CK5
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Diesel Radiator Swap - hose problem
- Thread starter nvrenuf
- Start date
Could you tell me what Upper radiator hose you used for your diesel radiator swap on your 350? Thanks in advance.
I looked through my old private messages and I can't find any from John (clarkjw24), if he sent it via regular email it's buried under 13 years of traffic. I also looked at his profile and he hasn't been on the site in 2 years.
That said.... for the sake of simplicity and ease of parts, when I had my radiator cleaned I also had the shop change the upper neck to a size appropriate for a stock '91 Blazer TBI 350 hose. Everything went together fine and it's been like that for years now.
Another unexpected hurdle I had was the lower hose, the radiator neck was HUGE. I ended up using a 6.2 diesel hose with a 2"-3" piece of a 454 hose RTV'd to the water pump outlet as a bushing - it fit perfectly (I can't remember why I didn't have it changed).
Try a hose for a 6.2...?
When I looked at 6.2 hoses the engine side was too big. It was easier to manipulate the radiator necks since you can’t change the size of the t-stat housing or water pump outlet.
Taking 2 hoses and connecting with a flared piece of exhaust tubing in the middle works well also. Just make sure to weld or roll beads on the ends of it to keep the hose from slipping off under pressure.
Can somebody post up real numbers for the fittings? Rockauto hoses make it look like:
_____________Diesel __ Gas
Rad upper: __1 3/4 __ 1 1/2
Intake: ______ 1 3/4 __ 1 1/4
Water pump: 1 3/4 __ 1 1/2
Rad lower: __ 2 1/8 __ 1 3/4
_____________Diesel __ Gas
Rad upper: __1 3/4 __ 1 1/2
Intake: ______ 1 3/4 __ 1 1/4
Water pump: 1 3/4 __ 1 1/2
Rad lower: __ 2 1/8 __ 1 3/4
