Radiator hoses ?

[Kristinsgrandpa]

1988 Neoplan AN 340, 6V-92 TA It came from a federally funded state agency in St. Louis.

In the process of removing my radiator I noticed all the hoses were blue with a red interior. Does this translate into silicone hose?

My coach has about 48,500 miles on it and has a
Detroit Diesel Reliabuilt sticker on it. I am assuming that when overhauled they replaced all the hoses with silicone hoses. Does this sound right?

They all appear to be in great shape and I don't want to replace them unless necessary, but will while the radiator is out.

I found a repair request inside, when cleaning it out, which showed 389,000 miles on it so I doubt the hoses are original.

Ed

[rv_safetyman]

Hi Ed.

Yes, those are silicone hoses.  Silicone hoses often last the life of the engine. 

The issue is, it is very difficult to get silicone hoses to reseal.  I worked with hose all of my working life at Gates, and I am hard pressed to tell you why, but most folks go through heck trying to get used hose to seal. 

I tried to reuse some of the silicone hose on my Series 60 and could not get them to seal - even with the best spring clamps.  Even tried double clamping.  As I said, many folks on this board report the same problem.

I finally went to premium rubber hose from NAPA.  This is the hose that comes in 3 or 4 ft sticks and is usually Gates hose.  It is a bit stiff and is only used for straight connections.  That hose will last you for many years and is not too expensive.

I hope you don't get mad at my answer, as I sure as heck don't want 300 pounds of gravel sent to me .

Jim

[TomC]

At Freightliner the optional radiator hose is the Gates Blue stripe.  It is a well built hose that will give you many years of service and won't have cold weather leaking problems.  I would try using your silicone hoses again, but if they don't seal, switch to the Gates blue stripe.  Good Luck, TomC

[Hartley]

My experience with silicone hoses is that you have to clean up both the hose
and the fitting to make them seal. I have used a brass wire brush to clean the fittings and then used a fine scotch type scrubber to clean the hose and wipe out with rubbing alcohol.

Having any oily residue on either the hose or the fitting will or could cause it to leak.
( antifreeze has an oily residue too! )...

The other trick is to install the clamps and not tend to grind down too tight on them. Then after the engine has gone through a hot/cold cycle recheck the clamps and snug up if needed.

Just stuff I been through.. May not work for everyone....

Dave...

[Dreamscape]

Maybe I'm missing something. Why use silicone hoses if they are a PITA? Seems like a lot of folk have problems keeping them from leaking. Can someone enlighten me?

Paul

[luvrbus]

Paul,i believe that if they come from the factory on all new fittings silicone hoses would not give you any problems with the right clamps but the older fitting like Dr Dave said have residue and corrosion on them.I never tied his method but did try the painting of the fitting and could not make it hold so i replaced all of mine except one going to the aftercooler with Gates hose like Jim suggested and now guess where i have a cold water leak

[DavidInWilmNC]

My old tech. MC-8 came with Gates green stripe hoses in about 5 various sizes.  I replaced 'em all with the same.  I believe they've been on the engine since '90 when it was rebuilt.  They're a bit expensive... most are about $12-14 per foot, but they seal easily.

David

[Dreamscape]

Thanks Clifford,

I guess as with anything else, you must do a complete job of cleaning and prep work. Someday when mine fail I might try it on at least one section. Then I might just stick to what I know, the old rubber hose method. It will probably outlive me anyway. 

Paul

[Kristinsgrandpa]

  Jim, Tom C, and Dr Dave, I appreciate the honesty.  I've read other posts about the reluctance to seal and wanted to be prepared and also hoped someone would have the answer for a fix.  

 All of my clamps are the spring loaded clamps  and are in good shape.

 The problem with replacing with green stripe in straight sections is  that 3 of the 4 hoses that I removed are pre-formed, molded 90 deg. bends, real short ones, about 6" or 8" in a 3" diameter  hose.

Dreamscape, I figure people use them because its like Jim said "they often last the life of the engine".

Thanks again everyone.

Ed