TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:49 pm

My radiator cracked in a bad spot,

so I decided to replace all the coolant/heater hoses along with the radiator. I had a hard time finding the front radiator hoses online, so I took them out and brought them into an oreiley parts store. The straight one is easy to replace. I forget the diameter (1 5/8" or 1 1/2" ?), but any auto shop will have a straight piece that'll work if you trim it. For the other radiator hose with the 90 degree elbow, the guy in the shop found me this for 20 bones (pictured above stock hose - Gates hose # 22080 - intended for a 90's cadillac):

It looked close enough, so I trimmed it....

and it looked even closer. So, I put it in...

and vuala! The new straight hose is in background. I also removed the wire upper supports for the spare tire because my 205/75 r14 spare on an alloy rim wouldn't fit inflated. I bolted in the clamshell, and the spare fits with this hose in place. The hose does touch the spare, but is not pinched in any way to affect the coolant flow. I have the spare strapped to the clamshell. It's all burped and running nicely now.

This hose can be found online for less than $15 online I think, and same with the straight hose. The heater hose was $1.29 a foot, and I went though 35' after buying 40'. I also replaced the other hoses, thermostat/gaskets, pressure cap, fuel lines, fuel filters, and resealed and painted the gas tank (thank you kayakwesty for the tutorial!!). It's been a productive week....

And speaking of burping coolant, I found this to make life easier (with patience).

Sat Aug 25, 2012 6:41 am

I like your McGyver style.

The rad fill via funnel and hose is what I do as well to eliminate any air bleeding problems.

Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:10 am

Good tip on the hose.

What fitting did you use here?...

...or did you just jam the tubing in there?

Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:38 am

There's no way the tubing would fit. I do science stuff for a living and have a ton of connectors at work. I used a 1/4" elbow like this (a good hardware or plumbing store might have one): http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/3673/Elbows-1-41-2-Barb-x-Barb

It takes a while to fill the radiator like this, but it's really easy (easier than getting to my expansion tank while the engine is running) .

Sat Aug 25, 2012 3:44 pm

Thank you for a very useful parts hack! I need to notch my radiator bleed screw--other car aficionadoes had someone make a 'button bleed' replacement for theirs, you just pushed the button and the air spurted out.

Best!