Heater Hose - Aluminum Parts Upgrade

[alvocado]

I'm embarrassed I even had to ask. That black ring is rubber from the factory connector and was so hard, I thought it was metal. Both pieces came off leaving the expected single barb.

I will say after doing one line, I would only go the route that @rdezs used and buy the AN fittings. It's a royal PITA to cut the crimp off through a tiny opening in the frame and much easier to cut the tubing shorter where it's exposed. I stopped after doing the leaky line and will order up some AN fittings for line #2.

 

[rdezs]

That looks like a remnant of the old quick disconnect fitting that came apart. It should be plastic. If you take a pair of pliers or vice grips off center, carefully try to fracture the plastic and then you can peel it off. You should be left with a slight aluminum ridge.

 

[rdezs]

Ah.... Your earlier addition to your post just appeared after I responded. Yeah, there's not a whole lot of room to be cutting the crimp off. After dropping the spare tire, a small pipe cutter worked quite easily.

One of these works perfectly:

 

[alvocado]

I had one heck of a day. Left at 10:00 AM to drive from Cincinnati to Atlanta. 5 hours into the trip, dash lights up like a Christmas tree and I notice the temp gauge is pegged at 260. Got onto the shoulder fast and shut it down. Knowing I changed one of the rear heater lines on Sunday, I started wondering if a step clamp came loose.

Went to the rear and found the Dorman fitting hanging off the tube. Blew all the coolant in a matter of seconds.

I pulled on that connector and made sure it was fully seated when I installed it but somehow it popped off. I used a small amount of Syl Glyde on the pipe so the rubber oring in the connector had a little lube and maybe that was it. I’ll never know.

I was by myself sitting a mile from Lenoir City, TN exit with two dogs onboard and decided to look for an auto repair shop nearby that could bring me water. Called a Creekwood Tire and Auto and Terry was willing to help but said he’d have to drive 14 miles North to get to a turnaround and the North bound lane was stopped due to an accident. Then he asks if I’m in a white SUV, which I confirmed yes, and he says I can see you. The back of his shop is across the highway to my left.

I then ran across the interstate, crawled through the thickest honeysuckle I’ve ever seen, and Terry handed me a 5 gallon bucket of water to fill up. Clicked the connector back in and drove the remaining 3 hours with no issues.

I’ll spend some time looking over the quick connect fitting before heading back but thank the lord Terry was nearby and willing to help.

 

[rdezs]

.... Wow, I hope you went and bought a lottery ticket?

The only thing I can think of is it wasn't seated all the way.... But if you felt it click into place it should have been. If you use any lube for the o-ring installation, I would make sure to get it down in the fitting where the o-ring is and make sure it's not where the plastic retainers are.

An option I considered is a simple 90° 3/4" heater hose.... Which would require one more fitting in line on the hose to step down to 5/8. I just didn't want to add yet another connection. (But the advantage of course is that you could clamp the 3/4 onto the rear heater core hose nipple instead of using the quick disconnect)

Something like this, an AC Delco for less than $10. Just trim it two or three inches from the 90°

 

[89Suburban]

I had one heck of a day. Left at 10:00 AM to drive from Cincinnati to Atlanta. 5 hours into the trip, dash lights up like a Christmas tree and I notice the temp gauge is pegged at 260. Got onto the shoulder fast and shut it down. Knowing I changed one of the rear heater lines on Sunday, I started wondering if a step clamp came loose.

Went to the rear and found the Dorman fitting hanging off the tube. Blew all the coolant in a matter of seconds.

I pulled on that connector and made sure it was fully seated when I installed it but somehow it popped off. I used a small amount of Syl Glyde on the pipe so the rubber oring in the connector had a little lube and maybe that was it. I’ll never know.

I was by myself sitting a mile from Lenoir City, TN exit with two dogs onboard and decided to look for an auto repair shop nearby that could bring me water. Called a Creekwood Tire and Auto and Terry was willing to help but said he’d have to drive 14 miles North to get to a turnaround and the North bound lane was stopped due to an accident. Then he asks if I’m in a white SUV, which I confirmed yes, and he says I can see you. The back of his shop is across the highway to my left.

I then ran across the interstate, crawled through the thickest honeysuckle I’ve ever seen, and Terry handed me a 5 gallon bucket of water to fill up. Clicked the connector back in and drove the remaining 3 hours with no issues.

I’ll spend some time looking over the quick connect fitting before heading back but thank the lord Terry was nearby and willing to help.

Good job man!

Last time I had a hose let loose on me on the PA TPKE I was lucky enough there was a drainage ditch full of water near me. I still had to bang my nuts up climbing over a fence and going through thickets to get to it but it saved my butt!

 

[alvocado]

Good job man!

Last time I had a hose let loose on me on the PA TPKE I was lucky enough there was a drainage ditch full of water near me. I still had to bang my nuts up climbing over a fence and going through thickets to get to it but it saved my butt!

