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Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:46 am

I spy a SVX donor. :D

Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:25 am

Terry Kay wrote:
To save a couple of bucks, you guys sure know how to take the long way around the block.

Thin walled Fence Post--

Now I've heard it all.

Another fine way to kill a day--

And all's ya need is you elecrically adept buddy with his conduit bender to form the pipe---

HEY--there's an idea--

Get your buudy that has the conduit bender to make a set of coolant pipes outa thin walled electrical servive tubing!

In Florida ( place this thread was generated ) the salt air should have these rusted out in about a month--
Driving on Daytona Beach they should be gone in about a two weeks.---

Another great space age technology, ultra low buck, coolant pipe solution!!
TK: I'm an electrically adept guy and have a really nice rack-and-pinion hand bender and few sticks of 1-1/4" EMT, but I have learned to CHOOSE MY BATTLES and when my pipes leak, I'll just buy yours.
(I think the EMT pipes would actually last almost as good as new factory ones, but still too much goofing around for me.)
If anyone wants to borrow such a bender, I might loan it out, but freight would be probably $50 round trip. Better just befriend a local electrical contractor.
Al

Sat Sep 05, 2009 11:26 am

>>I used marine grade 3/4" hose when I ran my stainless pipes and it worked great, and did fit nicely in between the crossmember.

I used 5/8" to 3/4" adapters to tie in to the stock hose.<<

That's a good idea to be able to squeeze the heater hose in the crossmember without too much of a problem.

However, thse guys are talking about running 1.25" thick walled marine exhaust hose though the same crossmemeber area--heater hose included.

They'd have to squeeze 1/4" heater lines running through that hole to get it all to fit.

Get the Johnson bar--it'll all go.

Al,

I hope the conduit your taking about is seamless.

The first place it'll blow a hole is on that seam.
Same with the fence post.

I came up with the stainless hydraulic line coolant pipe because I was trying to avoid a gypsy fix.
I wanted to do the job once , wash my hands and be done with it.

It always amazes the hell outa me how a few folks levitate to the low ball brand X repairs---on and on and on.
But yet, these are the same folks who would scream the loudest right here in public if some XYZ shop did some Hokey Pokey short cut repairs on their Van.

No wonder they never seem to get their repairs all done.
They keep doing the same thing over & over.

Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:00 pm

Terry Kay wrote:

To save a couple of bucks, you guys sure know how to take the long way around the block.

I would spend 3 days fabricating something up to save some money. Thats what I am, a 'fabricator'. I dont have a lot of money, time is what I am rich with! I have a family to support so any less expensive option that will take me a little more time is worth it to me. All fence tubing is not paper thin, and worth at least looking into IMO. Not saying that is what I am doing but worth looking into. If I could do some work in exchange for some stainless pipes Id be all over it!

Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:06 pm

I have been around Vanagons for 20 years. Marine exhaust hose has been being utilized in them for a long time too. The 82-85 steel pipes have long had rust issues that required replacing segments to rid them of the rust prone spots and marine exhaust hose has been filling that role. People doing engine conversions have also been using the marine exhaust hose to extend the cooling pipes as needed. People who used the hose to patch the damaged sections sometimes later use it to replace the entire pipe runs, having found it to work fine and last. It is great that stainless pipes are now available for those who choose to use them or who can fit them into their budgets. My hope is that people who buy them will do so from vendors who can conduct business in an honest straightforward manner without resorting to hype and trickery to hawk their wares.

Mark

vr2jetta wrote:

I would spend 3 days fabricating something up to save some money. Thats what I am, a 'fabricator'. I dont have a lot of money, time is what I am rich with! I have a family to support so any less expensive option that will take me a little more time is worth it to me. All fence tubing is not paper thin, and worth at least looking into IMO. Not saying that is what I am doing but worth looking into. If I could do some work in exchange for some stainless pipes Id be all over it!

Sun Sep 06, 2009 8:45 pm

Well, what about silicone hose? I see it at work on rolls, but only in smaller diameters. The supplier they source it from could probably get any size needed- these are used on heavy duty diesel truck applications. I have miles of 5/8" heater hose from work, damn nice stuff at about $3 a foot. (course mine was free... outta the trash).Larger hose would be worth the expense. I am gonna check this out. I have found 1 -1/4" hose in 2 foot lengths which I am using.
Silicone, anyone? :-k

Sun Sep 06, 2009 9:55 pm

Parker silicone hose is available and a good idea-- it comes in 1.25" inside diameter--but by the time your done buying that it would be more expensive than to buy the stainless two piece pipes.

Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:52 pm

I ended up going to a hose supplier and getting 20' of hose for $5.50 a foot. Pulled the old lines out and put in the rubber hose. I had to find 2, short 8" pieces of pipe still good in my old steel lines to use them as couplers. I used them to run the lines through the crossmember because there was no way the 2 hoses and the heater hoses were going to fit without them.

Got it all back together and the head leaked coolant way worse than before so I started to change the head gasket. I snapped a head stud WAY back in the case so the van is still inop. Dont ask me how the rubber lines work because I dont know yet......damnit!

Fri Oct 02, 2009 12:54 pm

Bruce Wayne wrote:

I believe it was this stuff, but in 1 1/4". It looked like this at least.

Tue May 18, 2010 10:05 am

I'll edit my previous post as I am a bit more schooled and can be more specific in my post :oops: :

For those who have used bulk coolant line or marine products to replace to coolant pipes, I am courious to know what type of coupler was used and at what diameter. As indicated in previous posts, 1.25 inch hose was used as a replacement. However it seems that the coolant pipes themselves are actually 1.5 inches in diameter, the hose (251.121.083H as an example) is also 1.5 inches, and the SS pipes vendors are selling are 1.5 inches in diameter. This leads me to question which diameter hose to use. Of course any adaptor/coupler could easily step down between the two diameters. I would think, the easiest coupler would be to fashion a short run of SS pipe with 4 hose clamps per union, or simply buy one of the readily available plastic adaptors from a FLAPS.

Questions:
* What type of coupler / adaptor was used?
* Any comments on using 1.25 vs 1.5 inch replacement hose?
* How did you fashion a hose support?

Many thanks,
Mark

Wed May 19, 2010 2:52 pm

edit bump:

Sun May 30, 2010 9:12 am

I have used Marine Exhaust hose for complete replacements. Smooth wall with wire inside, 1 1/4". You do need nipples at the ends to join the new hose to the old hoses. I get them from this place.

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/Pages/Parts_TPI-TBI_HoseSplice.html

I suggest using 1 1/4" hose in all years and getting their adapters if replacing thicker plastic pipes, to go from the 1 1/4" new hose to the old 1 1/2" hoses. If replacing metal pipes use their 1 1/4" to 1 1/4" found in their 3 piece kit, ordering 2 sets.

Mark

markz2004 wrote: I'll edit my previous post as I am a bit more schooled and can be more specific in my post :oops: :

For those who have used bulk coolant line or marine products to replace to coolant pipes, I am courious to know what type of coupler was used and at what diameter. As indicated in previous posts, 1.25 inch hose was used as a replacement. However it seems that the coolant pipes themselves are actually 1.5 inches in diameter, the hose (251.121.083H as an example) is also 1.5 inches, and the SS pipes vendors are selling are 1.5 inches in diameter. This leads me to question which diameter hose to use. .........
Many thanks,
Mark

Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:46 am

[quote="tencentlife"
I would go with the reinforced marine hose if I were contemplating this, it could be installed in one piece, eliminating at least four junctures. Just needs to be supported along the way.[/quote]

Hi all,

I've gotten myself a few lengths of the 1 1/4 marine hose (shieldsflex) and some 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 adapters. What I'm hoping is that tencent is correct and I can eliminate "at least four junctures."

Tencent, are you talking about the 4 which clamp the each section of stainless two-piece pipe together? Or are you eliminating some of the hoses which tie into the radiator, cooling tower, etc?

I'm hoping to plug the marine hose directly into the radiator in at least one place (where it is a straight junction) and I'd like to go directly to the coolant tower as well, if possible. I think the radiator has a 1.33in OD which should work fine with the 1.25 marine hose, but I'm not sure what the OD dimensions are for the other connections. Anyone know these?

Lastly, in the stainless vs. other debate for the long run hoses, I've chosen the shieldsflex because it has the potential to eliminate so many junctions, which always seem to be the source of the problems, in my limited experience. And as certain hoses become NLA I'm trying to find high quality, available alternatives.

Thanks and happy driving.

OH! and I'm in an 87 Syncro passenger w/ a GW 2.2

Cheers,

Olivier

Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:18 pm

you guys have me thinking I will use abs in a mockup capacity, just to get her running so I can sort out the electrics. Then, we will see how long it lasts....I could test a section for thermal shock initially so i dont put antifreeze on the ground. hmmmm
bruce wayne seems the best variable here within budget. of course, never having to mess with it again and avoiding a catastrophic overheat would justify the ss or marine hose.

Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:24 pm

Quote: Tencent, are you talking about the 4 which clamp the each section of stainless two-piece pipe together? Or are you eliminating some of the hoses which tie into the radiator, cooling tower, etc?

No, I'm talking about using the marine hose as a full replacement for the OEM pipes. What I beleive I was meaning earlier was that if I had a need to replace the OEM plastic pipes, I would go straight to reinforced marine hose rather than buy expensive stainless pipes.

Each hose would join directly to a radiator nipple at front and an engine nipple at rear, so in total there are four fewer hose-to-hardpipe joints. Entiendes?

Having not had any reason to do this, though, my comment was speculative. The OEM plastic pipes are already a near-ideal material for this application, in my meager opinion, the only problem being the metal sleeves in the ends that they need for reinforcement against clamping force. I haven't even seen these to be much of a problem, when I find one loose I warm the pipe and JB-Weld the sleeve right back into place, good as new. [/i]

Fri Dec 03, 2010 12:27 pm

Todd, if you want to test-run some plastic, use PVC over ABS, it has about 40F more heat tolerance but costs about the same. Of course, neither is suitable for actual use, but you know that. CPVC would have the heat-tolerance, but I doubt you'll find it in the large diameters needed, and it costs a lot.

Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:11 pm

[/quote]

Each hose would join directly to a radiator nipple at front and an engine nipple at rear, so in total there are four fewer hose-to-hardpipe joints. Entiendes?

[/i][/quote]

Ok so after looking at doing full runs of 1 1/4 Marine hose (which is beautiful stuff BTW), I found two problems. One: the radiator nipples have no trouble accepting the hose directly, except that one of the radiator nipples faces directly downwards. I opted to use the OEM hose in that location instead of trying to force the marine hose into too tight of a radius. Two: at the H-coolant distributor in the rear, the OD for that fitting is 1.5 so I opted to reuse the OEM hose there as well.

So here's the breakdown:

20 ft (approx.) of 1 1/4 Shieldsflex marine hose @ $3.28/ft.
2 1.25 to 1.5 adapters from jagsthatrun @ $25
Some nice ABA clamps

Run short hose from H pipe into adapter to marine hose all the way to radiator. Run bent hose from radiator into adapter to marine hose all the way back to engine nipple. Very easy, very clean, and fits really nicely through the frame members.

One other note in terms of strapping things in place: be sure to keep the new hose up and away from the CV boot / rear axle.

Will post pics soon: incidentally with such nice tubes in place the H connector got jealous and promptly blew into pieces. Waiting for a stainless one to arrive...

Fri Dec 24, 2010 10:37 am

Hi: I replaced my coolant lines with electrical conduit they use in commercial settings. It's plastic coated on the outside,galvanized on the inside . Rust on the inside should not be an issue since coolant has rust inhibitors.
I bent the conduit to match with a conduit bender (cheap to buy or borrow) and flared the ends to match the original with a torch and a large ball peen hammer head driven into the pipe to expand the tube.
Total cost was $12.

Fri Dec 24, 2010 10:47 am

I would be worried about the galv breaking down and becoming mobile to become lodged in the radiator or heater cores. Under the galv is a low grade thin walled mild steel.

Sat Dec 25, 2010 11:27 pm

syncrodoka wrote: I would be worried about the galv breaking down and becoming mobile to become lodged in the radiator or heater cores. Under the galv is a low grade thin walled mild steel.

FWIW- I used 1/2" EMT on the heater lines to the front of my Bus. Took em off about 8 years later. Looked perfect on the inside yet. NO corrosion or apparent breakdown. I was really surprised they held up so cleanly.

I now have about 90% of my coolant lines in silicone, and ditched the EMT for 5/8" silicone. Wonderful stuff, especially when I find it in the trash at work.
BUT- I have BIG issues with the "constant torque" clamps--
[img]

These things are the "official" clamp for silicone hoses, and I have lots of them . BUT- every year, when the temp drops colder, they ALL loosen and leak like crazy. I now have them cranked very tightly . They are supposed to be torqued to some specific value( which I have no clue....), and yet they LEAK when cold. Work fine all summer...... Anyone else use these things?
OR, does anyone else have problems with other clamps used with silicone??
:?: [/img]