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heater hose woes

Larryjb

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2008 Ford Explorer
Last year I blew the heater hose on a trip to Disneyland. I was lucky we got over the Grapevine. Nothing like breaking down there in August....

Ford replaced the hose to the tune of over a grand. It was something I would have done myself, but most campgrounds wouldn't like me doing a car repair in their lots.

Fast forward to today. The hose blew again, but I discovered that the part of the hose that goes down towards the rear of the engine comes very close to the exhaust manifold. There is a heat shield over that portion of hose, but the heat shield was split in this location, causing the hose to contact the exhaust manifold and burn through until the hose split. I've heard a couple of suggestions that the hose shouldn't have come in contact at all with the exhaust manifold. I am going to try to get a warrantee repair up here in Canada, but I don't have high hopes given the work was done by a Ford USA dealer, and I need warrantee work done by Ford Canada.

Is there something besides the heat shield that is supposed to prevent contact between the hose and exhaust manifold? I'm finding very little on this hose in my searches, except for the whye connector.
 



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I'm curious which heater hose you are referring to that has a heat shield around it. I haven't noticed one on my 2008 Mountaineer. Mine is the 4.0L. Did they replace some other stuff too when your hose blew? $1k seems awfully steep!
 






I recall I had the same concern when I fixed the infamous T or Y slitter on mine.
There was some type of corrugated shield on it that fell apart of course.

I just used some 5/8 hose and the Y but tied everything with some clamps away from the manifold. I think I used some other hose to pull the lower one away.
 






Jawit, this is the equivalent Dorman hose: More Information for DORMAN 626551

Thanks PL. I noticed there are supports for the hose near the front of the engine to prevent it from contacting the exhaust manifold, but there was nothing after the Y. I wonder if there were originally supports for the hose in that part? Did they break off? Did any exist at all? Knowing this, I will look at the repair after and see if I need to tie it back or not.

I have yet to talk to the Ford service manager, but they do honor warrantee service from US Ford dealers. I found my invoice, so I should be good. Interestingly, they said that if it was a faulty install, they may not cover the part. I think they should cover it, given that the faulty install may have caused the part failure. Then there's the issue of a tow. I'm not driving it at all until. The coolant just pours out the hose. I wonder if Ford will tow it in for me? Then there's the loaner car....
 






Just talked with the service manager. From the picture, he saw that it was clearly an install error which means I'd have to pay. I bulked a little, saying that it's sad I have to pay such a large amount for some one else's mess-up. The manager will contact the other dealer and see if they're willing to pay instead. If it were a part failure not related to the installation, there'd be no issue.

He did say there are no supports keeping the hose away from the exhaust manifold in that area. The hose is kept away because of how it's routed.
 






Just curious,
Has anyone used the Dorman hose? Does it last? I may have to go that route and fix it myself.
 






Never knew there was a dorman replacement. I just bought 12" of heater hose and the Y and few clamps. Few years later still no leaks.
 












Cool, thanks.
Dorman comes up with more and more things. It used to be dealer item only for over $ 200 so that's a great solution if someone does not want to play with pieces of it.
Good to know it's out there.
 






The dealer item for $200+ has more to it. Also, I've had Dorman stuff fail sooner than OEM. But, this has an aluminum Y as well.
 






Yep - the $200+ Ford part has more to it than that, but none of that was really needed for the repair when that Y was broken. In my case, splicing in a replacement Y was also not an option due to similar heat damage as noted by the OP.

Nice that there is at least another option for repair out there now. At the age my Explorer is getting to, I'd consider the Dorman replacement to get down the road a bit further at that price versus dropping another $200+ on the Ford part...
 






Ford is not coughing up. Too bad, because I like the way I was treated at Villa Ford in Orange. Unfortunately, either the hose was installed incorrectly, or it is vulnerable to slipping out of place and contacting the exhaust manifold. I've made no modifications in this area. Either way, I feel this should be on Ford.

Looking back, though, there appear to be other versions of this hose from Ford that don't include all the extra bits. They probably didn't have to replace all that they did, but given the age and mileage, I'm not upset. That does come down to good maintenance practice.

