Thanks GM, thanks a lot.

[Pb2au]

So I had been searching for the last few weeks for the source of some coolant loss on my 2005 silverado. It kept using coolant, but I could not find the drip, leak, spurt anywhere.
No puddle under the truck, nothing. At this point, I was beginning to fear worst, cracked head, blown head gasket, whatever. So tonight, I slowed down and got to it.
I jacked the truck up, chocked the wheels and climbed all over the engine bay while it was idling.
Finally. Found. It.
Under the radiator there is a stamped steel pan, just wider than it. It was full of coolant. I had to stand on my head to see it. I traced it further and arrived to the lower radiator hose, where I discovered the spring clamp that secured it, had snapped. Right into two pieces. They were still on the hose, but just held on there with friction.
So, rather than spending more than 2 bucks on a decent clamp, they used a cheap one. What a pain.
But, the old truck is running and not leaking. And at the cost of a 2$ clamp and some coolant, I'm ok with that.

[chsparkman]

Well you got off easy. My 2005 Sierra had bad heads due to poor castings. They were not in the least bit interested in taking care of me. Cost me $4000.

[firefly1957]

I hate those clamps also but most companies use them it is not the cost of the part that makes them use it is the very low amount of time in takes to put them on!

[TXGunNut]

Spring clamps may be cheaper, they're also faster for assembly. Just slide on the hose and pull the clip that holds the ends of the clamp together.

[Pb2au]

Well you got off easy. My 2005 Sierra had bad heads due to poor castings. They were not in the least bit interested in taking care of me. Cost me $4000.

I had read some of the horror stories of the castech heads. Believe me, I had some serious pucker factor when I first couldn't find the leak...
I understand why GM and other companies in general select certain components for products. In my job, I work with a lot of OEMs for different industries. What I find though, is in am effort to save a little money and some time, the quality suffers. It doesn't matter if what the product is.

[dragon813gt]

I snapped the heads of one of those clamps when replacing the thermostat on my Canyon. Want to talk a PITA to remove the clamp without damaging the hose because there was nothing on the clamp to grab onto. They're garbage in my opinion. A hose clamp now resides on the thermostat and at the radiator.

[BD]

There's certainly been issues with the GM 5.3 2001-2006. Looks pretty bad until you compare it to the Ford 5.4 Tritons over that same time frame. I don't understand why they have to keep re-inventing the small block V-8s. It's not like the mileage is any better.
BD

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in the `60`s when I worked at a GM assembly plant in Pontiac, I worked for several days on the radiator assembly line. Those stupid clamps they were using at that time were just about as bad as the spring type you mention. Also most people don`t know about the "Dog Turd" that is put into the radiator when assembled. This is a type of radiator stop leak that is added before the radiator is installed or coolant put in.Robert

[Lloyd Smale]

same exact thing happened to my 06. I was loosing coolant but i could see the puddle on the ground. I didnt check it out that closely and thought it was the radiator and went and bought one. As soon as i went to take the clamps off to change it i found the clamp broke. returned the radiator and bought a good clamp.

[winelover]

I change out those clamps with the all stainless worm driven ones when I do the first coolant flush and radiator hose change at the 4 or 5 year mark.

Winelover

[Four-Sixty]

i don't understand why they have to keep re-inventing the small block v-8s. It's not like the mileage is any better.
Bd

exactly!

[375RUGER]

I don't understand why they have to keep re-inventing the small block V-8s. It's not like the mileage is any better.
BD

My take is it's a bunch of young fellas trying to make a name for themselves (or justify their existence), especially software/code writers.

[km101]

I wish mine had been a hose clamp. Turned out that I had a slow leak around the fan shaft on the water pump. The fan spread the coolant all over the engine compartment so I could not tell where it was coming from. Only leaked when the engine was hot and operating, so I could not find it when sitting.

Took me two weeks to locate the leak and then about 5 hrs and three trips to the autoparts store to change the water pump. Won't do that again.

