Which end to cut ugh!!

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northeastmopar

northeastmopar

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Having a hard time installing my lower radiator hose. As picture shows, I pushed the upper end onto the water pump neck and am finding the lower end to be sitting way to low to pop on the radiator tube? In order to raise the lower end up, I would have to cut the upper end by about 3" which would place that cut right at the prebent elbow of the hose. Seems way to long. Nothing has changed here. 340 motor and aluminum radiator. If I try and force it to go up and on the lower radiator tube, I get a bigtime kink in the hose? Am I missing something here? Parts store told me to go to West Marine and buy a couple feet of Marine exhaust hose which will allow me to bend it to where it belongs. Anyone else have these issues? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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Cut the top.
Next time just install the hose on the lower radiator outlet , that will give you a better idea of clearance.
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
Cut the top.
Next time just install the hose on the lower radiator outlet , that will give you a better idea of clearance.
Click to expand...
I have not tightened any clamps yet. So I will try and put the bottom on first, but the cut on the top will end up right where the bend is suppose to be??
 
When I build a hot rod I usually cut the hose in the "straight" section and install a short pipe with clamps. This way both ends remain the correct size in the the correct location and you can rotate each end until it aligns perfectly. But what you have is on a hot rod, some Mopar folks prefer everything to look stock so it may not work for you??

treblig
 
Treblig said:
When I build a hot rod I usually cut the hose in the "straight" section and install a short pipe with clamps. This way both ends remain the correct size in the the correct location and you can rotate each end until it aligns perfectly. But what you have is on a hot rod, some Mopar folks prefer everything to look stock so it may not work for you??

treblig
Click to expand...
 
I am not a purist, so whatever works is fine for me. And that may be an option. I am right now trying to figure out why a stock hose will not fit what I have. Everything is in the correct place as stock?? Guy at the Napa store told me these prebent hoses are suppose to pop on with no alterations??
 
northeastmopar said:
I am not a purist, so whatever works is fine for me. And that may be an option. I am right now trying to figure out why a stock hose will not fit what I have. Everything is in the correct place as stock?? Guy at the Napa store told me these prebent hoses are suppose to pop on with no alterations??
Click to expand...
I thought about the same thing. I figured that you got the hose that was the one that should fit. But if you can't get the correct one the best option is to cut the hose in the "straight" section which makes it easy to patch/spilce, especially if the ends are different sizes (like on some cars). I've even bought 2 or 3 hose to cut the correct bends/lengths out then spice in the "straight" section. Use galvanized exhaust pipe or stainless steel pipe for the splice to keep rust from developing.

treblig
 
northeastmopar said:
I am not a purist, so whatever works is fine for me. And that may be an option. I am right now trying to figure out why a stock hose will not fit what I have. Everything is in the correct place as stock?? Guy at the Napa store told me these prebent hoses are suppose to pop on with no alterations??
Click to expand...
they don't manufacturer pre bent hoses for every single application, any more. For cost cutting reasons they combine similar designs into one amalgam hose design which fit the different apps to different degrees of success. Some brands actually have printing on the hose, and if you consult their parts book, it will decode the printing so you will know where to cut it to fit your app.
In your case, maybe you could trim some from both ends to make it work.
 
northeastmopar said:
Guy at the Napa store told me these prebent hoses are suppose to pop on with no alterations??
Click to expand...

Tip #1: unless his user name is Rusty Rat Rod, don't listen to the guy at the parts store.
Tip #2: if you have an aftermarket anything, even if it's an OEM replacement, don't expect it to fit right up. Aluminum radiators are near the top of this list.
Tip #3: take the hose you have, and get lost. Lost in the parts shelves at the auto parts store, that is. You know what you need, you now have a handy reference, you'd be surprised how close you can get from there.
 
jos51700 said:
Tip #1: unless his user name is Rusty Rat Rod, don't listen to the guy at the parts store.
Tip #2: if you have an aftermarket anything, even if it's an OEM replacement, don't expect it to fit right up. Aluminum radiators are near the top of this list.
Tip #3: take the hose you have, and get lost. Lost in the parts shelves at the auto parts store, that is. You know what you need, you now have a handy reference, you'd be surprised how close you can get from there.
Click to expand...
Finally, Got it. I had to trim almost 3" off the top end. Also it was a big help to have somebody up top while I was down below. But I finally got the hose to fit. It is a little restricted at a bend, but I think it will soften up with time. Temp is running where it is suppose to be. What a pain in the ars
 
I have found that many of these part store hoses are for several applications. They make the straight part longer than needed and it will need to be trimmed to fit. I always cut it about half of what I think it needs removed then recheck.
 
