I am trying to replace the upper radiator hose on my Barth. I have checked with several aftermarket companies and can not seem to find the correct upper radiator hose.

I believe I'm now resigned to getting a flex-hose and making it work. I'm sure there are some hoses that could work but I have not been able to find the correct replacement parts.

The other thought would be to get two formed hoses or straight hoses and bridge the middle with a piece of machine bent exhaust pipe. This is how a typical tractor trailer truck is done.

I have tried my local Freightliner garage with poor results. There is a part number on it. I removed the hose and cleaned it up.

B17A3(A or 4)0_______1

I can't make out if that is an "A" or a "4" (6th digit) and I also can't make out if there are more letters and/or numbers between the 0 and the 1. The overall length of this hose is just shy of 24" and there are 3 slight bends in it. The hardest bend is where it comes out of the thermostat housing.

Anybody out there with the John/Deere Oshkosh Chassis that has replaced both the upper and lower radiator hoses and has part numbers for there hoses, plugged into Freightliner or have Barth records? Know anyone who does and can get this type of info?

These hoses are NOT the same as a super duty or F250 - F350 - Van - E250 - E350 etc... Not even close, I tried. Checked all applications between 1979 to 1992.

I was hoping to track this down myself and post this for someone else to find during a search. It seems that I'm stumped for a correct replacement.
I'm not out of options. I would rather put in the correct formed hoses if there still available.

1991 Oshkosh John/Deere Ford 460 (aka 7.5) Multi Port Fuel Injection.
VIN:4CDB5XGR3M2103187 - UNIT ID:9102 3709 33S-12

I'll be going away this weekend (Darlington Race) from Friday 5/12 until Monday 5/15. So, if someone asks a question or posts an answer about this during that time frame...

Bill N.Y.

Most of the gasoline powered Barth's are GM powered P-32 Chassis but for us Ford powered Oshkosh/John-Deere chassis folks...

Update: I have found a correct upper radiator hose for the 460 Ford 7.5L engine. The hose is a lot longer but it does have all of the bends. This hose is better then the original in that it clears the alternator without rubbing like the O.E.M. hose did. My fault, I put on a bigger alternator.

The Dayco part number is 70651 regular duty

The Napa part# PBH4207478 for regular duty:
I.D.(s):1-1/2"
Length:35-3/4"

The NAPA extreme duty hose is part# NBH7478:
Recommended for Upper, Lower, By-Pass, Heater & Other Coolant Hose Applications. Heat & Ozone Resistant Cover. Engineered to Resist Electrochemical Degradation - the Leading Cause of Hose Failure.
I.D.(s):1.5"
Length:35.7"



I had to cut off 10" from the long straight end (right side of pic) and cut between 3" to 3 1/2" from the curved end. The reason for the 1/2" range is that the smaller curved end was cut in the end of a bend so this gives you a straight end of 3" and the curved end is 3 1/2" in the above picture the odd cut is on the left side.

Hope this helps someone (maybe me in a few years) in the future. Now I don't have to save the receipt to get this info.

Bill N.Y.

I just thought of another tip that I've been doing for years.

When I replaced the upper radiator hose I decided to replace the T-stat. I drill a 1/8 inch hole in the flange area of the thermostat.

A small hole will allow air bubbles to escape to the upper part of the radiator and will keep the engine running cooler because the engine will not be airbound. The small size will not affect the T-stat working and this will also allow you to fill the radiator with very little problems.

Bill N.Y.

Bill You rock!

I'm doing the T-stat this weekend.

The engine has been running a little warn since I fiddled with the coolant. So it appears that my replacing the water pump is overkill but I'm not too worried the water pump is old and now I will have an install date for the new one. Doing the water pump at home where the beer is cold sure beats doing one on the road.

Thanks:

Tim

Following Bill H's advice I also used "Water Wetter" to keep the engine running cooler. The only thing I didn't follow in Bill's advice was the straight water and Water Wetter.

The bottle stated that it doesn't protect Magnesium so it recommends a minimum of 15% antifreeze for street vehicles.

