On a 1968 FE with factory A/C after installing “Heater Hose - w/ A/C - Concours Correct - Repro ~ 1968 Mercury Cougar / 1968 Ford Mustang” I only have about 3/8" clearance from the PS belt. Hose is not fully seated onto the water pump/radiator, inlet/outlet. Fully seated hose results in contact. It is holding water so I’m going to run it this way for now. Curious if this is normal or if it is jazzed up?
Background - Original hoses were the ribbed type. Ya’ know, that ones everyone hates… Installed a new heater core but wanted to flush the cooling system before making the heater work. I replaced upper and lower hoses as part of the flush. Upper hose is perfect. Lower hose that I removed was about twice as long as the replacement but was shoehorned in there. Heat is working and I don’t have any leaks so the car is ready for the fall season. I have a single belt alternator that looks from GM-ish. The PS pully has 7AA stamped on it. PS was a documented option on my car but I don’t know if the setup is original. I don’t know if the water pump is original either. Let me know what you all think.
Are they “Parts Store” hoses or Reproduction ones from a reputable supplier? I had a problem once with a 351W with AC. The belt rubbed a hole through the lower radiator hose on my way to a show. It was a “Parts store” hose the P.O. had put on. As I was along the Columbia River in Northern Oregon I had no chose but to get a replacement at a local parts store to get back on the road. I aligned it so I had about 1/2 inch space.
Neal - Good point. These hoses were from WCCC so I am more inclined to think that some other parts are different from what the factory used. I did search the forums and internet for general information. Found some discussions in another forum about PS pulley with 6AA or 7AA markings, different diameters etc… Nothing I could confirm as accurate though but I need to read my shop manual still.
I have clearance and don’t think the PS belt will orbit enough to hit the hose. If the belt gets loose over time I can know easily as I will hear with PS pulley chirp under load. I just had to put way more consideration into the install of the lower hose. Again the upper hose looks and works flawlessly.
I just replaced all of my coolant hoses with concours units from WCCC.
All fit well except it seems the lower radiator connection could be a 1/2” to 1” longer to help keep the hose away from the belt. The clamps are right at the edge of the rubber…using the wire style clamp. I pulled it back a bit and have about 3/8” gap between hose and belt as well
Maybe I’m concerned about nothing, but I would like to see a bit more rubber on the connection…like the top.
This is just a suggestion. Has anyone thought of having an extension pipe brazed on to the lower radiator pipe? Doing so would resolve the clearance issues, and provide peace of mind.
On mine I was able to twist the top and bottom of hose before tightening clamps to gain a bit more clearance. But it should be fine that it is not all the way onto the water pump as long as clamp is not over the raised lip.
I’m ok with the clearance, just concerned there isn’t enough hose on both fittings. I think it’s ok, as the clamps seem to be on the correct side of the lip but clamp edge is near the edge of the hose end.
NPD sells a silicone upper and lower hose I’m tempted to buy and just try the lower. Just want a bit more comfort level to ensure hose doesn’t blow off when hot.
Yeah I just reread and saw that your clamp was right at edge of the hose. Probably won’t cause a problem, but it would bother me too knowing that an extra inch of hose length would solve that and provide more clearance too. I went through several hoses before I found one that worked too. The repro like you got with the wire clamps stapled on and stamped Ford part number fit the best on my 351c.
