Date:         Fri, 25 Aug 2000 02:05:51 -0400
Reply-To:     Jonc <jonc@webgears.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jonc <jonc@webgears.com>
Subject:      cooling hoses
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

gates makes a 1 1/4 ID red rubber hose rated at over 100 psi and 260 degrees
F ... it comes in 50 foot coils and is stocked at NAPA warehouses and some
stores... it is quite flexible and works pretty well on bends but not sharp
90 degree bends... I would not be afraid to use it anywhere it fits
including replacing the long metal of plastic hoses that run over the gas
tank... it is tough stuff... it makes good inline patches in emergencies..
you can get plastic repair couplers at most flaps in several sizes... I keep
1 1/2 and 1 1/4 coupler in my van ... I buy hoses from Ken at Vanagain when
I buy stock hoses.. if you feel your hoses like tomatoes you can tell which
ones are punky... fix those first... my 85 van lost its first original hose
last week due to failure... I have changed out several over the past six
months tampering with the cooling system which is plenty big enough for any
climate just not at all well vented... I live in Florida much of the time
and the temps are over 100 regularly... after warm up, if there is no air in
the system the temp needle never moves off the center of the red LED in the
temp gage... which on my van is 85 degrees C.. the opening temperature of
the thermostat... a small amount of air in the system will raise the engine
temp remarkably