Goodyear Hi-Miler radiator hose question

[Desert Rat]

My 76 Blazer seems to have the Goodyear Hi-Miler radiator hoses and heater hoses since they are blue. I would like to replace them but the Goodyear site lists the years available for the upper and lower hoses as 84-87 and 88-95. I have a standard 350 in the rig, can I assume the 84 hoses are what is on there and would work? Did they change the routing in 84 to something different than prior to that? Just for comparison, I looked up the part numbers for Goodyear replacement hoses. For a 76 Blazer the part numbers are different for standard molded hoses than the 84 but I don't know how much different.

As an aside, anybody else upgrade their hoses to something besides the normal molded replacement hoses? I am looking at the Hi-Miler hoses, the braided SS ones, and maybe silicone if I can find them.

 

[cdoggwsu]

I looked for silicone hoses for a long time and didn't really find anything that jumped out at me so I picked up the Hi-Miler set. I can't say for the long term, but I've been happy with them for the last year and a half. You'd think that silicone hoses for a Chevy 350 would be a lot more common.

All the braided/flex hose stuff I found just looked goofy on a beater truck as it was colored and/or chromed out.

 

[Desert Rat]

They show the Hi-Miler for your year which is lucky for you. I can barely read the numbers on the hoses I have but it appears they are the same as the standard Goodyear hoses except with "HM" at the end of the number string. I suspect they are discontinued now. I have steel braid on my power steering hoses so I may just have to bite the bullet and go that route. I think I could do silicone for the upper since it is barely curved but the lower would be a problem as it snakes all over.

 

[thatK30guy]

The difference between older trucks and newer ones is the neck at the radiator end.

On the top neck on the radiator, your '76 will be larger in diameter than the mid-80's.

I tried to fit a newer hose over an older radiator and never did succeed in getting the hose "stretched" over the neck. Its just too tight.

You can make the Hi-Miler hoses fit your '76 if you swap in a newer, smaller necked radiator. But if you're insisting on keeping the bigger neck, look for different hoses.

 

[Desert Rat]

It looks like they are the same size on the ends, 1 1/2 on one end, 1 3/4 on the other just different shapes. Although, the upper seems to be 1 1/2 on both ends for the 76 but I can't tell on the 84 if the ends are the same.

 

[thatK30guy]

I changed hoses on my '85 K30 with a 4 core radiator once and got a hose for that specific year.
It wouldn't fit.
Turns out the radiator was older. So I got an application for an older truck with a BBC and the new hose fit like a glove.

I checked an '86 K10 I had at that time and it had a smaller and correct radiator for that year. The hose for the '85 K30 would fit at the ends but the bends were slightly different.
Later I got a brand new hose to fit an 80's K10 with SBC and it got left over and never used. I still have it.

I remember trying to make the newer hose fit the radiator on the K30. I tried to pry the hole out to fit over the bung but it just would not go.

 

[Desert Rat]

I do have a four core in mine so perhaps the hoses are different. I ordered up a set of standard hoses for the stock setup. When they come, I will have to see how they compare with the existing hoses. Perhaps the hoses I have are not the stock style, we shall see.

 

[cheyennek20]

I ordered the kit for my '76 from Summit but, it only listed the later years.('81-'87) The kit fit fine for the small block and still worked for the big block.

I had extra hose in the kit and only had to make the bypass from the water pump to the intake. I've had these hoses on for 4 years now and not a single leak!.

 

[Desert Rat]

That is good to know, maybe I'll just order it. The pictures on the Kragen.com website show a different design for the 81 and later for top and bottom, but they don't look that much different.