Getting Hosed

[wxman1]

OK here's the deal. I'm going nuts trying to find the correct
lower radiator hose. I have a 4 row radiator and the lower
snout turns upward instead of going straight out. So the hose has to curl around the edge of the frame member and then curl
back 140(?) degrees upward to the lower connection on the
water pump. However, the hose that AutoZone and Advance
Auto and Oreilly's wants to sell me doesn't have enough curl in it
and it flattens out against the edge of the frame member.
Anybody have this problem? Do you have a source for the
correct hose?

If you click on the link you can see and image of what the
problem is.

Jim
Mt Juliet

Lower Radiator Hose

[Cat Fuzz]

Well, you got me lookin' real close at my lower hose and I discovered its about to wear thru from rubbing on the frame. Prolly a good thing it was the suction side or it would have blown out by now.

Anyway, I have a heater in my lower hose, so its been cut apart to make room for the heater. You might have to go with a flex hose or just keep trying different parts stores. I know NAPA's hoses are made by Gates and they make top notch stuff. You might try that.

Most of the Autozone/Schucks/Pep Boys type parts stores sell the cheapest junkola they can find.

[crazy longhorn]

Yep, I see the trouble. You have a 73 up water pump& a 67-72 rad & bottom hose. if you swap for the the 73 up truck lower hose, & swap the neck in the rad for a straight one, or swap the rad for the later & (73 up radiator), you should have a bolt up. Good luck,crazyL

[wxman1]

Thanks for the responses.

Crazy L:
The radiator is a brand new 4 row so I would not
want to change it out unless there was no other
choice. What about if I change the water pump to
a 67-72 style pump? Would that make things better?
Do the lower outlets on the 67-72 style pumps dump
out at a different angle?

Jim
Mt Juliet

[rodnok1]

I would try to look at a gates catalog with pics of all the hoses, probably can find online. I had a 75 pu that had that type hose on it. The other option may be to put a piece of solid pipe somewhere to lengthen the hose, think I have seen solid bends also.

[Mixup]

I have the late model long water pump with a 4 row radiator and use the original lower hose with no problem. My bottom outlet on the radiator is straight.

[CPNE]

Originally posted by crazy longhorn
Yep, I see the trouble. You have a 73 up water pump& a 67-72 rad & bottom hose. if you swap for the the 73 up truck lower hose, & swap the neck in the rad for a straight one, or swap the rad for the later & (73 up radiator), you should have a bolt up. Good luck,crazyL

Originally posted by wxman1
Crazy L:
The radiator is a brand new 4 row so I would not
want to change it out unless there was no other
choice. What about if I change the water pump to
a 67-72 style pump? Would that make things better?
Do the lower outlets on the 67-72 style pumps dump
out at a different angle?

Crazy L speaks from experience I'm sure

wxman1, if you do that then your accessory brackets and pulleys will most likely have to be changed to the correct 69-72 style as well.

Not to make fun of your situation but I see Bozall's theory of parts interchange, proving out once again. It's like Newton's Theory of Gravity, no sense fighting it. Crazy L knows what I mean, though he won't admit it :p

[crazy longhorn]

Originally posted by CPNE





Crazy L speaks from experience I'm sure

wxman1, if you do that then your accessory brackets and pulleys will most likely have to be changed to the correct 69-72 style as well.

Not to make fun of your situation but I see Bozall's theory of parts interchange, proving out once again. It's like Newton's Theory of Gravity, no sense fighting it. Crazy L knows what I mean, though he won't admit it :p

LMAO! CPNE, I do agree with Bozalls theory of parts interchange(I admit it ) parts interchange gets "goofy" for the next buyer of any project A very simple , & cheap solution to the head ache, would be to have a local rad shop swap the bottom neck on the radiator, then you can run the 73 up hose. Been there, done that! be Aware that not only is the bottom neck curved vs straight on the later rad, but the later rad also has a smaller dia neck(no problem). I walked into a local muffler shop, & had the later (small/straight neck) expanded , then took it home & soldered it in the radiator a good rad shop can also silver solder the small neck in place, & fill the gap. Just a little "fruit for thought" . Good luck,crazyL

[wxman1]

Update:

Well I did finally find a lower hose that
would work...after some modification. It still
rubs against the frame...so I used a section
of another hose to shield it from any
chaffing.

Wow...when I bought this truck I never
thought I'd have to cure all the problems
caused by the redneck-engineering of one
of the previous owners!

I don't really want to leave the situation with
the radiator as is...I'd like to restore it to
"stock" look. It would help if someone has
a bone stock 69 with the 350 V-8...if they
could take a picture of the front/top of the
engine compartment so I could get an idea
of how much stuff has to be changed in
order to get back the "stock" look.

I think I have the correct radiator...the lower
snout turns up and that is what is shown
in the engineering diagrams in my
"Assembly Manual". However...my
alternator is on the passenger side. Also...
how do I know what the correct water pump
looks like?

Any help is appreciated!

Jim
Mt Juliet

[CPNE]

I think this truck has the origial pieces you need. click here

[Cat Fuzz]

My trucks not bone stock, but all the stuff is in the stock position. Not the best pic, but I can get a better one in the morning with my digi cam.

[70ChevyLongbed]

Originally posted by wxman1
Update:

I think I have the correct radiator...the lower
snout turns up and that is what is shown
in the engineering diagrams in my
"Assembly Manual". However...my
alternator is on the passenger side. Also...
how do I know what the correct water pump
looks like?

Any help is appreciated!

Jim
Mt Juliet

Jim,

This isn't going to solve your problem completely, but it might help. I think the main difference with water pumps is long vs short. I ran into a similar problem, and in trying to 'fix' it ended up having to change from a long pump to a short pump just to get the right brackets for my alternator.

Here's a pic describing the differences.

[wxman1]

Well...I now have a short water pump. I am
also going to have to move the alternator
from the passenger side to the drivers side.
So now I have to locate a bracket for that.
Also...it looks like I'm going to have to find
another bracket for the p.s. pump. There's
a guy not far from here that has quite a few of
these old trucks...he can probably help me with
some of the hardware.

I was also able to search the forums for
pictures of different engine setups. That helped
a lot in determining what the correct brackets
were. Thanks to all who replied.

Jim
Mt Juliet

[jewels.]

Jim,

I'm so sorry I havent been reading the board lately. I have the answer you are looking for. About two weeks ago, I posted the same question about a lower radiator hose in a thread....

Here is the thread (clicky)

and i got a lot of good replies. People recommended the following hoses:

1. NAPA 7595
2. advanced auto lower hose #D71244
3. Goodyear, part # 60751 (For 72 Blazer)
4. CarQuest #20843
5. a 1980 305 engine

I purchased the Napa hose, which indeed DOES wrap around the frame, preventing a rub against the frame rail. Look at some of the pics on that thread link, and you will understand. Here is what the hose looks like after its installed (but I havent had a chance to install it yet).

I hope this helps you out!
ciao!
jewels.