Red Line's Water Wetter Super Coolant. Looks good and if Bill H puts it in his coach I'm putting it in mine!

Bill N.Y.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Following Bill H's advice I also used "Water Wetter" to keep the engine running cooler. The only thing I didn't follow in Bill's advice was the straight water and Water Wetter.

Did I say that?

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Did I say that?

I think so, maybe, well sort of... I don't know.

quote:

Originally posted by Lee:
Posted July 13, 2004 2:53 PM
If I could get a 26 degree drop in coolant just by using straight water, Wetter & an anti-rust/pump lube, it would be worth the need to baby-sit ambient temps in the spring & fall........

I won't sleep until Billh weighs in on this!

You then weighed in and stated...

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Posted July 13, 2004 6:04 PM
As soon as Water Wetter hit the market, I tried it and never looked back. I forget the numbers, but it worked on whatever vehicle I first tried it on. I have used it ever since, without any before and after testing. When I crewed on a circle track racer, it made a difference there.

As to freezing, Roy might remember when we ran summer and winter coolants, changing every spring and fall. When I plan to go to a freezing area, out come the jugs.

I believed the statement that "When I plan to go to a freezing area, out come the jugs" meant that you don't use antifreeze, just Water & Water Wetter. If you didn't mean that then what do you use the jugs for?

I might be mistaken but I ass-u-me'd you only used water & Water Wetter. Sorry for the confusion.

So then, how do you use Water Wetter? Do you use any additional additives besides the Wetter? I'm interested as I'm trying to lower my temps.

What's your take on the small hole in the thermostat? I started to notice a few years ago that some imports and some aftermarket thermostats started to put a small 1/8 hole in there units. Before then, back in the mid 80's I started doing that after the owner of a machine shop/racing parts house enlightened me. It's helped me on my street cars.

On diesel tractor trailer trucks we have a small de-air-aition hose going from the thermostat housing to the top of the radiator for that reason too.

Bill N.Y.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
[QUOTE]What's your take on the small hole in the thermostat? I started to notice a few years ago that some imports and some aftermarket thermostats started to put a small 1/8 hole in there units. Before then, back in the mid 80's I started doing that after the owner of a machine shop/racing parts house enlightened me. It's helped me on my street cars.

On diesel tractor trailer trucks we have a small de-air-aition hose going from the thermostat housing to the top of the radiator for that reason too.

Bill N.Y.

I remember those - I was told it was a bypass to get air out of the system (at the thermostat housing), back in the days before surge tanks and one filled the radiator to about an inch from the top.

quote:

When I plan to go to a freezing area, out come the jugs.

Yup, I said that. It is because I use only enough anti freeze to provide some anti corrosion protection. I don't feel confident with such a small amount of freeze-up protection in really cold mountain winters, such as ski resorts in the Sierra. I don't remember exactly how much anti freeze I used, but it was determined by a phone conversation with Red Line. My notes on that are buried. From experience with other vehicles, Water Wetter wetter works best with less anti freeze, so I use just enough to provide the anti corrosion protection. I do not recommend running any cooling system without some corrosion protection. The progression of old injuries has terminated my alpine skiing, so now we only ski cross-country locally, so no Sierra overnights and freeze up concerns. I am not sure a good cooling system needs or benefits from WW, though. My 502 has a Siamese block which can cause heating issues, so I went on the safe side with WW and a high flow water pump. Also, the 518 ft lbs of torque really heats the tranny fluid, which in turn increases the cooling load on both the radiator air and coolant. My Barth had no cooling issues with a 454, even up Chriaco or Sherwin grades with a 5k toad or boat.

And thank you for the reminder........It's time to do a mild flush and clean and replace the coolant.

As to the hole in the thermostat, I have always done it on the advice of others, but have no figures to back it up. It did mitigate the overheating on a Jag V12 a little, probably due to better bleeding of air from the system. That baby needed a lot of burping. It even had a little burp valve topside.

I would wonder if WW has enough capacity to lubricate the water pump like antifreeze does...

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
I would wonder if WW has enough capacity to lubricate the water pump like antifreeze does...

That may be one of the reasons Red Line recommends using a little anti freeze.