Heater Hose Firewall Coupler Elimination w/pics

Post by **matthew1** » 26 Jan 2013, 00:02

Milehi and Erik, I merged your posts into this topic.

MilehighV70XC · Post by **MilehighV70XC** » 16 Feb 2013, 22:25

Erikv11- I just attempted this and ran into a problem.
When attaching to the block, the OEM hoses have formed bends in them so they match right up. The white stripe Gates hose I tried to use (all I could find), kinked where the OEM bends would be. Did you have this problem or do you think the green stripe thickness help prevent this from happening?
I went back to the leaking OEM hose until a can figure out the cheap fix or fork out the money for new OEM hose.

Post by **erikv11** » 16 Feb 2013, 23:55

The hoses were pretty long in my setup, so that they formed a small loop in the engine bay. That way there were no sharp turns at the block. But it could be that green stripe made a difference yes, it is a pretty heavy duty hose.

Can you make the hose longer and still fit it in? With a turbo there is less room in that area.

MilehighV70XC · Post by **MilehighV70XC** » 17 Feb 2013, 00:42

I bought 8ft of white stripe Gates, so had plenty to play with. I could not get the hose not to kink. The return hose would have to hang to low and still have a minor kink. The inlet hose does not have enough space and it has to make almost a 90degree, could not loop it big enough not to kink.
I think the green stripe would work for the return hose. The inlet though, I will have to try, but it just seems to tight. I will have to find a place that sells green stripe and see how much stiffer it is.
Thanks for all the help

Post by **cn90** » 17 Feb 2013, 08:40

Why don't you keep the old heater hoses' metal parts for proper curvature at the firewall?
What I am getting at is:
- Use a Dremel tool and cut the crimp from the old hose, remove crimp and old hose BUT keep the 90-degree metal elbows.
- Then run new heater hoses like this:

Heater Core ---> New Heater Hoses to firewall ---> Connect to Metal Elbows with clamps ---> exit firewall ---> more heater hoses from Metal Elbows to engine block.

By using the Metal Elbows, you restore the factory bend at the firewall.

Basically keep the metal elbows as seen in photo #3.

MilehighV70XC · Post by **MilehighV70XC** » 18 Feb 2013, 09:19

cn90 wrote:Why don't you keep the old heater hoses' metal parts for proper curvature at the firewall?

The problem is the junctions at the block not the firewall. I like your Idea, but my reason for doing this was to eliminate half of the connection and only have four clamps to deal with for the next 100k+ miles. The factory way works just fine, I am just trying to save myself $130+ buying new hoses seals and clips.

Post by **erikv11** » 18 Feb 2013, 13:03

I wonder if these would work?

http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?broch ... ion_id=541

I don't know why there is enough room in the 96 NA but not in your 99 turbo. Are you sure it needs to make that sharp bend, that you can't find a path for a loop? I am assuming the problem is at the one right above the transmission? What is in the way?

MilehighV70XC · Post by **MilehighV70XC** » 19 Feb 2013, 11:35

erikv11 wrote:I am assuming the problem is at the one right above the transmission? What is in the way?

Your assumption is correct. Maybe the bellhousings are different on the AWD. If you look at these two pics you can see there is no room to extend the loop and not have the 90degree. Maybe the green stripe is just thick enough not to kink.

The heater hose in the the small hose you see between the wiring harness plastic cover and lower radiator hose. There is about a 1in lip where the transmission bolts to the block. The factory hose almost touches the the lip, so there is no more room to extend.

heater hose connection is the worm clamp in the the lower left of the picture.

Post by **erikv11** » 19 Feb 2013, 12:08

Great pics, thanks. I will take a look at my NA tonight, see if it looks any different. I think the crux of the matter is that intake hose for the turbo eats up some of the free space.

Would it help (and be possible) to run the heater hose up over the wiring harness, through that gap in the upper picture, so the bend isn't as sharp coming off the block?

Seeing your pics I also remember now when I did this, one of the things I wondered was how easy it would be to get a 90 degree elbow fitting to screw into the block there.

Post by **cn90** » 19 Jun 2013, 04:41

I was just browsing the firewall area and noticed the heater hose coupler area looks a bit "odd".
The LOWER hose seems to stick out a bit more than the UPPER hose (I borrowed this photo from another DIY, so ignore the Red captions, just look at YELLOW captions).

No leak whatsoever. Is this the factory look?

PS: Car is 98 S70 GLT (150K miles) with stock heater core and heater hose coupler!

: HeaterHose.JPG (70.34 KiB) Viewed 1429 times