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Heater Hose Relocation – V8
16 Attachment(s)
For what ever reason GM decided to have the factory heater hoses run along side the intake. This is a sure way to cause some heat soak which is not what you want when running at the race track. The answer is to relocate them.
First off I have to give props to GMRULZ and Sack Rat for being the innovation on this mod. I referenced the following post initially and thought I would add more of a DIY flavor to it. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ose+relocation This is a DIY specifically for using the generic 90 angle hoses. However, the Tech AFX should basically be the same. http://techafx.com/products/product_...products_id=47 The Tech AFX is a very nice looking piece. If you plan to run without an engine cover and want to dress up you engine bay I would go that route. It can be purchased directly from Tech AFX or someone like ADM Performance. The price of the Tech AFX ranges from $175 - $190 just for the heater hose kit. I went down the generic route because I do use an engine cover and I was able to buy the two hoses off Amazon for $28.55 to my door and then $3 for a set of hose clamps from the local Auto store. Thanks to BigRed585lbs I bought the Gates hoses off of Amazon. Instead of buying two 5/8” hoses I used the ¾” hose that has a ¾” flare on the angled side and 5/8” on the straight side. They are Gates Heater Hose #18077 and #18078. Notice the ¾” hose is a bit longer and will need more trimming to fit properly. I also decided to use regular hose clamps on the firewall side since they really wouldn’t be seen much and would be easier to work with using a ratchet. For the water pump hoses I chose to use the factory hose clamps. They match up a little better with the rest of the engine bay and they are easy enough to work with. The process is pretty straight forward: 1. Drain most of the radiator fluid. Use the drain plug on the lower part of the radiator on the driver’s side. Catch it in a container that you can use to pour back in when you’re done. 2. Take note of which hose goes to which section on the firewall and water pump. 3. Remove the factory hoses. I used a pair of long nose vice grips so that I could just clamp them on and move the clamp out of the way. The water pump hoses come off pretty easy but the hoses connected to the firewall are not as easy and there is limited room. I was able to get one side off with just some twisting back and forth but the other side didn’t want to budge. Instead of taking a chance on damaging the heater core, it made more sense to just cut it off. Using a box cutter I just cut a small slit and then peeled it off. 4. Since I used the Gates hose that had the ¾” inlet I need to trim it down because it was much longer than the 5/8” hose. I took about 2.5” off the end using a hose cutter. A box cutter will work if needed. Just try to make it as straight of a cut as you can. Make sure to position the hose clamps so that you can get to them as easily as you can. I put the 5/8” hose on first so that I could double check how much to take off of the ¾” hose. Remember, you can always take off more...you can't put it back on. I also sprayed a little WD-40 on my finger and rubbed it inside and around the hose opening to make it easier to put back on. 5. Run the hoses down though the ABS perch. It’s a tight fit especially when routing the second hose. 6. Measure up the hose to the water pump and trim off the extra length of the hose. Re-attach the factory hose clamps. 7. Add the radiator fluid back and allow the radiator to burp. Check the radiator fluid a couple times and then re-check the next day. In the last pics it's hard to notice the hoses.....but that's the point. The engine cover and CAI draw your eyes away from the hoses going along the side. Again, this a performance thing to help keep your intake from heating up with a pair of hoses running 180+ degree water through it. |
Looks very Nice!
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Looks great! im gonna do this mod this weekend!
*Edit* just bought the two hoses. should get them friday. then i can do this mod over the weekend! score! |
This is a great DIY. Just had one question, what did you do with the check valves that were in the heater hoses? I noticed that you had the check valves in your 'before' picture and wondered if you included them with the new hoses.
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By running the hoses in that low position, would the check valves be needed, since the hoses no longer run up on top of the engine?
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I've had this setup for about 6mths now and just made it through the winter season using the heater on a regular basis. No issues and no gurgling sounds. Quote:
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The only thing I really wish I would've done is gone ahead and changed my thermostat to the 160 while I was doing this. The water is already drained out so it wouldn't have been much more effort. I'm about change it in the next month or so. If you do change your thermostat I've been told you'll need to have the car tuned to have the fans come on sooner. That might be a deal breaker for some but my car is already tuned.
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got my hoses today. looks like this is gonna happen tomorrow. ill post pics when im done.
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Cool....hardest thing is getting the original hoses off the firewall. They are stuck on there pretty good from the factory. Try twisting them off if you can but don't pull a whole lot. You don't want to pull on the heater core too much and cause a problem there. That won't be a fun fix. If the don't come off with minimal twist/pull then just cut them off. Hoses are not worth the headache of replacing a heater core. It's hard to get you hands in the small area though.
Also just keep a good eye on which hose goes to which line. I would even tell you to draw it on paper for reference. You don't want to get that mixed up either. All in all though it's an easy mod. Don't forget to "burp" the radiator to get all the air out. Just ask if you have any questions. BTW: Just added my 160 thermostat today. Another easy mod....other than you have to have the fans tuned to come on earlier. |
yea im not gonna mess with the theromstat. i was gonna do the hoses tonight. but i realized i dont have a good set of needl nose vice grips. so im gonna go buy a pair tomorrow.
i plan on rolling the front end up on a pair of ramps i have in my garage, to access the coolant drain easier. How does the coolant drain open? just twist? |
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ok. so i got the hoses off the firewall with no problem. they came off pretty easy actually. but now the hoses by the water pump i can get them off, but there is still a steady stream of coolant running from them.
I had the truck up on ramps and i thought that was keeping the coolant in the block. so i rolled it off the ramps. and drained some more. but still when i try to pull them off the water pump theres a steady steam of coolant as soon as i pull it off. How to i empty this coolant out of the block better? so im not wasting a ton of coolant when i pull it off the water pump. |
I'm assuming you don't mean water pump but you are talking about eh thermostat housing. Are you not catching all the fluid in a pan? You should so you can re-use it.
Did you take off or at least loosen your radiator cap. That will help drain the water. I just waited until it all stopped draining. Even then you'll get some fluid out of the housing when you pull it off so keep the pan under there. |
Ok so i was able to get it done. I was able to stick a water bottle at the thermostat housing to catch remnant coolant that didnt drain.
I was able to reuse the stock clamps...it was a pain but i got them on there. Overall this went without a hitch. Burped the coolant system when i was done and took her for a drive. Temps were hight at first, but i burped it a few times while driving and they went down to around 198. Here are some pics. Overall this was a preetty easy mod and cheap! the hoses come from amazon are 30 bucks or so shipped! no brainer compared to some of the kits that cost a lot. old hose- came off the firewall surprisingly easy. just a few twists and popped right off. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0111.jpg firewall connections http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0105.jpg fed by the abs perch http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0106.jpg back to the water pump/tstat housing http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0107.jpg overall shot http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0108.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0109.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...t/IMAG0110.jpg |
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