Molded metal-rubber heater hoses

[Devin]

I believe I have a leak in one of my heater hoses. Unfortunately these are the SHO specific crazy-train rubber and metal hoses (vulcan was far superior in this aspect, they were rubber ONLY). How do I get them remade?

Can I take them off and find a hose guy or something and have them reclamp them and pressure test them? It's kinda a pain to get back there and messy to boot so I don't want to pull them off multiple times.

Does anyone sell them new or remanned?

 

[Devin]

Okay, what gives? The usual suspects sell heater hoses, but I know for a fact that one of my hoses has a metal section with a bung that a sensor plugs into. The replacement hoses don't. I think I'm missing something.

 

[hawkeye18]

cut off hose on the metal side of the crimp to the rubber hose. Buy 3/8" heater hose (or is it 5/8"? I can never remember) and a hose clamp. I think you can see where I'm going with this here.

I did it - worked great. Just make sure you get good heater hose.

 

[K-Dawg]

I take a hack saw and carefully cut the metal crimp, then pull off the rotted rubber hose and replace with new.

 

[itwonder]

Once you carefully cut away the metal crimps and pull off the old rubber hose ends, you'll see the reusable metal pieces have beaded ends. Thus you can replace the rubber pieces with new and use worm clamps instead of crimps to secure them.

 

[Huntervf]

Just cut out the bad metal hoses and replace the whole thing with rubber. Just be mindful of where those hoses are running. If they're near exhaust components or the block, excessive heat can ruin them in a hurry.

I had a very similar problem on my old vulcan wagon (yes, vulcans do have combo metal/rubber hoses) and the only solution was to drop $400 for factory replacement lines, or $10 for some heater hose and another $5 for metal hose supports, that slip over the hose to prevent it from pinching if you need to make a sharp bend in the hose.

 

[ultimatesho]

as everyones said just cut the metal, MAKE SURE YOU SMOOTH DOWN THE METAL WERE U CUT IT.......then get u some heater hose and clamp it......did this to mine over a year ago in the 92 because the metal started leaking

 

[itwonder]

as everyones said just cut the metal, MAKE SURE YOU SMOOTH DOWN THE METAL WERE U CUT IT.......then get u some heater hose and clamp it......did this to mine over a year ago in the 92 because the metal started leaking

Just to be clear on this, you do not cut the metal pipe. That would be a mistake. You cut the silver colored metal bands that hold the rubber hose ends onto the metal tube. Slit them lengthwise, then pry them away. Then it's easy to take the old rubber ends off.

 

[ultimatesho]

Just to be clear on this, you do not cut the metal pipe. That would be a mistake. You cut the silver colored metal bands that hold the rubber hose ends onto the metal tube. Slit them lengthwise, then pry them away. Then it's easy to take the old rubber ends off.

not if your metal hose is rusted and leaking.....would do absolutely NOTHING to cut off the clamps just to keep the leak.....so no it would not be a mistake it would be exactly what would need to be done in this situation

 

[SHOZ123]

The only reason to keep the metal is for the CELO bung and the fact the hose transitions from 5/8" to a 1/2" (IIRC) with the metal.

I used straight bulk heater hose on my '93 eliminating the CELO switch. If you want to keep the switch then just get some copper pipe and fittings to make up your own replacement pipe.

 

[Marccus]

Heater-Tube-Be-Gone

Get rid of the metal tubes completely - everywhere.

Buy the correct diameter heater hose for the entire length and/or the hose reducers for multiple diameter hose/tube runs - like when it leaves the engine block at 3/4" but enters the heater at 5/8".

Buy the metal coils made by Gates (?) ($6 to $7 each) that slip OVER the hoses (5/8" and 3/4" size) and then bend the coil with your hands to the correct angle to follow the same path as the hose/metal runs. They are made to VERY close tolerances to fit over the outer diameter so you will have to be careful when putting them around and locating them to the correct position on the hose before you start to bend them.

Clamp your hoses with ABA clamps - the best clamps made - that are SS; have solid, wide bands with rolled edges and and an enclosed worm gear assembly. They are worth every penny. (Twice the cost of IDEAL clamps, maybe). ABA makes clamps for the marine environment and they are used by the Navy. Go to ultimategarage.com for the cheapest prices.

Coat the metal male ******* and/or the inside of the heater hose with a very light wipe of a teflon based lubricant (I use ARP thread lubricant which has Teflon and anti-corrosive additives). Teflon decomposes at 500F so it retains its low friction properties.

No more metal tubes; no more tube corrosion; no more clamp corrosion; no damage to the exterior of the hose due to the non-solid band type clamps; and no more stuck hoses.

Nice looking runs of heater hose with coils at the appropriate places that bend the hose to trace the same path as the original runs.

 

[SHO1]

Just cut out the bad metal hoses and replace the whole thing with rubber. Just be mindful of where those hoses are running. If they're near exhaust components or the block, excessive heat can ruin them in a hurry.
.

That exactly what I did.

 

[Devin]

I've been off the forum for a bit so I had to do some searching to find this post.

That has got to be some of the best advice I've received from a thread in a long time. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I like the idea of getting rid of the metal completely but what does the CELO do? If it isn't terribly important I might bypass it but keep the metal hoses just in case I need to put it back to stock.

 

[hawkeye18]

The CELO serves one function, and that's to keep the heater from turning on until the coolant is warm enough to sufficiently heat the air. It's not something you can't do... just wait a few minutes until you see the coolant warming up, or deal with cold air until you feel warm air. The car's function will not be affected one bit by removing it.

 

[K-Dawg]

I like the metal hoses because they keep things neat and tidy.