kmead

Old enough to know better
Among my tasks right now is to replace my cooling hoses. I have the primary hoses coming from MWB, 4 major ones that are kitted and the 90° elbow to go from the thermostat to the bypass pipe.

So I understand that the lower hose to the coolant reservoir tank from the thermostat housing is a section of the Gates 18071 or the Goodyear 63068 (now known as Continental Elite) hose.

What is an equivalent upper hose to the reservoir from the thermostat housing? Or is common practice to use regular 12mm ID coolant hose?

Are there any other trick pipes one should acquire such as ones for the heater core supply and return inside the passenger compartment?

I ask this as despite searching I wasn't able to find a single place with the info. My search foo may well not be very good so my apologies in advance for not finding it in the WIKI or on the forum.

Many thanks to those who have trudged down this path already.

Karl
 
I was able to source a heater return line hose (the one that comes from under the car, goes vertical then piggybacks on of the upper coolant hose for a bit, then crosses over the stat housing and terminates into the single nipple coolant pipe that feeds the water pump) from NAPA. It's a generic 5/8" heater hose but it is about 36" long and has a very nice molded 90 degree on one end, perfect for making the turn into the single nipple coolant pipe.

NAPA part number 10914 and/or 10916 should work.
 
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This task will be on my list soon as well. I have not looked into it yet so hoping to learn along with Karl here.

I found a silicone hose kit (in black) for about the same price as the rubber items offered by the vendors. Contemplating that for now.

As for the assorted heater hoses, how well will straight universal hose work? Are there any that have too tight of bends, requiring molded shapes? Like I said, this is still down the line so have not investigated it yet. Thanks for the education.
 
This task will be on my list soon as well. I have not looked into it yet so hoping to learn along with Karl here.

I found a silicone hose kit (in black) for about the same price as the rubber items offered by the vendors. Contemplating that for now.

As for the assorted heater hoses, how well will straight universal hose work? Are there any that have too tight of bends, requiring molded shapes? Like I said, this is still down the line so have not investigated it yet. Thanks for the education.
Straight heater hose works for the long runs. The only ones that are molded are the upper and lower expansion tank connections.
 
I was able to source a heater return line hose (the one that comes from under the car, goes vertical then piggybacks on of the upper coolant hose for a bit, then crosses over the stat housing and terminates into the single nipple coolant pipe that feeds the water pump) from NAPA. It's a generic 5/8" heater hose but it is about 36" long and has a very nice molded 90 degree on one end, perfect for making the turn into the single nipple coolant pipe.

NAPA part number 10914 and/or 10916 should work.

Thanks, that might be a great solution at both ends of the heater hose system to make the transition from the head supply to the bulkhead and from the bulkhead into the bypass return.
 
When I replaced all of mine in the spring I walked into a parts store. This was a local store so they may have had some oddball stuff that a box would not but I just bought a 90° bent hose for one of the two. The number really doesn't matter you can see a 90° just match the ID and make sure it is longer than the one you took off. Cut it to size and you're good. The other hose was at an angle that works with a loop IIRC... It may just have been close enough to aligned that a piece of bulk heater hose made the jog. I will double check in the morning...
Regards
 
This is what I ended up getting... Warning! This image is of a working car not a show or trailer queen...
IMG_20170905_102913107.jpg
The hose that goes to the top of the tank was the loop hose. The original was more of a chicane hose... That one I could still be looking for today. Having had to connect many different types of pipes/hoses and the like I have an appreciation for the loop! You can't take the bulk hose from a to b without kinking the hose but the twist maintained the flow without any trouble. The lower did however need a molded hose. As I said just pick one off the rack match diameter and cut to size.
It had a number but it was not worth remembering... My mind is full and I would need to forget something to load this number!
Good luck and regards
 
Very much like what was on the car which worked fine. I may end up with something similar if I can't find something better
 
I really need to get a good look at the hoses on the car to visualize everything. But I'm guessing the hose Dan referenced (NAPA part number 10914 and/or 10916) will work for the lower recovery tank hose? I think Dan was referring to it's use where the long pipe comes from under the body (tunnel), up to the engine? But it looks like it might be good for under the tank as well?
 
