[bigH]

Hey everybody. So yesterday I was flushing out my cooling system. Figured I'd throw in a new t-stat and check over all the hoses while i was at it. (98 Duratec) Pulled off the lower rad hose, noticed it'd been rubbing on the frame and was showing reinforcing threads. So I figured i'd pick up a new one, no big deal (maybe put some wire loom stuff around it or something). Then I figured i'd check out the hose that goes from the t-stat housing up to the water pump. stuck my hand up in there, and realized it's metal. i thought that was kinda goofy for a water pump, but whatever. so i started fondling it a bit to make sure it was allright, and big chunks of crap fell in my face. and sure enough, the pipe just disintegrated in my hands. which is kind of a pain, yeah, but at least I caught it now and not a week from now when i plan on heading down the mass pike on vacation.

so i'll just pick up a couple new hoses right? i wish. autozone, advance, and carquest don't carry replacements. went to the dearlership. 'bout $30 for the lower hose. $160 some for the "inlet hose". say what? for a hose? fordpartsnetwork has it for $140something which is less bad, but still not what i would classify as 'reasonable,' rockauto doesn't seem to have it at all.

so finally getting to the point of all this rambling ... anyone else had to replace this monster, and if so, anyone know how i can avoid getting raped?

 

[bigH]

yeah, they do list a lot of different hoses, but the descriptions aren't very good and there's no picture to try to match anything up to. it's pretty tight under there, and the hose is just a little to close to the serp belt for my liking ... with my luck i'd get a flexible hose in there just right, hit a few bumps, the hose would shimmy over and the belt would slice right through the hose. the routing is down from the water pump past the serp belt, under one of the pulleys (can't recall which one), twists over the subframe and around one of the engine mounts, goes over the river and through the woods, passes by grandma's house, and then into the t-stat housing.

the I.D. on both ends is 1.5", i've been contemplating whether I could find some standard metal pipe and have it bent, then throw a couple of those rubber pipe connector dealies between that pipe and the connections. even if it cost me $100 bucks to have the pipe bent it'd still be cheaper. considerably so. maybe i'll go browse around and see if i can find something in the silicone hose arena.

i just find it hard to believe that nobody around here carries any aftermarket (or anywhere else that i usually look on dem der internets). i find it even harder to believe that anyone in their right mind would charge that much for a stupid piece of hose. blasphemous. profane even.

 

[bigH]

muffler shop, eh? stainless steel, eh? not a half bad plan ... i'll have to wander down to the local muffler shop (ironically named "The Muffler Shop") and see if they could do me up some of that. then just put some of those rubber pipe connector thingies (i really should learn their proper name) on the ends and BLAMO - replacement hose.

 

[bigH]

good times, good times. yeah, this bad boy definitely rusted from the outside in. luckily the system was empty when it collapsed, so no crap should've traveled through the system i had just finished flushing. but i see at least one other person feels my pain. it was definitely a challenge to get out, and it'll definitely be a challenge to get back in.

Just use hose clamps to replace the factory aluminum crimps.

yeah. and real hose clamps to replace those springy things. man i hate those things.

the thing that worries me about copper tubing is its relative thinness. and the copper playing well with all that aluminum. for the price of the motorcraft part the least they could've done is made it out of a silicon bronze or cupronickel, to avoid all the corrosion problems. or composite. or heck, for $160, titanium. (i'm trying not to be bitter about this, but it's really really hard.)

ah well. i s'pose i'll get some lunch here and then wander on down to the local depot for homes and see if i can put all your suggestions to good use.

 

[bigH]

allright ... well a bit of an update for y'all ... yesterday i went out in search of some of the flexible-type copper tubing that paul had suggested. the largest diameter i could find was 5/8", which is not nearly large enough to get the job done. i could've gotten some standard hardwall copper pipe, but by the time i got the stuff to bend it up proper with i could've just gone back to the dealership and bought the motorcraft part. so this morning, after checking with a few more aftermarket sources to no avail, i started calling dealerships to find the motorcraft part. turns out, not only is the hose expensive, but extraordinarily elusive. the dealership i originally bought the car from turned out to be the most helpful, even though they are now 80 miles from where i live (in WNY). They did a d2d search and came up with, apparently, all of 10 dealerships in the country showing they had the part. having gotten a list of phone numbers, i started going through them all, and generally got one of two responses ... "holy sh*t ... $160 for a hose? lemme check ... nope don't have it no more" or "i have one here that's already on hold for someone, and i've had more on backorder for at least a month, but haven't gotten 'em yet."

so here i am, now 4 days into no taurus for a silly little hose. tomorrow morning i plan on checking out the muffler shop idea. failing that, it's hoping i can find a late model in a junkyard with hose still entact and in decent shape. failing that, i'm gonna see if i can find a professional to bend me up some hard copper pipe. failing that ... i'm having the car towed to the dealership, telling them to keep it, and buying a shiny new schwinn.

so Damon, i suggest not touching your hose or even looking at it funny until you know you can get a replacement. if it falls apart, apparently, we're screwed. this is an awfully silly situation to be in, and i hope none of you other guyz have to experience it. it sux0rs.

 

[bigH]

Well, I was literally walking out the door and down the driveway on my way to find something I could fashion into a suitable replacement, when I got a call back from a dealership in PA. He had a part he was willing to ship to me, and I took advantage of it. The thought process in my head went something like ... well, i can spend the few hours i have before work today and tomorrow trying to find parts to fit together and mold them into the proper shape and hope it'll all stay together, or i can order this, have it by tomorrow, and be sure i can leave for vacation at the end of the week like i'm supposed to. i've been waiting for this vacation since we started planning it six months ago, and wanting insurance (though apparently it wasn't coming cheap), i took the easy way out.

i'm a little disappointed in myself for not putting Paul's and you other guyz' suggestions to use, or at least trying, as i do enjoy me a good challenge. perhaps somebody else will be able to use them ... or maybe i'll try 'em out just for the hell of it when i get back. i can't imagine dman and myself are the only shmucks unlucky enough to ever have this happen to 'em. there's likely to be more sufferers in the future, and let me just offer up my apologies in advance.

one thing i am going to do (and i sure hope this works) ... i got me some duplicolor "Professional Undercoat with Sound Eliminator-Quick Dry"
-----(from their website)
A Professional Body Shop Quick Dry Formula that gives you professional results-fast. This flexible, rubberized finish is the ultimate in undercoating for protecting metal surfaces from corrosion and moisture. Excellent rust preventer and sound eliminator.

* Excellent rust preventer
* Dries in less than 10 minutes
* Dries to black paintable finish
* Comfort Touch Nozzle
* Premium sound eliminator
* Ideal for wheel wells, gas tanks, frames and supports, weld joints, floor pans, doors and quarter panels
-----
anyways, i'm gonna spray that all up on that, errrr, thing, and hope it handles the heat. i figure that hose shouldn't ever get a whole lot hotter than 210 deg or so. in theory anyways. i'm figuring this rubberized stuff would be better than the bedliner in a can they had, especially with the temperature differences in the winter, this would be less likely to crack with the expanding and contracting and whatnot.

and in the passive aggresive style that is my personality, i will save my ranting about my disappointment in ford for another time. i've enjoyed my taurus all the while i've had it, but this experience has left a sour taste in my mouth. not so much with the part itself or the dealership network, but in ford providing their dealers with what the dealers are asking for. for their customers. but i'll stop that now, like i say, perhaps some other time.