Installed the Leece-Neville Idle-Pro alternator. Also, got around to installing the upper radiator hose - the one that doesn't pass through the belt. Issue: the hose makes contact with the bottom of the alternator. I am not sure there wouldn't have been contact with the old alternator, it is that tight. To me, this is a non-starter.

Looks like I am back to the original style of upper radiator hose unless someone has some thoughts and ideas on this.

Thanks.

 

Did you change out the bracket? there should be a place for the hose to set in, Pics would help !

 

My LN and go-around radiator hose live together just fine. Post a pic of what's going on with yours.

 

I have the "go-around" bracket. Also, I had all I could do to get the hose on the housing. Hard to see in the photo, but there is a slight flattening of the hose where it comes in contact with alt. I am not sure this will fly.

 

It looks fine to me, might want to try to set if down deeper on the thermostat housing, if it bothers you , Maybe cut 1/2" off so it will clear, but i don't think it's going to hurt anything!
I will check mine later think it does the same thing

 

I will have to get back in there shortly to replace the thermostat housing anyway. It finally got to the point corrosion won the battle. Of course as I was putting it back on after new thermostat replacement (after an oil cooler replacement project - maybe more on that later), I had this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something. The moment water was dripping out it hit me - next time you change the therm you better get a new housing.

The hose is bottomed out now. I suspect that with a snazzy billeted housing on the way, I would have to trim the hose anyway. I still think it will rub against the alt, but prob not as tight. Between only driving this thing 3-4k per year and the feedback from yourself and others, I will stay the course. Thanks!

 

You could make a shield for that hose out of a section of an old radiator hose and zip-tie it to the hose. This would prevent/lessen any chafing of the hose by the alternator casting.

 

This is actually a pretty good idea SteveH-CO. I was thinking about putting something in there for that purpose, but couldn't come up with anything practical that didn't look like a hack job - all while I was staring at the hose I removed wondering if I should put it back on.

I drained out some water (in the process of purging before filling with anitfreeze) and took a little less than 1/2" off the hose to see how it fits. Still making contact, but not as bad. I think a sleeve like you mentioned will be a good compromise.

 

There is nothing wrong with trimming the hose, matter of fact several hoses have multiple applications and require trimming for specific applications. Trim the hose to clear you alternator and place a clamp, whether it be a zip tie or hose clamp, around the cast holder to limit movement and you will be fine.

 

I used a robust HVAC ducting zip tie to hold the hose close to the bracket. The zip tie was originally 3 ft long and meant for large return ductwork.

The zip tie has been there for several years and is doing well.

 

Trim the hose and use a wide zip tie. I recently replaced my upper hose and had to cut something like 1/2" - 3/4" to avoid this exact situation. The hose does not care how long that turn down length is, and the alternator doesn't care either.

 

I figure I have 1/2"+ of hose to cut off that will still leave enough for contact on the new billet housing. I guessing it will still be making contact with the alternator, but it will be nowhere near the jammed fit it is now. I have a T-bar clamp to use there. Those spring constant tension clamps >2" are hard to find.

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

 

In anticipation of a 6.0 alt...which i may never do, i added washers under my alt years ago.
The other ideas mentioned earlier in this post would be next on my list...cut a sliver of hose off the end and add a piece of hose around it, to protect it.

 

I have the same Leece Neville alternator, installed without any type of spacer washers, as well as the dual alternator "go around" hose, and have no interference issues.

There is actually daylight of clearance space between the larger alternator and the upper radiator hose.

Admittedly the clearance is hard to see in the photo below, but it it is the only photo that I already had on hand that that showed the alternator with the radiator hose in one shot.

I actually took the pic for a different reason - to demonstrate pulley installation.

I secured the upper radiator hose to the casting with a Breeze worm gear clamp, rather than a zip tie. The worm gear clamp is buffered from abrading against the hose by the protective sleeve that I repurposed from a large Adel clamp.

 

[QUOTE=Y2KW57;19791754]I have the same Leece Neville alternator, installed without any type of spacer washers, as well as the dual alternator "go around" hose, and have no interference issues.

Thanx for sharing your set-up. Mine is alarmingly tight. It could be that the hose isnt exactly to spec or something like that. I believe I can cut off 3/4-1" and still keep the bend off the thermo housing. It will help, but I am certain that I will still be making contact with alt.

On a somewhat related note: I changed out my oil cooler. I could only get a 10mm wrench on the top bolt. And there was no way I was going to try loosening that up with just the small wrench. No socket (with extension), no reaching it from the wheel well like I saw a couple of vids show, no knuckle combination. Nada. No matter what I did I could not get a socket on there. The collision seemed to be the combo of the bracket/PS pump. Once I got that out, it was smooth sailing. Not a big deal, but of the 3 or 4 good, detailed vids out there, not one person had a prob getting a socket in there and popping that off. One of them mentioned that it could be easier to remove the bracket, but they themselves weren't having any difficulties.

My truck is a Jun 98 build, early in the process. I could be wrong, but I think that its the same alt bracket I had on my 89 f250 gas job. Could be that if they were using up old stock brackets that these types of oddities were bound to happen.