braided heater hoses

[cobras]

hi guys, was looking at the engine today and noticed that the hoses coming from the water pump look kinda bland,as do the rad hoses has anyone braided these, also the 2 heater hoses, most of the others are done with the real threaded hoses, was just going to buy the braided sleaves and do it my self, i also noticed that there is a "T" in one of the hoses from the water pump, this looks like it gonna be a bit of a pain, anyone replace these hoses with better fitting ones,

can some of you who have all your lines braided post some pics, just trying to get some ideas on over all looks

thanks guys

[PANAVIA]

I would do a "covering" back to the firewall and leave them natural under the dash.

or you could put a bulkhead connector and have AN lines forward to the pump/manifold and rubber under the dash.

keep in mind that steel braided lines are electrically conductive and if there is an open terminal or wire to a 12V hot then you can have issues. also steel braided line (non covering, actual steel braided line) is a big pain to get to seal with hose clamps.

Steel braided lines are also abrasive and will rub through wire wrap and insulation as well.


--Steve

[vanoochka]

http://www.coolflex.com/

Not braided, but definitely not bland. If you like them, look on ebay for deals.

[SuperHart]

Here are the lines in my car. The engine is a 351W, not a true 427FE:



Make sure you ask for true 5/8" braided hose at your local speed shop. Do not attempt to use AN sized hose or you will have problems. Spectre makes the AN look clamps for the hose ends that use hidden hose clamps to secure the hose.

[cobras]

thanks guys for the posts

any spf owners done this after they got their car? also in my gallery there is a pic of the hoses coming off my water pump, theres a "T" in one of the hoses, i have seen other cars where on hose goes to the manifold and the other goes to the pump, what are the diffrences of the way mine is done to the way i have mentioned,

im asking this cause i want to run braided lines but not sure what the "T" is for in the line or if im able to get rid of it.
also to the spf people who have done it did you run the braided line into the car or did it stop at the fire wall?

any insight or pics? also how to replace the brake fluid hose, and anyone replace the rad hoses

sorry for all the questions , im just trying to figure out what i need to buy so i can do this over the winter.

thanks in advance

[Calbullet]

all I see are sidepipe pictures and a steering joint

[cobras]

sorry guys... i never checked to see that the pictures uploaded to my gallery.

they are there now.

[Blas]

What you have is the feed to the heater and the return line from the heater. Some engines have a connection in the top/front of the intake manifold for one of these hoses.

[cobras]

so there is no need for that "T" that i have?

and to those who have done it did you remove the entire hose and put a braided one in? meaning all the way in to the car or did you stop it at the fire wall?

[Blas]

Going the remainder of the way to the heater connections is not that much more hose. But I'm not sure you can make the bend after the firewall. Verify the I.D. of the hose so it slips on the heater connections. Don't put too much tension on the heater connections either with the bends if you replace the entire hose.
Or you can splice it in anywhere you like out of sight.
Regarding the tee, you need to account for all the hose connections; supply, return and circulation.
Post a photo of the front/top of your intake manifold. Let's see if the other connection point is there...plugged.

[Blas]

I did some research today on the braided hoses. Apparently the easiest thing to do is to cut the existing rubber hose as close to the firewall as possible and splice on the braided hose pieces. You can do the same thing on the other side of the firewall to if you like. But you will probably need to remove the glovebox to get access to the hoses. I've also been told that some of the heater cores may be plastic, so either way you don't want to put too much tension in the core connections trying to make the turns with the braided hoses...

[STCinc]

I've not tried, but how easy is it to remove the glove box??

[madmaxx]

very very easy to remove, some small screws around the hinge and then the clasp. I would say 5 minutes top.