[wv109323]

No, The reason is if they stay with a design for an extended period of time they lose out on the aftermarket business in terms of parts and mechanic work. The objective is to make it more difficult for you or the small garage to diagnose and correct problems. Also it is harder on the manufacturers of replacement parts to produce all the part numbers with so many designs. Car dealerships make more money in their garage than on the new sales.
An example was the VW "bug". Back in the late sixties there was a "shade tree" mechanic that could repair a VW Bug on every corner.
There could be a standard Tail light/standard rear view mirror/head light fixture...etc, for all GM cars and remain the same for a number of years. But get into a fender bender with a new car and where does the tail light or mirror come from. Why do they change the design every two or three years... because it is money in their pocket.
What would be the cost of a $25,000 car if you bought it part by part. I guess it would be $100,000 dollars plus.
When I was a child International would sell their school buses at cost to get the parts business.

[shaper]

All of the above is why I still drive my 1989 Silverado which is closing in on 400,000 miles.

[firefly1957]

Robert they still put the dog turds in the radiators n 2006 in the Pontiac truck plant that plant is gone but i bet the dog turds still go in the new GM's.

If you think the hose clamps are bad how do you all feel about the O-RINGS and the quick disconnect for just about every other line when they go bad you are looking at buying new parts.

I also think they have gone nuts on engine design the old engines ran good and with today's engine management computers should out preform the new engines I have often wondered what that 1969 440 magnum i had in a charger would do if you adapted today's computers/transmissions to it. That engine got 18 MPG in a 4500 pound car but needed 91 octane fuel.

[BD]

Fuel management and ignition systems have been tremendously improved in the last 20 years. Unfortunately at the same time they have redesigned the small block V-8 engines into near worthlessness. I would love to see what a 289 , or 302 from the 70's would do set up with todays injection and ignition.
BD

[daniel lawecki]

You really want to have fun change a water pump on a Chrysler Cirrus. Dealer 900.00 me with all the parts new belt misc. parts 220.00 nine to ten pain in *** hours. Told the son he ever buys another Chrysler he has to park it down the road and walk over.

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont understand what so usless about them They easily go 200k get better gas milage and make twice the horsepower. Sure arent to many 289s that went 200k without a ring job or a valve job. A well taken care of 4.6 is just getting broke in at 200k. Im not even a ford man but will say the same about the newer chev small blocks. Better head designs, aluminum heads so that you can bump up compression without detonation. Better cam designs, tighter tolarances ect. Only downside is all of the technology has about eliminated the back yard mechanic. Im a hot rodder from back in the day and id go just the oposite. I sure wish back then i would have have the basic chev or ford small block made today even with a carb and a distributor. Ls chev small blocks are put in hot rods today with carbs and still get 20mpg and put out 400 hp. Plus they weight less and last a heck of alot longer. You chryler fans can look at the new hemi. It puts out more hp and torque then even the old 426 did. Gets 20mpg instead of 8 and again runs 200k instead of 60 before needing major work. Nope guys the golden age of motors for hotrods and even for trucks is today. try to find a truck from the 70s that even came close to an ls powered chev or a triton powered ford or even more so for one of the new desiels. With the cost of living and wage increases your getting all that technology for about the same price those old turds cost back in the day. Remember too if you will the 70s when your ford or chev had body metal that was lucky to last the 80k your motor would. Ill live with a few cheap hose clamps that need replacing. Nope to me its about like saying your old tubed rca console tv is better then the flat screen tv you have today. Id have to ask in what way is that old engine any better other then they were thankfully easier to work on because you did need to work on them often.
Fuel management and ignition systems have been tremendously improved in the last 20 years. Unfortunately at the same time they have redesigned the small block V-8 engines into near worthlessness. I would love to see what a 289 , or 302 from the 70's would do set up with todays injection and ignition.
BD

[Hickory]

Fuel management and ignition systems have been tremendously improved in the last 20 years. Unfortunately at the same time they have redesigned the small block V-8 engines into near worthlessness. I would love to see what a 289 , or 302 from the 70's would do set up with todays injection and ignition.
BD
Today's engines are a product of EPA standards, and are built to match the fuel they have to burn.
Older engines from the 60's had a higher compression ratio then today. In order to get the bore & stroke ratios for nonleaded and lower octane fuels, the blocks needed to be redesigned to accommodate the shorter strokes and in some cases, larger bores.

