radiator hose's

[mark751]

Hi everyone, just wanted to share some info on the cooling system hoses.
I called Ford parts dept. and asked how much the radiator hoses cost and to my shock they said $ 173.00!!! There are 4 hoses to the radiator system; the parts guy referred to this as a spaghetti setup. There is cheaper way:

I went to NAPA and they ordered the top and bottom radiator hoses, now this is where it gets tricky, the other 2 hoses which one comes from the bottom of the engine block to the thermostat housing and the other hose comes from the top tube back to the thermostat housing. The thermostat housing is a 3-way connection. With these 2 hoses you need to cut them to size this is not hard. When you remove the small hose from the bottom of the engine block make sure to take out the spring in the hose, you will need to re use it on the new hose. This project depending on your tools should take about 2 hours and save you a lot of money. Be sure when you refill the cooling system that you add the coolent through the top of the engine, the black tube comming off the manifold has a fill plug. DO NOT fill through the resevoir since the block will be empty. I did this once and overheated the enigine. Hope this helps ...


NAPA part Numbers and prices.

# 9445 upper radiator hose $12.59 Original Equiptment

# 9447 Lower Radiator Hose $38.69 Orignal Equiptment

# 9275 Radiator Hose $25.99 Modify this one

# 9315 Radiator Hose $16.49 Modify this one

Total Price= $93.76

[drobin]

Great info Mark !!

Thanks,

Donald

[sailsmen]

What is the quality of am hoses compared to OEM?

I have 92K on mine and others have 150K.

I still am uncertain when they should be replaced.

I remember in the 1970's when at 40K miles you rebuilt the brakes, master cyclinder, battery, belts, shocks and hoses.

[Paul]

Thanks man! That'll be a big help - I'm about due for a change myself.

[JACook]

What is the quality of am hoses compared to OEM?

My question exactly. If a set of hoses lasts 10 years, why do I care if it cost $175? When I replace
a part, my priority is always that the part be equal to, or better than OEM. Only then do I begin to
think about price.

There's a lot of cheap auto parts out there that you couldn't pay me to put on my car...

P.S... Anyone run these part numbers by Ray The Dealer?

[mark751]

Hi Jeff, I am with you, I do not put inferior parts on my maurader.. Why pay double for something? My point was to let people know they have a choice.

Best Regards

Mark

[Bradley G]

How come you are replacing all the rad. hoses already?
Hey Antioch!, we are less than a half hour from each other.
Wanna hook up sometime?
I work for a local FLM dealer.I can maybe save locals some money on OEM parts.

[GordonB]

Has anyone investigated the Ford Hi Performance Blue Silicone hoses for our MMs? I don't even know it they are available, but they sure would look KOOOL! on a Blue MM!!!

GordonB