Sweating hoses

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femtnmax

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After the vehicle sat for the winter, I noticed the heater hoses are covered with a sticky shiny coating. It does not wipe off with a dry towel. The radiator hoses do NOT have the gooey coating, only the Gates heater hoses.

I thought maybe there was oil in the cooling system after a recent head gasket/intake gasket change last fall.
I went to look at my stock of new, never used heater hoses....and they have the same gooey coating on them too, not as much as the hoses on the engine, but still gooey none the less. So cannot be only an engine issue.

I"m going to carefully flush the cooling system, and install new hoses...but this does not answer the question why off the shelf hoses are weeping a stick substance.

Any comments or experiences are more than welcome of course.
 
I've run into this. In a former life, I spent over 15 years selling car/ truck parts and heavy hardware. Even "back then" (out in the 80's) before "the Chinese" got involved, I saw stuff I did not like

I had about a 3" long piece of Gates fuel hose between the filter and carb FAIL after a year and started an underhood fire. It did not damage the exterior paint, but made a minor mess under neath, and damaged some wiring.

Lots of hose....heater, general purpose, fuel, I've seen was somewhat sticky like that.

Sorry after all this BS I have no idea what causes it.
 
I'm with 67Dart273,Gates hose, same as you 1 year old fuel hose rotted away.If it wasn't for my wife saying"Something is leaking from your car" as I backed it out of the garage.I wold have lost a 64 Belvedere... That ozze you see is the coolant seeping thru. Time to replace.And it can happen to any brand hose.

I wanted to add Ive seen this with Motorcycle and bicycle hand grips that become sticky.
 
I use the EFI rubber hoses now. They're plastic lined.
On coolant? Can't help you.
 
I had a red air compressor hose in the shop that would do that every winter. Really weird. Wiped it off with a rag moistened with lacquer thinner and it was good to go till the next winter.
 
70Duster440 said:
I had a red ..............hose .
Click to expand...

Yup. They "come new" that way, and many, after dragging through the dust and dirt in the shop floor, get "normalized" some never seem to. I simply don't know. It's obviously not just Gates. You see this on tires, too.
 
Thanks for the feedback...so its not just me.
Also convinces me that my insistence on running metal line from mechanical fuel pump to carb is the way to go...fuel filter between the gas tank and electric pump, both near the tank.
 
EFI fuel hoses have an inner liner. If clamps are put on too tight on a barb fitting, the inner liner may be cut. The outer part is protective, but does not hold up to fuel, unless rated for in-tank use.

On tires, my son works for a tire company. He gives me a hard time if I clean my tires, he says the shine stuff depletes the good stuff in the tires. I live off a gravel road in the sticks, so my tires are really ugly.
 
My air compressor hose does this ( black, Goodyear) and I do notice it is worse this time of year.
 
I've had hoses do that years ago including the rad. hoses.
I assumed at the time it was because I used to Armor All them.
Since it's happening with your new unused hose I guess it's just emitting from the hose due to the colder weather.
Ron
 
Just replaced my heater hoses about 2 weeks ago. The same sticky residue, I am thinking it must be the coolant soaking through. I first noticed it this winter. The hoses are 4 years old Gates brand.
 
I have never seen this .. but i do notice my PCV hose always sweats on outside ...
 
Tire compounds are made with a waxy substance in the mix that comes to the surface as the tire heats up in use. This is intended to prevent UV damage and subsequent deterioration of the rubber material. In RVs and trailers, the tire manufacturers recommend the use of skirts on the tires when not in actual use to avoid the UV deterioration as the waxy substance isn't activated/surfaced enough to fully protect the tires.

I suspect that the rubber hoses have a similar compound for similar reasons.
 
FUEL HOSE nowadays is junk i only use COAST GUARD APPROVED MARINE rubber FUEL HOSE.. lasts 10x longer and only costs a little more... also NEVER START YOUR CAR after sitting all winter until you INSPECT THE HOSES!...
 
It may be some of the "release agents" or something to do with the compound of the rubber that comes out with age.

They do sell some peroxide cured hoses that are more expensive (like 10%) and are supposed to last longer.

It most likely is from the rubber compound or chemicals used to cure the rubber when it is formed that is coming out.
 
The very best coolant hose (heater & radiator) is silicone. Price it (ebay) and you will decide to use metal tube for most of the heater run, as most newish cars do, plus tube is lighter. I am slowly switching all my cars to Evan's Waterless Coolant (no corrosion), so will see if any stranger effects. I sure want the best hoses so I don't lose that expensive fluid.

Most new cars use nylon hose for fuel. Even my 80's M-B diesels use it. I think it is more impervious to the nasties they put in fuel today, though it does develop cracks and leak. I don't know if the cracks are from chemicals or vibration. You can buy it for retrofit at Autozone, etc, but pricey so again use as much metal tube as you can. EFI hose is the only one I would use, despite the higher cost. I am cheap, but not stupid cheap. I have bought some of these materials fairly cheap on ebay by getting new production tubing for certain cars and modding to my needs. Often cheaper than raw nylon tubing, plus you get fittings and bends.
 
Silicone hoses are good, but expensive compared to the "standard" hoses. FYI
 
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