Silicon Cooling Hoses kit? (1 Viewer)

[e21pilot]

The 80's rad starting leaking badly today. I can't ignore it anymore especially with a long road trip planned for the end of the summer.

I see that the OE rad is still available so I will probably put one on order Monday. I wonder about all the hoses? Is there a good silicon cooling hose kit available for the 80? I put a silicon cooling hose kit in my British sedan well known for its reliability problems and it hasn't had a coolant leak in over 10 years.

 

[BILT4ME]

The 80's rad starting leaking badly today. I can't ignore it anymore especially with a long road trip planned for the end of the summer.

I see that the OE rad is still available so I will probably put one on order Monday. I wonder about all the hoses? Is there a good silicon cooling hose kit available for the 80? I put a silicon cooling hose kit in my British sedan well known for its reliability problems and it hasn't had a coolant leak in over 10 years.

Don't use the silicone hoses on this truck.

Buy OEM and they will fit properly and last longer.

It is known that the silicone hoses can weep coolant.

 

[Marvelicious]

Personally, my experience with silicone hoses in general has not been positive. They look fancy, but I have had troubles getting them to seal well. I would go with OEM and/or Gates Green Stripe (for the simple ones). Think of it this way: your OEM Toyota stuff has probably been in there for 30 years without an issue and they're apparently only being replaced because your radiator went out.

Just my two cents.

 

[Kernal]

One more option: OEM hoses with Gates Power Grip SB clamps (bands)

In my 97 FZJ80 I used OEM clamps in a few areas that I might want to disconnect in the next 10 years, like one side of the upper/lower radiator hoses and bypass hoses, all the rest of the heater and rad hoses got the Gates Power Grip bands. Not one drop leakage in about 20,000 miles since I installed these clamps with new OEM hoses (except Gates Greenstripe for the PHH and ? 1 firewall heater hose) along with an OEM radiator.

This style of clamp can be removed by cutting with a special tool but IME depending on location of the clamp it may be easier to just run a soldering iron with a pencil tip back and forth to melt through the band, it doesn't damage the rubber hose if you keep the tip moving.

Only downside to this type of clamp is that they can't be reused. But then most water hoses in the engine bay generally aren't touched for years. On the upside they don't leak, ever. Added benefits, no cold leaks and due to the 360' clamping around the hose and pipe you won't get weeping of coolant between the plies at the ends of the hose.

Gates® PowerGrip™ SB Clamp | Gates Corporation

Gates hose clamps and couplings meet or exceed the toughest SAE requirements, and are engineered for the optimal fit to your existing Gates hoses and assemblies. Our fluid power products offer maximum flexibility and lead prevention on your heavy-duty applications, regardless of pressure. No...

www.gates.com

This video shows how to install and remove the clamps:

 

[Fj80oregon]

Don’t waste your money on silicone buy OEM rubber where available and gates green strip for the no longer available hoses

 

[TXMeatball]

Radiator hoses are still available. For a 1FZ:

Radiator hose no. 1	16571-66030
Radiator hose no. 2	16572-66021
Radiator hose no. 3	16573-66010

 

[mudgudgeon]

Another vote for OEM for this.

Haven't had great experience with silicone in the past either.

 

[e21pilot]

Thanks for all the advice and P/Ns as well. I will look into sourcing the hoses on Monday. Is replacing water pump/thermostat or anything else a consideration while the coolant is drained and the hoses are being re-done.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Thanks for all the advice and P/Ns as well. I will look into sourcing the hoses on Monday. Is replacing water pump/thermostat or anything else a consideration while the coolant is drained and the hoses are being re-done.

I would definitely do thermostat, and radiator cap. Again, use OEM stuff.
Do the waterpump if you don't know its history.
All my cruisers had 250k km + on original pump, no issues. There's not a lot to go wrong. Just a seal, and a sealed bearing.

Also good time to inspect the heater control valve on the firewall. They go brittle and can break.

 

[CharlieS]

Another vote for Toyota original hoses.

All of the above plus...

I'd also r&r the o-rings on the water pipe above the water pump, if you're in going that far.

