burp, then keep at it until it does it again, doesn't do it again, or rent coolant psi tester.

 

Any time you replace a radiator hose, after a drive cycle or better 3, recheck ALL the hose clamps. They will usually be loose and needs tightening. Once the rubber hose is heat cycled, it usually will not become loose after re-tightening the clamps.

 

I'd suspect the clamp came loose because it wasn't tight enough. Checking them every once in a while may be a good idea. But if you never want to worry about it, you can use a t bolt clamp. http://www.idealclamps.com/images2/products/display/1270.jpg

They use a nylock nut that won't come loose.

 

Were new hose clamps used? Re-used hose clamps will loosen.

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Cheap screw clamps are prone to stripping and loosening up as well.

 

I'm thinking that's probably what happened. I thought I retightened them, but I cant remember for sure. I tightened it properly for now, and took her for a cruise yesterday. All seems good. Will have to keep an eye on it and get some better clamps.

Thanks everyone for putting my mind at ease. For some reason, thoughts were running through my head that something else was seriously wrong.