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Sun Apr 20, 2014 1:44 pm

Hey all,

I'm having some trouble locating the right part numbers for some hoses that I want to replace. I keep seeing mixed information and want to see if any of you can help.

Below is my crappy diagram that I drew out of the hoses that I am talking about. One of those two red T connectors (253265593b) broke last week and nearly left me stranded. I figured I would try to replace as many hoses as I can afford at the moment but can't figure out which ones these are. I can't even find much mention of those darn T connectors and not many places carry them. (after writing this I found that Van-cafe has stainless steel ones. Score!).

From what I can tell most of these should be standard sized hoses that I can get locally for cheap, right? None of them look molded to me.

1,2,5, and 6 all look like standard 5/8in heater hose. 3 and 4 are 1/2in.
Does that sound right?

Sun Apr 20, 2014 2:38 pm

Replace what failed. All of those Tee's and inline plastic pieces are well over due for replacement. I have 3 Vanagons and have had a few more along the way. I have not had any hoses go bad ,but I have had the plastic pieces fail .
I would concentrate more on the plastic then the hoses. There is also a plastic joiner up by the heater valve as well. Some of the hose which hooks up the rear heater are Bell'd and are not generic.
Those hoses can leave you walking .

Stacy

Sun Apr 20, 2014 3:10 pm

You can order better quality tees from Napa than they or other places typically have on the shelves. You can also buy straight 5/8" tees and run regular 5/8 heater hose to the rear heater. It will fit through the holes in the body. This way you don't need the special belled rear heater hoses.

Sun Apr 20, 2014 3:38 pm

The fancy metal tees that rocky mtn westy/van cafe sell are a common dorman part,available at rock auto,auto zone,etc.then all you need is a plastic,or metal reducer (called a SPACER in the loose nuts and bolts section,i even think lowes has them) available at any decent hardware store,i believe it is 5/8 o.d and 1/4 i.d.,about a half inch long...totally common.then you can replumb your rear heater with good quality,common 5/8 heater hose.
heres the tee:

http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-32593-56387.aspx

hope this helps!

Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:54 pm

Thanks for all of the useful info! That really helps. I have what is probably a dumb question, but are the connections at the heater core end 5/8? So if I get those 5/8 T connectors, it will fit both ends fine and then the spacer is just to reduce the inner diameter of the hose back to the original?

Just want to make sure that I'm following everything correctly before I go forward.

I've had a few hoses have issues in the past year or two, which is why I figured I'd replace some others preemptively. Here's a list of ones that I figured would be fairly quick to replace:

Radiator feed and return hoses.
Both hoses at the coolant tank.
Replace all of the 5/8 hoses to/from the heater cores as mentioned.
Thermostat housing to ring that goes around engine bay.
Thermostat housing to metal coolant pipe.

My reasoning was that I should just replace everything that I can, within reason, that I haven't replaced already. Are any of those hoses not very prone to breaking and I should just leave alone or just take the plunge and replace it all?

Sorry for all of the questions, I appreciate all the help. Trying to avoid spending so much money on coolant every few months when something happens!

Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:06 pm

check the oil cooler hoses. I've had two vans where these were cracked and started leaking. I'd recommend doing them all.

Van cafe oil cooler hose kit $25

I think replaceing hoses and even distrobution tower is a good thing to do.

Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:38 pm

Good call! I actually just replaced those a few weeks ago when my oil cooler o-ring went out. They definitely looked like they needed it. The dist tower was replaced probably 4 or 5 years ago after I accidentally broke one of the nozzles off.

Some of the hoses, like the ones at the coolant expansion tank don't look like they are very prone to failing, but I thought maybe it was a good idea to replace it anyway. Maybe I'm just getting trigger happy. The last 4 or 5 of the last big issues I've had with the van have been related to coolant leaks, so I'm trying to nip it in the bud!

Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:35 am

Quick question: for the spacer, does the inner diameter need to be 1/2 or 1/4? I thought those smaller hoses were 1/2" hoses, but 1/4" spacers were mentioned before so I want to make sure I get the right one.

Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:03 am

This is the reducer that you want:

http://monsterfastener.com/itemview.aspx?itm=SPCR-317&gclid=CM7S8sj48b0CFaw-MgodUHoAFQ

The measurements are as follows,
5/8 outside diameter
1/4 inside diameter
1/2 length

These can be bought at Ace hardware,and you can either get steel or nylon (I prefer the steel)
The purpose of this reducer/ spacer is to slow the coolant going thru the rear heater, so you get decent front heat. The factory hose has a plastic one built in where it attaches to the rear heater valve, you will see it when you remove that hose,it will be inside about an inch down the hose.
The old hoses were a dealer only item,and went from 1/2 at the tees to 5/8 at the rear heater. By replacing these with the reducer and metal tees as well as standard 5/8 heater hose, you are getting rid of the no longer made specialty hoses and if you ever need to make a repair in the future you can buy standard 5/8 heater hose by the foot anywhere...Also you are replacing the plastic brittle tees with metal which wont ever leak.
Hope this helps, if you need any more info,feel free to PM me.

Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:51 am

That's perfect - thanks for clearing that up. It all makes sense. I'm going to go ahead and get those metal Ts and the reducer and then just go ahead and try to replace all of those heater hoses with 5/8. Hopefully this will help alleviate future coolant woes!

Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:22 am

I just got done doing this, that is changing out the hoses....

These were a big help... as it gave me the VW part number

http://www.loam.org/vw/Vanagon/VWtoNapaHoses/

http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/image.html?myid=843&artist=Hoses

If you have plastic pipes, how do they look at the radiator end? If that little brass whicha-ma-gigy thingy is creeping out you may want to tend to that too....

Mine were toast!

Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:51 am

blackglasspirate wrote:

Radiator feed and return hoses.
Both hoses at the coolant tank.
Replace all of the 5/8 hoses to/from the heater cores as mentioned.
Thermostat housing to ring that goes around engine bay.
Thermostat housing to metal coolant pipe.

I just did this over the past two weekends... I figured with all the work and draining and flushing the system may as well just do them all...

Front radiators hoses are a piece of cake, but when you take the hose off the pipes pay note to the ends... Also make sure when putting the return hose on the radiaor that you get the clamp behind the pressure ring.... it is a tedious little process and I found it was easier taking of the lower front grill...

The rear to the cooling tower was easy, but the thermostat end was a bitch to get at if you don't have those special clamp pliers. My knuckles haven't looked this bad since 5th Grade parochial school....

Also check the hose from the passenger side head to the cooling tower... an easy one to replace...

In this project I yanked out my rear heater as that too was toast with a leaky valve.. Once out I was glad with the decision as I was going to save it and "part it forward", but the core was corroded and also leaking. I shot some water throug it and all kinds of spooge, rust, and crud came ozing out... . Not something I want going back into the system...

All in all with all the parts including the SS pipes, coolant, and clamps it was $720.

Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:07 am

Yeah.
Just replaced every hose as well, and the very last radiator hose I went to install was when I discovered the bad end on my plastic pipes...sigh.

Went ahead and ordered Terry Kay stainless coolant pipes, super nice and now I am finally done :!:

Tue Apr 22, 2014 7:53 pm

Great - well hopefully my plastic pipes aren't toast yet - I don't want to drop that cash yet! I'll be sure to inspect them better when I take the other hoses off.
Thanks for the links and info - all of it is very helpful. I've gotten used to shedding a lot of blood, sweat, and especially tears when it comes to working on the coolant system so hopefully this experience won't be out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately with previous plans and non-vanagon related trips, I won't be able to finish all of this until Memorial Day weekend. Until then I have a slightly off-size plastic T servicing the heater core. Hopefully it holds up!