Hey fellas,

I recently completed the Saginaw steering pump swap on my '95 F150 w/the 4.9L. All went well and I'm more than happy with the increased performance of the Saginaw unit, that said, the upper radiator hose wants to ride right on the pulley so I had to pull it up out of the way with some zip ties. Not the optimal solution.

I've done the googling that I can, but thus far I haven't come across anyone that has posted a part number for a more suitable replacement hose. Do any of you 300 gurus happen to have some insight?

I was looking into this flexible steel hose, though I have to admit, I'm a bit suspect on whether these are quality or not. But if they are decent it seems like it could be a good solution.

24" Flexible Radiator Hose

Anyone have any thoughts? Advice?

Thanks!

-Matt

 

I wonder, often when swapping engines and or radiators, it becomes mandatory to cut a radiator hose, so that a section of metal tubing can be inserted, hose clamps applied. That way one can add 90* bends, and/or two 45* bends, to reroute the hose. By doing that, one configuration or another, you could reroute around the pulley.

Good luck.

 

Yup. I'd considered that as well! I was just thinking that perhaps some enterprising person had found a good fitting hose part number. Maybe that person will need to be me...

My plan is to take the upper hose into the local store and see if I can't find something that'll work. I'll be sure to update this thread if I find anything!

S/F,

-Matt

 

Hello Matt.

When I did my Saginaw swap, it did take some looking to find a proper hose. I looked at ones like the one you have listed there, but didn't like that it went straight up when it came off of the thermostat housing.

I finally tracked down this one, and love it, especially with the 90° bend.



Part number:

Gates 25808

Here's an Amazon link:

 

Very helpful, AbandonedBronco! I'd "rep" you but must "spread the love"!

 

I thought that pump was used on 300 six think vans?
If you know the years it was used why not try a hose from it?


I do have that pump on my 300 but was so hacked with hoses & wrong radiator I don't what was used and don't know if any of that will work when I get the truck back together as it will also have AC and the compressor sits above the pump.
I also know there are 2 different upper hoses, 1 for AC and the other with out AC.
Dave ----

 

Dave,
I believe the van uses a completely different radiator than trucks, so the hose is not the same shape, and I don't even think it's on the same side of the engine.

Otherwise, yes, the two different hoses are because the AC (or extra cooling) radiator is about 6 inches longer than the non-AC/standard radiator.

However, the standard hoses interfere with the new placement of the pump, and actually rest the hose right on the pulley.

 

Hey AB! Thanks so much for that link - I think I might give'r a shot! Can't beat the price, that's for sure.

Just for ****s n giggles though, I'm going to investigate adding a coupler with a bung for a temp sensor as well. I bought this coupler - 38mm temp sensor - as I plan into install a set of sunpro gauges to complement my oem dash "gauges".

I'll post back up here when I figure out whatever solution I figure out...I know I'm not the only person who could use a thread with options for this great Saginaw swap!

 

That's a great idea on the temp sensor. Very cool.

There were a number of different options on that hose. That's just one that was the right length for the full distance. You may be able to find another version of it that is significantly shorter, so you could easily splice in that temp sensor on the end of it, and then run another hose from it to the radiator.

And yes, I absolutely love the Saginaw. The difference is immediate.

 

I would advise you to use a different gauge type. I used 3 Sunpro temp gauges. Each lasted about 1 year to 18 months, and died. I changed to an Autometer gauge, spent $80, and never had a problem with it.

I also run the bung/sleeve in the rad. hose, but for a efan sensor. I seem to remember that the 38mm sleeve I bought on ebay was too small. Hope that helps. I went through a guy who makes/sells them on ebay. His co. on ebay is Holister road.

 

Thanks for the information as I did not know that. I just figured if the pump came from a ?? with a 300 the upper hose would work also.
My project, 81 F100, has the sag pump but the motor was swapped in so no clue what year motor or pump is from. Had wrong radiator also.

FYI you should not run a temp sender in the upper hose or after the Tstat as it will not read anything till the Tstat opens then may read too hot.


I don't know what setup you have but if you look at AB's picture I think there is port where the heater hose is that a sender is in for feed back system or EFI. You could use this port if it is not being used to install the new sender.


Could also make some thing up to fit in the heater hose but only if when you cut the heater temp back does not stop the water flow.


Elect fan(s) run the sender in the bottom of radiator this way if the coolant is not cool enough after going thru the radiator the fan(s) will run to cool it down then turn off.
Could add the sender to lower hose so you know what the coolant temp is before going back into the motor. But again not a true reading of coolant temp in the motor and would not read if you had a stuck Tstat.
Just something to think about.
Dave ----

 

Hi,
I did this on my swapped in 4.9l all I did was cut off about 3/4" from the end connecting to the radiator to pull it forward enough to not hit the pulley done!

Brian