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Flex Radiator hoses

wasted wages

wasted wages

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My V8 LUV truck rebuild project has stalled...

I installed a new set of March pulleys and alternator brackets that use a six groove serpentine belt...I had to notch and section the front cross member to get crank pulley clearance, and now after installing the alternator brackets and serp pulley, I am running into an issue with the upper radiator hose running right into the same space as the alternator pulley and belt.

I fabricated new brackets to mount the radiator as high and as far forward as possible gaining some clearance, but now will need to deal with the"route" the hose will travel on it's way to the thermostat housing....

I went to O'Riley's and grabbed a couple of molded curved hoses and I think with an metal 90 degree coolant elbow, I can snake it over the serp belt and be ok...just not crazy about doing it that way.. a 90 degree elbow Tig welded to the radiator inlet would be the bomb, but I don't know if that is even an option...

So, my main question is, how many of you have successfully used those bendable metal flex hose kits that Jegs and Summit sell? Are they good quality? Or are just leak prone and liable to blow apart at the worst possible moment leaving me stranded??
 
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Frank, post some pictures of the layout. Some of these guys may have some better ideas. Just not me
 
I can not count how many of those hoses I have put on custom cars. They are the quick way to do it. Most people like the looks. They do not want to pay the time to build custom hard lines from stainless exhaust tubing and polish it.

I have not had any failures.
 
You need to visit a parts store that will let you go behind the counter and look at the hoses they have on the rack--or maybe see if they still have a catalog or an online illustrated guide that lists the hoses by size and diameters...the Dayco catalogs had them in the rearmost pages back when I was a counterman..
It was time consuming ,but I could often come up with a hose we had in stock that would work for some pretty unusual custom applications..
Then all you had to do was note what vehicle it was intended for and use that application if you ever needed another one in the future..

I found a upper hose from a 70-72 Monte-Carlo with a V8 happened to fit my '71 GMC perfectly after its original steel pipe with two short straight rubber hoses rusted thru and started peeing..

I have used exhaust pipe adapters and elbows,and EMT conduit and elbows along with hose sections to make some custom hoses--the EMT is galvanized and lasts a lot longer..copper elbows work good too,but are quite costly now..

Those old rubber flex hoses with the spring made into the rubber usually made the radiator nipple leak eventually from the strain..
 
diesel4me said:
I have used exhaust pipe adapters and elbows,and EMT conduit and elbows along with hose sections to make some custom hoses--the EMT is galvanized and lasts a lot longer..copper elbows work good too,but are quite costly now..
Click to expand...

so no problems with hoses blowing off without having a ridge on the pipe ?
 
Those metal flexible tubes work good
I've never seen one blow off. I think the ribs help keep the rubble coupler on.

I needed to clear a 58 tooth wheel on my bottom hose but went with -20AN fittings with certain degree hose ends which is not cheap and required tig welding my alum radiator with 20AN fittings along with water pump and thermostat housing. Definitely a pricey and most laborous but it worked and looks good.
 
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wasted wages said:
so no problems with hoses blowing off without having a ridge on the pipe ?
Click to expand...


No I never had one pop off..but I did put High Tack or Indian Head Gasket Shellac on the fitting before putting on the hose--once those sealants cure, you'll need a chisel and hammer to remove them!..
If you use two clamps hoses wont go anywhere either,double security,even with no sealer..hose would split first or pop !..
 
Gotcha,,,, I agree, high tack would work good for that.. just need to make sure I have the hose alignment figured out before I do the final fitment.
 
I had many customers come in that were swapping engines or putting newer ones in old cars & rat rods ,that needed a custom hose..

More than once I'd come up with a hose that would have been perfect except one end was facing the wrong way,had a 90 degree bend in it--by cutting the bend off a few inches back at the straight section ,you could use a muffler adapter or EMT as a coupler and spin the hose end to face the right way and clamp it together..

My '86 VW Jetta diesel popped a heater hose one day on the highway--I managed to limp home by filling it up every few miles after duct taping the hose..

I tried to buy a heater hose,but it wasn't typical heater hose,one end at the engine had a 1" I.D. ,a 90 degree bend,and the rest of it was 3/4"--so regular heater hose wouldn't work..:(
...only VW listed the correct hose,the nearest dealer was 15 miles away,and they had to order it--so I nixed that option,went to Home Depot 1 mile away--they had a copper plumbing elbow with the correct dimensions ,1" O.D. x 3/4" O.D.,and also carried 3/4" heater hose-.
-I was concerned the hose might come off the copper elbow because it was barely long enough to put a hose clamp on it,and no "bulge" to retain the hose better,but the gasket sealer and one clamp worked great the rest of the time I had the car,which was about 5 years..never leaked a drop or showed any signs of slipping off..
I did have to go to a parts store to get a short hunk of 1" heater hose,Autozone had some,the guy just gave me a 6" hunk that was hanging around for free..