Note to all Explorer with rear aux heat: check the hose that goes to the rear heater, especially where it goes down from the Y past the exhaust manifold. You may have to peek through the wheel well to see clearly. Make sure you have good clearance between the hose and manifold. This could bite you on vacation in 90+ heat. This hose doesn't appear to be in stock near me and will take a week to get here.

I wonder if I can splice in a replacement hose until I get a chance to replace the entire line? I'll look at it and see how much of a bend it takes.

MNgopher, Did your hose actually contact the exhaust manifold?
 






I knew I started some thread about it, did not realize it was 5 years ago.....
120k more miles and still holds up, since I do not recall fixing it again.
Have fun reading.
Some good pictures towards the end of the Dorman part.
Slow coolant loss on V8
 






Thanks for the link. That is helpful.
 






Yes - the heater hose in my case was damaged by heat from the manifold. Whether it was direct contact or not, I don't recall, but replacing just the Y with a splice was not possible in my case due to the damage to the hose.

When I replaced it, it seemed like it was a decent distance away from the manifold, so I wasn't worried about it. I also had the manifolds replaced, and ensured that the hose remained a distance away. There is nothing keeping it there, but...
 






Is it reasonable to replace the burned out piece with a standard coolant hose as a temporary repair, or does it have to be molded so that it sits away from the manifold and other areas?
 






If you can construct any solution using ready-bent hoses, 5/8 coupling, straight hose and keep it away using zip-ties or something better then why not. It does not have to be pretty.

I have few zip ties down there, I know they dry out and snap, but so far so good. I am just checking them periodically.
 






Does anyone know the ID and OD of this hose? Apparently the Dorman one can be different, at least the OD.

EDIT: for future reference for anyone else looking this up:
The Dorman part: ID = 0.58", OD = 0.92"

This works out to ID = 9.28/16"; OD = 14.72/16"

When I measured the hose, it worked out to a hair over 9/16" ID on the OEM.

I tried converting this to metric I get 147.3 mm, so I wouldn't call this a "metric" hose. It's almost like Ford has made a diameter that is just far enough away from any standard heater hose you can buy to force you to get OEM. I'm sure I'll be able to fit a 9/16" ID hose on there anyway for a temporary repair.

EDIT: For temporary repair I got 5/8" hose and it has worked fine. I'm using the old heat shield turned around to the unburned side for now. No leaks up to 18 psi. I have a replacement hose from Rockauto to install at a later date.
 






Just talked with the service manager. From the picture, he saw that it was clearly an install error which means I'd have to pay. I bulked a little, saying that it's sad I have to pay such a large amount for some one else's mess-up. The manager will contact the other dealer and see if they're willing to pay instead. If it were a part failure not related to the installation, there'd be no issue.

He did say there are no supports keeping the hose away from the exhaust manifold in that area. The hose is kept away because of how it's routed.

Ford is not coughing up. Too bad, because I like the way I was treated at Villa Ford in Orange.

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm reading this as you asked one Ford dealer to contact the other Ford dealer that installed it incorrectly and counted on him to argue your case. That is not likely to happen to your benefit.
Mine does have a standoff that fits into a spot on the valve cover (I think - at least somewhere close to that) that pitches it toward the strut tower which takes it away from the exhaust manifold.
If you haven't contacted the installing dealer yourself then you haven't even started to fight this yet. They will brush you off, but you can escalate and you have another dealer that said it was an install error. Will he admit that to Ford? Who knows - but push hard because they have records which show one of their dealers worked on it last. I repeat - they have records that show one of their dealers worked on it last. They charge a mint for their services - because supposedly they stand behind their repairs. Take them up on their higher prices means peace of mind (according to them).
 



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I noticed that the hose is kept away from the exhaust manifold simply by keeping it rotated away on the pipe going to the rear. It is conceivable that vibrations could cause this hose to rotate towards the manifold. I repeat my caution to periodically check this hose for alignment away from the manifold.
 






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