I have a question about my lower radiator hose. the pre formed hose will collapse when I am driving. At idle its fine, its old but seems to be ok. I can't find a formed hose new, I looked at a 302 mustang hose but it seems to be just as soft. I tried a universal hose cant get it to fit right.I robed the spring out of it and put in my original hose its better, but not perfect. Is there a hose that's right, or do I need one of those metal bendable mr. Gasket hose. Also advice about thermostats in Florida, no A/C I use a 180 is a 160 better ?.
trial and error. i had to take 2 hoses, cut them and tape them together to find the right angles and bends, and then take it to checker auto parts and find one that fit closest and then trim that one to fit did you try trimming yours to get the sharp bend out of it?
Rad Hose Sounds like you may have some / Cooling or Stat problem any how ! For the hose to suck shut(Collapse ) a lot of times it is the pump trying to draw coolant thru the system and the Stat is not opening when it should / Or when it needs to , this will cause the hose to ( Collapse ) Cam
Dave, you have to make things...so simple... but try finding a...lower hose ..for an...invisible radiator...there. . ...hahahahahaha
hose This is a symptom of another issue as noted above. Check pump operation, t-state and rad cap. This should not happen... JMO
It could be a symptom of another problem, but it could also be a worn out hose! They get soft over time, and if they don't have the spring, they will suck shut. I had this happen once going down I10 near Slidell. Lost a head gasket to the flow stoppage! Changed the head gasket on the shoulder of the road. Didn't notice the soft lower hose. A few miles later, in BFE Mississippi, I lost BOTH head gaskets. A 20 mile one way hitch-hike to the parts store, then back, and I swapped both head gaskets AND the lower hose. *added a temp gauge too! The new lower hose didn't have a spring, nor did it suck shut... so there was no other problem.
I run a 160 in my cars year round up here in the Panhandle. They run about 170 in winter, 180 in summer.
If the hose is collapsing you have a good pump. The thermostat failing to open could contribute but I would look at the heater and by-pass hose. That little by-pass hose is to allow some coolant to flow around the thermostat until it opens and water continuously circulates through the heater (depending on year and model). If the heater is restricted or the by-pass hose is swollen then replace as required. You might be able to use a smaller crank pulley or a larger pump pulley to slow the water pump down so it doesn't try to move as much coolant but you might run into overheating problems when it warms up. All lower radiator hoses should have a tight fitting spring in them that runs from pump inlet to the radiator outlet to keep the hose from collapsing. (collapsed hoses cause overheating)
Thanks for the help, here's some more info,The rad. is a new 3 row brass, The stat. is new failsafe 180, Pump is new but not hi-flow.The after market hose I said didn't fit right was one of those straight ones with the spring in it. Thats what autozone has for a stock hose. I did a heater delete, I love florida! Napa can get a formed hose but said they no longer put a spring in them. The car seems to run all day at around 185-195 but summer is coming and those 95-100 degree days will soon be here. I have the new 2 row alum. rad.But i'm saving it for my 408 stroker I,ve been saving for.Thanks to all on this form and sid in cal.
Just go to AutoZone and by any hose as long as it has the spring ... you can then put it in your Maverick hose ...
