318MoparGuy
MoparHokie
Hi All,
I posted on 4/4/15...."Lower radiator hose dilemma", but no responses. Seemed strange as I thought someone would have had to deal with this after swapping from a /6 to a 318 and keeping the original 26" radiator (A/C car). Anyway after shaping a coat hanger and really searching the radiator hose aisle at my local NAPA and calls to Gates Corp. out in Denver, CO, I found the hose that fits the bill. As to the shape of the hose needed to clear the fuel pump and fan belts , I assumed I still needed a sharper 90* bend. For my application, I thought I needed something similar to a Gates 20958 which is correct for a 318, but the angle of the hose (approx. 135*) down to the lower rad neck brought it way too close to the fan belts. The nice guy at NAPA (I must have been down there 6-8 times trying out part numbers to see if the hose would work) helping me shows me a hose that has kind of a sweeping wide 90* ish shape to it. At first I thought no way is this going to work because I couldn't picture that hose fitting in the area AND clearing the pump and belts....BUT voila....with some trimming on the bottom AND the addition of an internal spring...it fit very nicely and I can finally drive the car again!!!! Now for anyone else that is or will be in this situation, here are the particulars....1) GATES 20046/NAPA 745 lower hose trimmed off the bottom with a centerline of 15 1/4"...that's the length that worked for me, but mock up to your specific needs 2) NAPA #901 Hose ID reducer on lower rad neck to compensate for the 1 3/4" water pump hose ID to the 1 1/2 " radiator neck (/6 rad) and 3)...(2) ABA #28 (44-56mm) 316 Stainless Steel Hose clamps....these work really, really well and are certainly worth the money (3.35 ea.) as they have rolled edges and DO NOT cut into the hose. I put in new ethylene glycol "green" antifreeze in a 50/50 store mix and added a bottle of "No-Rosion" rust inhibitor that has other benefits also...good stuff...read up on it. That's about it and hope this helps someone else in this situation just as the good people on FABO have and continue to help me with my 73 Dart Swinger....just paying it forward. Now I can take my Mopar to the car show at my daughter's high school this Sat.!!!!
Take Care,
Greg
I posted on 4/4/15...."Lower radiator hose dilemma", but no responses. Seemed strange as I thought someone would have had to deal with this after swapping from a /6 to a 318 and keeping the original 26" radiator (A/C car). Anyway after shaping a coat hanger and really searching the radiator hose aisle at my local NAPA and calls to Gates Corp. out in Denver, CO, I found the hose that fits the bill. As to the shape of the hose needed to clear the fuel pump and fan belts , I assumed I still needed a sharper 90* bend. For my application, I thought I needed something similar to a Gates 20958 which is correct for a 318, but the angle of the hose (approx. 135*) down to the lower rad neck brought it way too close to the fan belts. The nice guy at NAPA (I must have been down there 6-8 times trying out part numbers to see if the hose would work) helping me shows me a hose that has kind of a sweeping wide 90* ish shape to it. At first I thought no way is this going to work because I couldn't picture that hose fitting in the area AND clearing the pump and belts....BUT voila....with some trimming on the bottom AND the addition of an internal spring...it fit very nicely and I can finally drive the car again!!!! Now for anyone else that is or will be in this situation, here are the particulars....1) GATES 20046/NAPA 745 lower hose trimmed off the bottom with a centerline of 15 1/4"...that's the length that worked for me, but mock up to your specific needs 2) NAPA #901 Hose ID reducer on lower rad neck to compensate for the 1 3/4" water pump hose ID to the 1 1/2 " radiator neck (/6 rad) and 3)...(2) ABA #28 (44-56mm) 316 Stainless Steel Hose clamps....these work really, really well and are certainly worth the money (3.35 ea.) as they have rolled edges and DO NOT cut into the hose. I put in new ethylene glycol "green" antifreeze in a 50/50 store mix and added a bottle of "No-Rosion" rust inhibitor that has other benefits also...good stuff...read up on it. That's about it and hope this helps someone else in this situation just as the good people on FABO have and continue to help me with my 73 Dart Swinger....just paying it forward. Now I can take my Mopar to the car show at my daughter's high school this Sat.!!!!
Take Care,
Greg
