Radiator Hose

I need a radiator hose to replace the present one. I’ve tried all local part retailers (Autozone, Advance, O’reilly, Napa) and no luck. I’ve even purchased on Amazon and it’s not the correct hose shape. Any recommendation?

What year, engine, etc ...

Motech said:

What year, engine, etc ...

Click to expand...

86 Bronco, 351

Look here:


If nothing looks right you could always go with the flex hoses.....

M1llionb said:

I need a radiator hose to replace the present one. I’ve tried all local part retailers (Autozone, Advance, O’reilly, Napa) and no luck. I’ve even purchased on Amazon and it’s not the correct hose shape. Any recommendation?

Click to expand...

I would try LMC Truck... they tend to have a lot of parts for my 96. Also try ebay if its a 351.. perhaps its the same set up as a 96.. if not try jeffs bronco graveyard or NAPA...

Specailty houses R expensive but can B the most help (even or esp w/a custom) like Jeff's (he's gone to net only, no phone access I think). Bix bx stores sell alot of junk (trash, chitty prts) so go up a step or 2 from the low end priced prts (middle or top of the pack).

"A Pic is Worth a Thous..."
(we can help right from here)

Is this it?

Upper Radiator Hose, Molded: Gates no. 21512

Or Lower Radiator Hose, Molded no. 21216

O'Reilly's Master Pro brand use the same part numbers BTW.

goodO1boydws said:

Look here:

1986 FORD BRONCO 5.0L 302cid V8 Radiator Hose | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

If nothing looks right you could always go with the flex hoses.....

Click to expand...

Indeed, I've purchased my '86 Bronco with 351W both radiator hoses from the Rock Auto..Good quality and price...

M1llionb said:

86 Bronco, 351

Click to expand...

try Greensales in Ohio. They have alot of original original Ford parts. If you have the part number the better.

I like that little shield for the upper ..... maybe I will get that and toss the bungee cord I use to keep the hose form from sagging down and hitting the belt?

paul rondelli said:

I like that little shield for the upper ..... maybe I will get that and toss the bungee cord I use to keep the hose form from sagging down and hitting the belt?

Click to expand...

Those slide on covers are usually there to keep something from doing damage to the hose by vibrating against it, like a bracket or other metal component, or to help keep the hose's heat from directly touching something. Its the same material that wire loom sleeves are made of, just bigger diameter and thicker.

With a stiff new hose of the proper configuration it shouldn't sag very far compared to the old one. But you could always use a slit section of the old one with metal zip ties to stiffen/protect a new one even more.

I took another look at the rockauto site and to my eyes there seem to be at least 3 distinctly different upper rad hoses shapes.
One is curved for example in a place where all the others are not. And the Motocraft one looks to have sharper bends at the ends.
Just sayin....

goodO1boydws said:

Those slide on covers are usually there to keep something from doing damage to the hose by vibrating against it, like a bracket or other metal component, or to help keep the hose's heat from directly touching something. Its the same material that wire loom sleeves are made of, just bigger diameter and thicker.

With a stiff new hose of the proper configuration it shouldn't sag very far compared to the old one. But you could always use a slit section of the old one with metal zip ties to stiffen/protect a new one even more.

I took another look at the rockauto site and to my eyes there seem to be at least 3 distinctly different upper rad hoses shapes.
One is curved for example in a place where all the others are not. And the Motocraft one looks to have sharper bends at the ends.
Just sayin....

1996 FORD BRONCO 5.0L V8 Radiator Hose | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

Click to expand...

So sometimes my top hose sucks together does that mean my radiator is stopped up?

Pamm said:

So sometimes my top hose sucks together does that mean my radiator is stopped up?

Click to expand...

Are you using the factory water pump? Sometimes folks upgrade to a water pump that flows more. they think that the extra flow will reduce heat ... but it tend to cause the hose's to collapse and actually reduce flow.

That collapsed hose would worry me .... you might have a blockage or restriction somewhere.

It doesn't run hot?

Pamm said:

So sometimes my top hose sucks together does that mean my radiator is stopped up?

Click to expand...

Do you mean that the hose collapses AFTER the engine is shut off? Or does it only happen while the engine is running?

If it happens afterwards:

That could easily happen if the overflow tank has a lot of gunk in it, or a piece of anything big enough is in it to block the small hole in the tank bottom when coolant is being drawn back in. OR if the radiator cap is malfunctioning.

I'd try first pulling the overflow tank and hose, and cleaning them out. Its something most people never do and it couldn't hurt. If there's much gunk in there it will be obvious as it comes out. Sometimes there can mineral buildup that sticks to the plastic if dirty water has been used or coolant left in too long.
If there is, I'd try partially filling it with something like vinegar or CLR.

I'd also take a close look at the radiator CAP, and pressure test it if you can, or swap in a different one at least temporarily. Or maybe just get a new one so you know how old it is.

I had this same thing happen once on a Ford with a slowly leaking radiator-and it was all because I had put stop leak powder into the radiator to stop the slow leak.

What happened was that some of the stop leak powder was getting pushed into the overflow tank, where it would settle on the bottom, and eventually there was enough to block the overflow hose enough as the engine tried to pull the coolant back in as it was cooling down, that not all the coolant made it back in. The next time the engine was warmed up the pressure of expanding hot coolant would force the stop leak back into the overflow tank.

There's not supposed to be any force against the coolant preventing it from flowing back, and when there's anything that's significantly blocking the back flow, it increases the amount of vacuum in the cooling stystem needed to pull it back in.
If this happens, the vacuum (negative pressure) in the engine isn't enough to draw ALL the coolant back in, before the valve in the radiator cap closes. And when that happens, the back flow stops no matter how little coolant is in the engine.
If the then coolant continues to cool, the volume shrinks more and the hoses begin to collapse.

When it was happening to me a little more would be in the overflow tank each time the engine cooled down.