I'd also spend the time or money to 1) tune the fan clutch and 2) install a nipple guard on the radiator (I use the SolveFunction one).

 

[TXMeatball]

Could quickly do a bunch of while you're-in-there's with the radiator out. Like the oil pump cover, crankshaft seal. Here's the P/Ns (that I used for my 97) for the o rings mentioned above/Aisin water pump & thermostat:

Coolant pipe o-ring x3	90301-29006
Thermostat gasket	16346-66020
Thermostat	THT015
Water pump	WPT023

 

[Marvelicious]

I would definitely do thermostat, and radiator cap. Again, use OEM stuff.
Do the waterpump if you don't know its history.
All my cruisers had 250k km + on original pump, no issues. There's not a lot to go wrong. Just a seal, and a sealed bearing.

Also good time to inspect the heater control valve on the firewall. They go brittle and can break.

Always worth checking that control valve, even if it's just to double check the adjustment. I didn't realize how much unnecessary heat my AC had to contend with until it went out and I was running unchilled air! Unintentionally heated air as it turned out!

 

[Kernal]

All above

Thermostats get sluggish with age, barely noticeable (time to open/close) with the stock Temp gauge, ditto, replace if ~10 years old +/- or unknown
While those are out you can replace belts, AC tensioner and Idler pulleys. With the belts off spin the alternator pulley to check that it spins smoothly, if rough/loud the bearings may be going bad.

While everything is out of the way, if your alternator has high miles now's a good time to replace the brushes or the complete unit (new Denso or Toyota)

Ditto on the heat control valve, PHH, bypass hoses including the hose that runs from the left side of the head up to the underside of the Throttle Body

With a new radiator you may want to replace the cushions which get rock hard with heat/age, two small up top and the larger "donuts" that the radiator rests on.

While the radiator is out check for any rust trying to start, good time to stop the rust, prime, and paint those hidden areas, especially under the battery, cross member, etc.

And if you really want to dig into it you could replace all the water heater hoses, it is a bit of a pain but they won't have to be touched for another 30 years.


About the Gates SB clamps. IME they work very well, not a gimmick, were developed specifically for large truck fleets to cut down on coolant loss, mostly from cold leaks. FWIW

 

[landtank]

Sealing coolant hosed is all about bonding to the nipple. Silicone doesn’t bond.

Rubber does. Just clean the hose of its manufacturing oils and use the appropriate tension clamp.

I use OEM for molded hoses and gates for everything else.

And gear clamps are $#!T

 

[effjay80]

Silicone or rubber the key is the quality of the clamps. Silicone hose with crappy garden hose clamps begging for trouble.

 

[landtank]

Silicone or rubber the key is the quality of the clamps.

I disagree. Just a run of the mill Toyota tension clamp is all you need. It’s the bond that seals the deal. Anyone who has fought pulling a hose off after removing the clamp was fighting the bond.

 

[TXMeatball]

Silicone or rubber the key is the quality of the clamps. Silicone hose with crappy garden hose clamps begging for trouble.

Not proud to admit it but I drove around for 2 years/20k miles with the lower radiator hose not clamped on my LX570.
Bought a defective OEM radiator- had to return it and replacing it the 2nd time I forgot to slide the clamp back on. Mechanic discovered it 2 years later when replacing the water pump.
OEM hoses are something else.

 

[effjay80]

Okay, silicone hose definitely needs good quality clamps for the exact reason you mention. My point was that anyone using cheapo worm clamps with silicone hose is asking for trouble. But I digress and agree no need anything other than OEM.

 

[Marvelicious]

Okay, silicone hose definitely needs good quality clamps for the exact reason you mention. My point was that anyone using cheapo worm clamps with silicone hose is asking for trouble. But I digress and agree no need anything other than OEM.

Had leaks with good quality constant tension clamps. This was on a motorcycle, and its possible that the hoses I got just weren't very good, but I'm never going to risk it again. A Honda VFR800 has a truly staggering number of coolant hoses and going through the whole job twice was lesson enough for me. Not one leak with rubber.

 

[e21pilot]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The family enjoys the 80 so I will turn over a few more stones while I am in there to keep it running reliably.