Well......the truck has 157,000 miles on it, I got it with 102,000 and the first water pump change is due. I have a steady drip coming from the weep hole on the pump. When the leak started I of course gave the entire motor the "once over" And saw that my upper hose on the radiator was being grooved by the fan belt!!!!! The belt was rubbing the hose I'm assuming when under torque, or off camber in the woods, I am sooooo lucky it didn't burst, I was about 35 miles from civilization with no cell service just a few days ago scouting for Deer. My particular hose is routed thru the center of the serpentine belt. When I called to get a part number, they asked if mine went thru the middle, or around it....then I noticed on the plate there was the perfect place to route a hose around the belt , and eliminate the close clearance to the belt. But I then after more research was told that the around the belt hose is only for dual alternator setups. My F250 only has the single alternator. Has anybody else ever had their upper radiator hose gouged by the fan belt??? It was caused by the clamps loosening just a bit, and sliding back 1/2" or so........

 

anybody????

 

Thread moved to 7.3L PSD section.

 

You can and I recommend getting the dual alternator hose that goes around the belt. No big deal, you can look at the alternator bracket and see where to secure it. You are not the first to have the hose turn or shift on the mounts and have a belt rub.

Since you seem to be on top of the water pump replacement, you may want to consider the 203* thermostat too. While I am not entirely sold on that thermostat, especially in the summer, I sure have entertained installing one for the winter months. Check it out here on dieselsite and also have a look at the billet housing.

Good luck. Happy hunting. It will be here before you know it.

 

UPDATE: I got the water pump installed, went with a new one from Napa, and also bought my hose there. I got the thru the belt style and it is muuuuuuch better! The angle is different on this one, and isn't so close to the belt. I am much more confident in this one, although I still might buy the other one and route it around the hose....BUT.....if the belt breaks, it will be directly in the way of schrapnel (spelling?) haha......truck is back to running GREAT.....ready for the hunt tomorrow! woo hoo!

 

I'm not sure which direction you were going - from a hose through to around or vice versa. But I can say that I have the thru design and tried to get one that goes around from o-reilly's so I could change the belt w/o disconnecting the hose if needed. Had to go back and get the thru hose, as the one I got from o-reilly's just didn't fit. FYI...

 

Just went to the stealership 4 days ago for the camshaft sensor recall and an oil change. Today I noticed an antifreeze smell. Serpentine has cut thru the hose and is now a pinhole leak. Any Idea what caused it for you? Oh and Stealership said. "We didn't touch that" I asked them what caused it and they said "the hose must have ballooned when it got warm."

Coincidence?

 

The hose only ballooned when it was at the dealer? It was fine before when you brought it in, and when you got it back, it's got a problem. It's only a cheap hose, so make a big deal about it and get your dealer to replace it.

 

It did not balloon when we looked at it. The balloon theory was all he could come up with for an explanation of the hole from the belt that is an inch away. He said they (of-course) could not make it balloon now because it has a hole. Frankly it could have been there for a while, but they had their “we looked over the whole truck” sphiel goin when they did the oil change. Funny how they overlooked the big green puddle.