Heater hose blew on the freeway

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72Plymouth

72Plymouth

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I was driving on the freeway to a show early this morning and a heater hose blew! Luckily my dad was driving his car to the show also so he pulled over too. It shot all of the coolant out and drenched everything in the engine compartment as I was pulling over.

There was tons of steam and smoke from the coolant and the temp gauge went near 250. Now there is a 7" or so circle area of paint on top of my hood is blistered from all the steam/coolant that was spraying from underneath! Really sucks but it's not the end of the world and can be fixed later.

I guess some of the hoses on here are way too old. The brand was Plumley USA. Never head of this brand maybe they are long gone? We changed that section of hose on the roadside, filled it back up with coolant, and still made it to the show.

I'm changing every hose now! One of the old heater hoses said 3/4" inside diameter and this one goes to the water pump. The other heater hose says 5/8" that goes to the manifold. Are these supposed to be different sizes?
Also, does the really short hose going from the water pump to the manifold come pre-bent like a radiator hose?

Thanks for the help
 

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That short hose from the water pump does come pre bent. Yes, based on the photo of your burst hose you posted I would change all of your hoses. These hoses become dry rotted over the years and cannot withstand the pressure and end up bursting. While you are at it you might as well flush your cooling system and also change your belts also. A little extra preventive maintenence goes a long way in avoiding these problems down the line. I also carry a spare small hose (the one from the water pump to manifold) with me in my glove box. You never know when that hose could give out. Just in case.
 
I got one of those a while ago but installed the hose connection part on the heater hose of my last car. Is that what most of you guys use or is there any other ways to flush it without installing that heater hose splice connection?
 
I normally just hook the heater hose up to either nipple on the block, pull the t-stat, open the drain valve/leave cap off and fire it up with the hose supplying just enough water to keep it full. Let it run for a while, shut it off and hook the hose up to the other nipple and repeat. But if it has not been done in a while the radiator will probalby need to be cleaned by a shop. I bought a strong acid based flush additive years ago from Carquest, followed the directions as to running it in the motor than flushed as above. Did a real good job cleaning and also opening pin holes that were sealed by all the gunk it removed...
 
Thanks I would get the radiator cleaned later on when the engine is out.
 
Good idea to carry the extra bypass hose like dustermaniac said. That seams to be the one that always lets me down first.
 
Cool yeah good advices. Any info on whether the two long heater hoses are supposed to be the same diameter or not? Both of mine were different.
 
I used powdered dishwashing detergent to clean my system. I put about a cup of Cascade in there and let it run for a little while...let it get up to temp then I do a really good fresh water flush.
 
I changed part of the smaller hose and it leaks a little. I think it is too big or I need to clean the connection better.

I took both hoses off the core and saw that the pipes sticking our are two different sizes. The pipe on the right side is .625 OR 5/8" (Just the pipe, so not including that slightly larger lip). It used to have a 3/4" hose on it. The new 3/4" hose is really loose and doesn't even get snug around that lip. Is this side really supposed to have 5/8" hose instead?

Then, the smaller left pipe on the core is 1/2" (just pipe, not including lip). It used to have a 5/8" hose on it. So my new 5/8" hose is loose too. So am I supposed to really crank the clips on or get hose that is the same diameter as the pipe so it would fit tightly around the lip??

The car has A/C.
 
Been there, done that. I remember driving home about 1:00 in the morning 10 years ago. Blew the same hose as yours, coolant/steam everywhere. Luckily, I had a friend who lived about a 1/4 mile away that helped me fix it in the middle of the night.

That hose you have pictured looks pretty bloated, good thing you're replacing all the others.

New hoses, if the right size, should always be difficult i.e. require some effort to put on initially. If they go on too easily, they are the wrong diameter.
 
I finally got all new heater hoses on. The previous hoses were all the wrong size! I finally talked to someone at another Napa store and they were able to look up the correct sizes.

So, the smaller (left) hose on the heater core is 1/2" ID for sure. The right hose (closer to the drivers side) on the heater core is 5/8" ID hose.

Thanks again for the help everyone. I'm sure a lot of us have hoses that aren't exactly the right size! So hope this helps someone else too.
 
Chrysler used the 5/8" and 1/2" so the you would no swap them. If you do swap them by using two 5/8" hoses you run the risque of over powering the heater valve due to reverser water flow on the heater valve.
 
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