More than one truck I had that I swapped in a V8 to replace a straight six I had to invent my own lower hose out of used ones I had kicking around,in order to be able to drive the truck to work Monday morning and get a "correct" one..
 
I've had those flexible metal hoses pop off on me before. It was on my V8 S10 and I don't think it was angled perfectly at the water pump inlet so it eventually worked it's way loose and popped off going down the highway. Good thing I was paying attention to my gauges and saw my coolant temp drop and then sky rocket. I pulled off the highway into a Whole Foods parking lot and reset the hose back on and tightened the hell out of the clamps. Went inside to buy a gallon of water to refill the radiator, turns out they only had liter bottles of fancy spring water. It took 7 of them to fill it up at around $5 a piece. I'm pretty sure that's more expensive than buying premixed coolant. Oh well, it got me home though.
 
yeah, this is my main concern...there were people that loved them or hated them in the comments section of the Summit reviews..

Having a 1-1/2" metal hose pop off the top inlet of an aluminum radiator at 6k RPM merely a 1/2 inch away from the serp belt, alternator fan, pulley and the main flex fan will be disastrous. .. kiss 700.00 bucks goodbye..

I will post a picture of the area shortly..maybe someone will have a better idea of what to do..

I'm thinking about taking the radiator to a shop and see if I can get the top inlet fitting replaced with a short radius 90 facing away from the engine fan.
I can always work with hoses after that to get it to the t-stat housing.

If the shop is good at TIG , they could actually cut the top inlet tube at a 45 degree angle, rotate it, and weld it back together to form a 90....the inlet tube looks long enough to do that..

If anyone knows a good shop in Dallas that does good TIG work, please post up here or PM me...

Mr. Ducato...?? know of any good aluminum
welders?
 
Could you have a metal pipe like conduit bent up at a muffler shop and use short.rubber hose sections at each end ?...they do sell short rubber hose elbows,I used to look them up in the heavy duty truck Dayco catalog...

Be nice if you had a picture,it'd be easier to visualize what you need..
I agree a 1/2" away from a belt is rather close for comfort--a hose may move that much after it expands when the coolant warms up..


I was lucky when my Jetta's heater hose failed..

I was right beside a huge cranberry bog off RT.25 heading towards the Cape Cod Canal,and I had a few empty gallon jugs in the trunk-one was half full of coolant too..

I was heading to the National Cemetery for Veterans in Bourne,my older brother and I were following the funeral procession ,my dad's wake--they didn't see me pull over,and they kept right on going..we had no choice but to tape up the hose and get some bog water and fill it back up--I used all 3 gallons getting the rest of the way to the cemetery,and home,had to stop about every 10 miles to fill it back up again..I think that was the only time I ever broke down in that car too..
 
i have used these with good success. A lot of mechanics may not like them because the ribs are a restriction to flow, supposedly?

But i think they work. No pop offs either but you have to make sure they are tight.
 
t-stat housing from serp belt era sbc or 4.3 v6 and the upper hose from one .

there made to go up and about over the stuff for serp belt .

i also have a friend who builds hot rod cars and every one gets a length of copper pipe and rubber section on each end clamped for his upper hose combo . its his trade mark look and clears stuff real good .
 
When I put a V8 in my chevy van I had to scrounge up the correct thermostat housing from a boneyard--its outlet points nearly straight up,instead of the usual horizontal angle most Chevy's had ..also had to get the correct factory hose..
One like this or what Sweet K30 suggested may be of help..water outlet 2.jpg
 
just looked up a 1995 G30 w/ a sbc on Rock Auto...the water outlet and hose look like a good idea to start with...and both for 15 bucks! :waytogo::waytogo:

Thanks for all the help guys!!:saweet:
 
I've also used solid stainless pipe with rubber couplers. You can make the couplers out of other hoses with 90 degree bends at the end and cut off what you need.

Screenshot_20190324-185554_Gallery.jpg
 
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A stock hose for a 69-72 GM bends at a 90 right out of the radiator to avoid the alternator. Might try that.
 
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