I have a 1996 F-250 PSD. I was checking my oil earlier today and I noticed a hose has about a 1/4 inch slit and was leaking. The hose is red in color and is leaking engine coolant I believe because the liquid is green and its also low on engine coolant. It is the red hose in this picture:
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/5414/alternator28nj.jpg


I am going to go get it fixed tomorrow but I just wanted to know what that hose is used for. Thanks in advance for your replys.

 

i think this is a heater hose if it runs to the fire wall then that is what it is.

 

Yeah it's a heater hose, when you replace it try to route it so it's not rubbin' against the alternator.

 

Yep, looks like a heater hose to me......

 

Thanks for the fast replies. When I got my alternator replaced the other day, the shop that replaced it moved the hose to remove the alternator and never set it back on top of the alternator like shown in the picture above. The hose was straight and I figured they must have had a good reason for not putting it back on top of the alternator so I didnt think much of it. Well apparantly the hose kinked and it made the slit in the hose. Im going to try and get them to replace it for free since so we'll see what happens.

Also, there has been a lot of engine coolant that has leaked out. The whole container is only about 1/4 full, way below the fill mark. Is it safe to drive it that low or should I add some engine coolant. The shop is only about 15 minutes away so im wondering if it will be ok to drive it. If not, I could always run to auto zone or napa and get some.

 

You should be O.K. , well if they replace it (the hose) you'll lose a little coolant anyways, so replace any lost coolant and check sca's! Well I thought about my answer and if you lost alot replace with distilled water till they fix the leak and then i'd drain and flush the system and replace with new stuff!!!

 

I slipped mine thru a larger dia piece of hose (to act sort of a condiut) when I changed mine. It was rubbing hard on that bracket it routes thru.

 

Do you know how inexpensive straight hose is in bulk? Even the NAPA heavy duty stuff in the orange jacket is very affordable. Go get enough to replace the whole thing plus some extra to route it away from the trouble spot.

 

The problem is fixed now, thanks for all your help.