Ha, that conjures up an image! I looked for lying water as a first option but nothing. It's definitely a test of problem solving skills when you get stranded hours into a trip with no tools or a backup plan. It makes me appreciate even more what Derek Bieri from Vice Grip Garage tackles.

 

[89Suburban]

Ha, that conjures up an image! I looked for lying water as a first option but nothing. It's definitely a test of problem solving skills when you get stranded hours into a trip with no tools or a backup plan. It makes me appreciate even more what Derek Bieri from Vice Grip Garage tackles.

A man and his wits, only the strong survive brotha!!!

I think I used a key as a screwdriver for the worm clamp and had the empty beer cooler in the bed from the night before to tote the water.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Amazing what someone can figure out when they really use their brains. I had a 200 mile daily commute for years, and I've been stuck on the side of the highway myself a few times--actually more then a few times.

 

[mikez71]

Remember to drain water and refill coolant!

Still remember my friends old jeep, all vanes on waterpump completely rusted away..

 

[alvocado]

Did that as soon as I returned home. I didn’t realize it’s recommended to change the oil after and over heat since the high temps degrade the oil additives and reduce viscosity so I did an oil change as well. Explains why the Change Oil light flashed as soon as the over temp and low power mode warnings came on.

 

[West 1]

The best lubricant to use on the heater hoses and connections is Antifreeze, it works well for assembly and does not harm your hoses at all. Many greases and oils will cause rot in the rubber hoses and seals.

 

[TheAutumnWind]

If you had one of those split, it's probably time to tackle the rear heater hoses behind the right rear wheel. Nobody really looks at them because they're pretty much out of sight. Just like the oil cooler lines, they're available from GM as a complete line set with the rubber section crimped on.... Alternatively, you can cut the crimps off and use the hose clamp of your choice and just replace the flexible hose. If you drop the spare tire, you have access to cut the original crimp off, or simply cut the metal pipe and use a compression fitting to convert to a hose barb in a more convenient spot. The 90° elbow off the bottom of the heater core..... It's a 3/4 quick disconnect x 5/8 hose barb.... I've only found them available by Dorman.

Above the spare tire
View attachment 459266
And behind the rear passenger tire
View attachment 459267

Those 90° fittings can be found here:

Dorman Heater Hose Connector https://a.co/d/a0fmrD0

And The originals removed at 170,000 miles
View attachment 459268

The hoses themselves and the original 90° fittings are exposed to whatever gets thrown up by the rear tire, as well as heat from the exhaust. So yeah, if you have a t connector on the firewall which is protected from road spray finally get brittle and break, you might want to pay attention to these ones as well.

If you go the route I did with a compression fitting on the original pipe, that pipe is 1/2 inch outside diameter.

After dropping the spare tire, here's what you're looking at. The two crimped hoses closest to the camera that look like they've been sleeping are the heater hoses. You can carefully cut the crimps off, and there's a hose barb under there. Or simply cut it off a little shorter and have more room to work with for future replacement.

View attachment 459269

View attachment 459270

View attachment 459271

View attachment 459272

This is all you need, in addition to 5/8 heater hose.... I used silicone heater hose for this.... And hose clamps of your choice. I prefer the oetiker clamps.

View attachment 459273

Thank you for sharing this is exactly what I was looking for!

 

[rdezs]

Those rear heater hoses suffer from being out of sight and therefore out of mind. They do tend to last a long time.... But if you lose one, it's a major problem on the side of the road. I would bet that most people don't even know where those hoses are.... I don't think you would spot them unless you were actually looking for them.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Those rear heater hoses suffer from being out of sight and therefore out of mind. They do tend to last a long time.... But if you lose one, it's a major problem on the side of the road. I would bet that most people don't even know where those hoses are.... I don't think you would spot them unless you were actually looking for them.

Guilty.
Are they near the ps rear wheel?

 

[rdezs]

Guilty.
Are they near the ps rear wheel?

Yes. Remove the fender liner, and they're right there. Catching everything that's coming up off the back tire. You can also get directly underneath on the creeper and look straight up at it.

 

[rdezs]

One hell of a bad spot to put heater hoses!

 

[Tonyrodz]

Yes. Remove the fender liner, and they're right there. Catching everything that's coming up off the back tire. You can also get directly underneath on the creeper and look straight up at it.

I should definitely change mine. Are they the same part # as the fronts?

 

[rdezs]

No. You need a 90° quick disconnect, 3/4 inch for a connects on to the rear heater core that sticks down, the other side of the 90° is a 5/8 heater hose barb.

Scroll up aways, I think I listed all the parts a couple months ago. You basically dropped the spare tire to access the aluminum pipes, cut them and install a compression fitting where one end gives you a 5/8 heater hose barb. I went with silicon hoses with oetiker clamps, doubled up.

 

[rdezs]

On a side note, if you can find a 5/8 heater hose about 3 ft long with a 90° at the end that opens up to 3/4 inch..... That would simplify the whole thing. That would be better than the quick disconnect. I searched forever and I actually found one, for people doing LS swaps coming right off the water pump to the firewall... But they wanted like $75 for it