AJ/FormS said:
Don't forget, that is the suction side. Any kink is a problem waiting to happen. Make sure you transfer the anti-collapse spring over.
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Anti=collapse spring?? I got this car empty with no radiator or hoses, so I assumed the lower hose as I bought from Napa came complete. No spring. My hose down there is a little oval at the bend, but I think it will soften up with heat and be ok. My temp gauge on my trial run went up to 185 and pretty quickly dropped to 165 when the fans came on. Car seemed to average 180 while driving. I will keep an eye on that hose as the summer progresses. But the Griffin exact fit combo unit from Summit gets a 5 star rating from me but it was $1200. Being a Veteran, I still support America and always try and buy American if I can do it. Regarding the Griffin combo unit, if you get one for your abody. I had to cut the side brackets off because they projected about a half inch forward of the radiator which pushed the electric fans a bit closer to the nose of the water pump than I felt comfortable with. So my welder just sliced them off and moved them back so the face of that flange was flush tieh the front of the radiator. That gave me close to 3/4" of space between the closest point of the fan and water pump nose. Also, when you get the package just throw away the cheap sensor they put in the Spal ralay kit and go online (summit) and but a good stainless steel with the 3/8" threads so you get a good ground signal. I am also running the Evans coolant in the system which takes care of not need to worry about winter freeze and is suppose to be real good for the aluminum radiator, heads, intake with no corrosion issues. Looks good, runs good, and I supported Americans. Win win win.
 
I took a little off both ends.

Here's a surprising tip-

Clean up the cut with a bench grinder.

It looks like a factory cut afterwards.
 
Bench grinder!!!??? I use my sear's hose cutter pliers, they cut clean and straight, like the factory!! they'll also take off a finger with no problem if you're interrogating someone:rofl:. Also useful in "Chop Poker"!!


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Ya'll remember CHOP POKER don't you???: The chopping doesn't start until a little over halfway through the short video,, so you click ahead if you don't want to watch the beginning. The very end is KILLER!!
 
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Some had a spring coiled in the lower rad hose,dint worry, the pressure in the cooling system prevents hose from collapsing.
 
A PVC pipe cutter also works.
 
Tooljunkie said:
Some had a spring coiled in the lower rad hose,dint worry, the pressure in the cooling system prevents hose from collapsing.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately on our cars, you need the spring. The suction side of the water pump will drop the pressure below atmosphere, but only locally. There isn’t the same pressures throughout the entire system. Or any complete hydraulic system for that matter.

Remove the spring and there is a high chance of collapsing the hose and causing the pump to cavitate.
 
T56MaxTorq said:
Unfortunately on our cars, you need the spring. The suction side of the water pump will drop the pressure below atmosphere, but only locally. There isn’t the same pressures throughout the entire system. Or any complete hydraulic system for that matter.

Remove the spring and there is a high chance of collapsing the hose and causing the pump to cavitate.
Click to expand...
thinner air in co.
 
you used to be able to buy the springs separately. Try NAPA, they might be more likely to carry it. super cheap insurance.
 
drill a small hole in the thermostat edge, and when it is open the coolant is flowing enough so the lower hose will not get sucked into a problem
 
Marcohotrod said:
drill a small hole in the thermostat edge, and when it is open the coolant is flowing enough so the lower hose will not get sucked into a problem
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I usually do just that. Some t-stats come that way out of the box. I believe the reason for that is to bleed off air which can become trapped in the upper engine block and heads, especially after coolant system draining and refilling for cooling system service.
But I think the lower rad hose collapses at cruising speeds, when the rad does not flow fast enough to keep up with the water pump. I don't think that an 1/8" hole in the edge of the t-state is going to prevent that from happening.
 
anyone that thinks the radiator flow will not keep up with the water pump needs to do the math. the flow area thru the radiator is larger than the hose
 
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