I have a 2000 7.3 with the hose through the belt. My current belt is cracked on the ribs and missing some edging, so I'm replacing it before it breaks. I bought the belt at the local Ford dealership and have it now.

At this point in time, I think I will just retain the stock hose, I did read up on the NAPA 9066 etc.

How much coolant is lost if you just pull the rad hose off at the radiator long enough to swap the belts assuming old belt is off the pulleys? (hopefully seconds)

My other (neater) plan is to drain some coolant from the rad into a clean jug and squeeze the top rad hose to empty some of the coolant out that way before disconnecting the hose.

How much coolant do I need to drain from the rad if I do it this way?

Figure I'd ask since someone here has done this before and I'll be damned if I can find the answer using "search"

 

Shouldn't lose much, especially if you wait till it's stone cold. If you drain it first I would let out a gallon or two.

 

This is how I'd do it. You may have to drain a few gallons out of the petcock. After that, you should not lose much of anything if you disconnect the hose on the radiator side. Then you can just pour you cooant back in the degas bottle.

 

The degas bottle is like a sight glass for the coolant level in the radiator. Drain enough coolant so the level in the degas bottle is about an inch below the bottom of the upper radiator hose connection. The only coolant you will lose is if you let the upper radiator hose droop.

 

And so you don't have to remove the hose again for routine maintenance or if you break a belt on the road I would go ahead and purchase the hose for the dual alternator setup that goes around behind the belt.

 

I also suggest the "go around" hose. I can advise for sure against trying to swap the belt without draining because you DO NOT want to get antifreeze on your new belt or it will probably squeak.

 

I just bought a NAPA 9066. It was 14 dollars

 

If 9066 is the NAPA dual alt belt, wise decision.

 

Thanks everyone. I will definetely be draining the rad down using the petcock and pouring the coolant back in the degas when done.

The only reason I was shying away from the 9066 was the higher risk of the hose hitting the belt (need to cable tie in place) and it appears the powersteering filler is harder to get to with that hose.

I will price the 9066, I'm in Canada so it's probably more $$$.

 

Fan blades and the dual alt hose are not a problem.

In fact it routes further away from the fan than the standard hose.

 

like robins and my truck an eary 99 those hoses came stock on our trucks without dual alt . robin wasnt that the original hose on your truck ?

 

The original was around the belt and the one pictured is an OEM replacement.

 

Just a side note guys: I installed a Dieselsite coolant filter setup-(very nice setup) and the around the belt hose on my LATE '99 and the hose rubbed the filter itself enough that I changed back to the through the belt hose-I've got a 1/4" clearance now-I don't like stuff like hoses rubbing even on anything smooth like a filter.