I've "always" had a water drip from the thermostat to water pump hose junction but its gotten much worse over the last couple of weeks. Now its stopped raining I can see its leaving serious evidence directly below the thermostat when parked up. Big panic when during Mondays under bonnet check showed the header tank level to be well down, maybe 1/2" deep at most, after no more than 100 (ish) miles since last look. Topped up, tank lev el holding up when cold but the hose to thermostat joint is still dripping.

Following my standard practice I changed the hoses immediately after buying the car. Reputable source but, as I recall things, unbranded. I was never totally happy with the stub fits but generally everything worked except for that darn drip. 11 years down the line I figure it's time for new hoses again so which breed to get. Genuine LandRover or are BritPart OK these days. The £90 difference will be worth it if it stops the drip.

The car got a new genuine thermostat about 5 years back so pretty sure the case on that isn't cracked.

Currently the hose clip on the offending joint is one of the single loop spring variety, as came with the hose set. Would a jubilee or mikalor type do a better job of sealing things? I'm not convinced about screw up clamps on plastic stubs as quite serious pressure can be generated. The spring type are supposed to maintain almost constant pressure when temperature variations lead to expansion and contraction of the plastic stubs. Which seems safer.

I guess I could just change the clip but if I'm gonna get a sleeve full of water I want my moneys worth.

Clive

My go-to parts level is generally OEM (not LR branded). When I replaced my hoses I could only find either Aftermarket or LR branded, no OEM. I opted for Aftermarket as LR was somewhere around 10x the price. I haven’t had issues but I’m not sure Aftermarket is the right choice given how serious a coolant hose failure is on these vehicles.

Is it the hose or the clip? I've found that the constant tension spring clips are fine if they are fitted exactly perpendicular to the stub. If they are on at a slight angle they will leak. Easily done considering what a pain it is to get to them.

Harv
I'm pretty sure the hoses I fitted were supposed to be a decent aftermarket, priced that way for sure, but who knows when they just come loose in the delivery box with other odds'n sods. Full complement of single turn spring clips and the top set did have the H markings which may or may not have meant something.

Richard
Learned that thing about the spring clips having to be dead square maybe 40 or more years back. The embarrassing, knock on a door and beg for kettle of water, way! Had about 3 goes to get that one just so when I fitted the hose set. Learned how well enough to get it OK first time after changing the thermostat and it's been acceptable up until now.

The spring clip wasn't up to it on the stub of the Airtex water pump I used when the original died. Jubilee didn't quite do it either so that got a mikalor which sorted it. All in all a curse heavy process. Probably got another mikalor the right size in stock so maybe give that a try tomorrow as earliest a hose set can arrive will be around this time next week anyway. Or do the single use crimp up style work well in such areas. Not my favourite idea but I have a kit purchased for a customer job.

But I guess I should invest in a new set of factory hoses anyway. In my book a decade or so is a good life for "rubbery stuff" in general.

Clive

Yes I think a decade is probably enough even for LR branded hoses.
I also think it is probably worth the few minutes to remove the viscous fan for much better access to the t-stat hoses.

Wholehearted agree on the visco removal, really makes life easier. I've replaced recently my top-hose while, to the t-stat, and it is much easier. Plus you can re-set it at the right torque, whereas I had a lot of trouble loosening up what the previous mechanic did ...