Headlight Door Actuator Vacuum Hoses

Cougar Community Classic Cougar Maintenance Restoration and Repair
1

I see a lot of Discussion about these, I have a bad one (or more). It appears WCCC doesn’t do the Kits anymore.
basic ruler check says 3/8 O.D. 1/4 I.D. so that’s 1/16 wall. Looking around the WEB I see 7/32 I.D. stuff.

Does anyone have the Ford Spec’s and or a source? I’m not worried about Stripes and such, can’t see any on the hoses now anyway :mrgreen:

2

I have some factory Lincoln Continental Mark IV headlight vacuum hoses hiding somewhere, still in great shape if you are interested. Still has all of the colored striping on them and nice and soft rubber still. I don’t plan on using them as I’m converting my Cougar to electric actuators.

3

I bought generic vacuum hose at the auto parts store.

4

NPD has the headlight vacuum hose kit with all the correct stripes ( so they say). I think they’re made by Critter creek. Kinda expensive though.

5

I have a big box of used H.L. system hoses. Let me know if your interested

6

I converted to electric and have a hose set that are in good shape. Came off an early ‘67 car.
They are yours for free if you want them. Just cover shipping.
PM if interested.
Mark

7

I appreciate your generous offer but our systems are different.

8

Seems like an opportunity. The only set I’ve seen for sale in the past year is that one on the crittercreek site. And while I’m sure it’s perfect, that price is a bit extreme IMHO.

Surely somebody sells the proper hoses with the proper color stripes that could be cut to length for less than that.

9

Thanks for the reply’s all, I’m hooked up on a set of used lines from CougarBill.

10

Wrapping up the thread, New Hoses are on, all leaks identified & corrected, the Cougar sleeps with it’s eyes closed now. We will see how long it goes…

It all started with the Actuator being replaced. Imagine my despair after doing that job and the damn lids opening up just the same as they did before.

yes the old one was bad, but something else was amiss. Got the replacement hoses from Cougar Bill, dive in and start replacing, and lo & behold what I found.

First, i’m not the first guy in here…look at this

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it was not attached to the hoses like the replacement set, also was in the car backwards, i.e. wide part in the engine compartment.

Then i find a serious culprit.

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the headlight door was pinching the hose right before the bend into the Vacuum Tank(the split in the end is where I cut it to get it off the tank), the P.O. failed to run the line thru the hangers over the door.

I tested, the doors crept open AGAIN!, totally dejected.

More troubleshooting.

The Check Valve up by the brake booster was leaking ( could hear the slight wheezing/sucking sound) The small side ( why are there 2 different size nipples when the hoses are the same size?) was leaking even though the P.O. had put small hose clamps there (which I re-used). I remedied the situation by using a short wrap of electrical tape to bring the small nipple up to size.

Viola! the doors stay closed, overnight even! Check another job off the list…

11

Good work! Yeah, it’s amazing how many problems on my car were the result of multiple failures like that. Not easy to find and fix.