[Lloyd Smale]

actually todays motors have higher compression levels then all but the extream high performance engines of the 60s and 70s. they can get away with higher compression levels due to aluminum heads that disapate heat faster and the complete control over fuel air mixutures that fuel injection and electronic engine management allow for. Back in the day 8.5 to 1 compression was about the standard. Now its more like 10 to 1 and many motors are 11 to 1. thats probably one of the biggest reasons the newer motors make more power and burn gas more effieciently. That and the fact that the same reasons allow for more timing advance which does about the same as more compression. Bottom line is whether its for the epa or not making fuel burn more effeciently has helped performance accross the board. With all this technology we have 500hp small block fords and chevs that are completely streatable and get milage unheard of back in the 60s. Back then if you had yourself a 500 hp small block it was an animal that was probably way to radical to drive down to the store and get grocerys in and about guaranteed you a stop at the filling station if you did and with those levels you probably couldnt even run the gas they sold at the filling station. Back in the day when i was playing with them if you ran more then about 10.5 to 1 you were looking at finding race gas or av fuel unless you took so much timing out of it that you about wasted your money on the parts to make that hp. Your partialy right about motors today being built for todays fuel though. todays fuels for the most part all have ethanol in them. Ethanol acts just like octane in that it retards burning. If you think the old motors were lame then they would have been a whole lot lamer with the fuel we have today if the compression ratios werent raised or more timing put in them.

[firefly1957]

Lloyd some good points but considering the lower rpms the engines run at today and the oils are very superior to the oils of the old days not all the improvements you mention are the engines those old engines would do as well or better today. That is what i would like to try the new fitted to the old some of those old Chrysler RB blocks went 300K back then i do agree the bodies rusted out first but that still happens here in the rust belt! And those aluminum heads cause much trouble as well they warp and crack a lot more than the iron ones did.

[Lloyd Smale]

I dont see the lower rpm argument either as most engines today are higher reving motors. At least the chev and ford small block v8s are. Most motors back in the 70s wouldnt turn much more then 5000 rpm without valve float. Look too at the v6 and 4 cyl motors of today. Some turn 8k. One argument on your part might be that because of overdrive trannys they turn less rpm crusing. But most of it is technology. Motors are built with much tigher tolarances then the old 350 chev and 302 ford. thats why they for the most part run 5w30 oil instead of 10w30 and 10w40 the old motors used. I dont buy into the aluminum head problem either. Very rare to see an aluminum head warp. theyve been used in extream conditions like nascar motors for years. They been on chev small blocks for over 10 years and you just dont hear of many problems. Id think that if they were troublesome they wouldnt be used on just about every new motor designed these days. Sorry to keep arguing but today is the golden age of performance motors and gas milage and longevity. Not the 70s.

[firefly1957]

Llyod You are correct i am not talking REDLINE of the engine but lower rpm while driving because of overdrive and high rear end ratios my 2010 Mercury only turns 1800 rpm while i am driving 80 mph. Lighter oil does not mean less lubrication the new ones since rating SF have signicant wear reducing properties those came out in the later 1970's i have no idea what they are at now. My 1978 Dodge Ramcharger with a 440 engine did hit a full 7000 rpm with no valve float that is after i replace the factory headers that choked the engine starting around 3000 rpm (70 mph) . That truck made many runs up there to Schlatters lake in some pretty short times well until we hit the trails. I have seen many warped aluminum heads minor over heating can do it truthfully it is normally cause by improper torquing of the head during assembly more than anything else same does happen with a iron head. I still say cleaner gas and better oil will keep those old engines running a lot longer than we got out of them back then . By the way new fords are now using 5W-20 or even 0W-20 oil now in theory it increases gas mileage not sure if you notice car fuel economy has dropped in the last couple years and if they go to 15% ethanol it will drop again!

[Moonie]

My v6 in my car is an amazing piece of engineering. 3.5L with about 11-1 compression with twin turbo chargers that can handle about 20lb of boost and run on regular gas if you wish (I do run premium) thanks to being direct injected. This engine puts out 365HP and has 420ft/lbs of torque. 90% of that torque is available at 1,800rpm, thankfully it is all wheel drive.

An engine like this in the 60's or 70's wouldn't last 20,000 miles. AND I get 28mpg on the highway.