Ed, that's the set I referred to above. There was a little bit of discussion on them here some time ago. Nothing really bad nor good was said, seems like they were more expensive back then so the cost was the biggest issue. But if you compare the price with new rubber replacements from the vendors it really isn't that much more. A few of our members have them, perhaps one of them will speak up.

I was looking to match those 4 hoses with a 90 degree piece like one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400783329012?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
or
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170751776504?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

The stock hose comes out to be roughly 1-1/4" on one end and 1-3/8" on the other. Not sure if the 1-1/4" hose will stretch, or the 1-1/2" one will clamp down. Both are 1-1/4" on the other end. Silicone is very flexible so one of them should work.

I also looked at silicone hose for all of the 5/8" heater lines. But that gets rather expensive due to the total length required on the X.
 
Jeff VanDyke I believe went with the silicone hoses and overall was ok with them.

Proper clamps are required.

I personally don't understand the interest in silicone hoses.

The hoses on my 85 are OE from when it was produced and although they are now ready to be replaced they are not in bad shape. The same could be said for my 17 year old Golf which also has its OE hoses. It used to seem like hoses never lasted beyond 10 years. Now it seems like they are much longer lived.
 
I remember reading about Jeff's trials with the sillycone hoses. Rather leaky IIRC.
The heater hose needed is not that great since everything from the firewall forward is hard piped. I believe the lower connects right there at the cooling tube tunnel and the upper connects behind the spare in that void.
If you were so inclined you could make the looped bulk hose using two 90° molded hoses and a splice. They make nice heater hose splices... It would add one more potential leak point and two clamps but it would look more like the factory hose.
Just saying...
Regards
 
I completely agree there is no need for silicone hoses on a stock street car like these. Honestly not sure why I am interested, guess I just like the modern look of them. Which in itself is funny because normally I lean toward a "period correct" retro look. I was surprised to find them for roughly the same price as standard rubber hoses. So kind of figure for the money why not? But I'm haven't decided on it yet.
 
Just did a little searching online for new hoses (all of them). Realized a couple things of interest (to me anyway):

The X's coolant lines (pipes, hoses, fittings, etc) are actually all metric sized and therefore do not directly fit the usual US hose diameters. But for the sake of availability, and keeping things simple, I will discuss them in common "inch" dimensions (rounding off a little).

All of the 5 main hoses (2 engine to coolant pipes, 2 coolant pipes to radiator, and 1 between the coolant return pipe and the t-stat housing) are 1 3/8", however the preformed hoses I found specifically listed for this application are 1 1/4". Therefore some stretch is required to force them on but they should work. Just surprised they aren't the right diameter...makes me think they are not actually designed for the X per se and therefore may not be a good overall fit?

EDIT: I also noticed the coolant return pipe from the back of the water pump is a smaller diameter than everything else (1 1/4" vs 1 3/8"). That is why the 90* hose that goes from it to the t-stat housing does not fit both ends well. If new water return pipes are manufactured in stainless, perhaps they should be made with a tube diameter that matches the rest of the system?

As for the smaller hoses that are no longer listed for the X:
The hose from the t-stat to the lower end of the coolant recovery tank is a little under 3/4". The formed 90* hoses referenced above ("the Gates 18071 or the Goodyear 63068") are 5/8" at one end and 3/4" at the other. So they will slightly be both tight and loose. Another option might be to use a section from Gates 19486, which is 21/32". It has more shapes than needed but the desired portion should be had from within it, and it's the right diameter.

The other small hose to the top of the coolant recovery tank is just under 1/2", and needs to be "S" shaped. Perhaps Gates 18481 will work. One end isn't quite 90* but the length and diameter are correct, so hopefully it will bend enough to fit without kinking (note: I have the S/S tank and the top fitting does not point straight out like the plastic tank does; it has a downward arc to it).

The various heater hoses are less than 5/8" but given that 5/8" is a common item here in the US it's a good option, as most have done previously.

I ordered all of these today and will see how they work.
 
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I had no issue with installing the premolded hoses from MWB. The 90 from the thermostat to the bypass worked just fine with no issues in installing it.

Thanks for the pointers for the additional hoses, the upper hose to the reservoir is one I haven't acquired and had been wondering what to get.

I used Gates clamps for silicone hoses for the large diameter hoses and a variety of smaller clamps from MWB for the small hoses. Gates 32324 and Gates 32310 bought from Rockauto one box of each. I also bought the coolant hose for the alternator Gates 28088, all from Rockauto.

I haven't completed my install as I am still fiddling with the heater valve which is an abomination to work on...
 
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Just did a little searching online for new hoses (all of them). Realized a couple things of interest (to me anyway):

The X's coolant lines (pipes, hoses, fittings, etc) are actually all metric sized and therefore do not directly fit the usual US hose diameters. But for the sake of availability, and keeping things simple, I will discuss them in common "inch" dimensions (rounding off a little).

All of the 5 main hoses (2 engine to coolant pipes, 2 coolant pipes to radiator, and 1 between the coolant return pipe and the t-stat housing) are 1 3/8", however the preformed hoses I found specifically listed for this application are 1 1/4". Therefore some stretch is required to force them on but they should work. Just surprised they aren't the right diameter...makes me think they are not actually designed for the X per se and therefore may not be a good overall fit?

EDIT: I also noticed the coolant return pipe from the back of the water pump is a smaller diameter than everything else (1 1/4" vs 1 3/8"). That is why the 90* hose that goes from it to the t-stat housing does not fit both ends well. If new water return pipes are manufactured in stainless, perhaps they should be made with a tube diameter that matches the rest of the system?

As for the smaller hoses that are no longer listed for the X:
The hose from the t-stat to the lower end of the coolant recovery tank is a little under 3/4". The formed 90* hoses referenced above ("the Gates 18071 or the Goodyear 63068") are 5/8" at one end and 3/4" at the other. So they will slightly be both tight and loose. Another option might be to use a section from Gates 19486, which is 21/32". It has more shapes than needed but the desired portion should be had from within it, and it's the right diameter.

The other small hose to the top of the coolant recovery tank is just under 1/2", and needs to be "S" shaped. Perhaps Gates 18481 will work. One end isn't quite 90* but the length and diameter are correct, so hopefully it will bend enough to fit without kinking (note: I have the S/S tank and the top fitting does not point straight out like the plastic tank does; it has a downward arc to it).

The various heater hoses are less than 5/8" but given that 5/8" is a common item here in the US it's a good option, as most have done previously.

I ordered all of these today and will see how they work.

The 90° stat housing to water pump pipe hoses that I have received from our vendors came in the correct size, meaning that the stat housing leg of the elbow is a slightly larger diameter than the water pump pipe leg of the elbow, to match the different sizes of the nipples on which the two ends of the hose fit.
 
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I had no issue with installing the premolded hoses from MWB.
The 90° stat housing to water pump pipe hoses that I have received from our vendors came in the correct size
Maybe I ordered from the wrong supplier :). But I'll see when they arrive, perhaps the descriptions were just incomplete or misleading.

Thanks for the pointers for the additional hoses, the upper hose to the reservoir is one I haven't acquired and had been wondering what to get.
Karl, I'm not certain about either of the options I mentioned for these smaller hoses to the overflow tank. I looked through catalog listings by their size and an illustration of their shape, so they may not turn out to be everything I think. But I'll know more when they arrive. If your not in a hurry you can wait to see how it goes for me, otherwise I found them online for something like $5 each so not a huge risk.

Regarding the heater valve. I decided to keep the valve near the stock location and try using a VW item. Keeps everything simple to hook up. And this is not a bypass style valve so the hot coolant won't be circulating through the cabin. Plus it looks like I'm going to be replacing the large coolant tubes under my car (found a small leak starting), so I'll see about adding new metal tubes for both heater lines outside of the tunnel/interior areas to further remove the heat source from the passenger compartment (a requirement of where I'm living). Likewise with the AC lines; I will need to replace them and will see about isolating them a little more from the hot coolant tubes. This project keeps growing exponentially!
 
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