Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance Heater hose

First off I am new here and yes i did search but couldn't find an answer. Well here goes. I have been trying to hunt down a coolant leak for a couple of days now and today after work i found it. It seems that one of the heater hoses rubbed against a connector on teh top of the intake manifold and leaks slowly when the coolant is full but stops when the level drops a little. I have been trying to find a hose since earlier this afternoon but none of the hoses i have been shown at the parts stores seem to be the right one. The hose is the one that runs from the firewall then up and to the left (right here is where it is rubbing) then to the front of the motor where it takes a right and heads to the lower right hand radiator hose (all directions are as seen from the driver seat). My question (finally) is which hose should i be asking for.If all else fails it's off to the dealers parts dept on monday.

I was last saturday on a junkyard 'collecting' EGR valves, sensor and hoses. I was all over that engine bay.


Is the hose u are talking about TAPED together with (2) vaccum hoses (these two are EGR hoses) ???

If so, you are [censored] up.

Let me tell u a little story: right after I bought the contour i had a coolant leak. I went to a garage to fix that. As usual, I keep watching them working on my car like a hawk (that is a patented phrase, by the way). I still remember that the hose was taped together to other 2 smaller hoses. when the guy went to cut the tape he accidently sliced the air hose. Modafuka. Just to think that this could be the cause for my pinging that i've been having for years make me want to kill him. to make this thing shorter: Ford only sells the hoses assembly: heater hose and (2) vaccum hoses. the price is about $115. You could get that from a junkyard if that is the one u need.

Yesterday I actually had to cut this hose in 3 pieces so that I could cut the tape to get the ai hoses that i needed. It is a beeech to remove this heater hose: it comes from the bottom of the engine... u have to lift the car.


Anyway, just do that: check if you hose is taped around with two other smaller hoses.

I actually have a lot of pics of those hoses... but I had to remove from the server because of storage limits.

unfortunately for me that is exactly the hose i am having a problem with.Mine must have been worked on before i got it because i see the tape on the two vacuum lines but the heater hose doesn't seem to be taped to then anymore. One of the vacuum hoses shows some signs of rubbing also so i wrapped it and tied it away from the connector that caused me the problem with the heater hose.

ok so i have been outside under the hood for awhile this afternoon cussing all of the usless black plastic intake parts that are in my way ( ok there's my rationale for spending the money on a new intake not that i needed a reason but it couldn't hurt). Does anyone know what size the heater hose i am looking for is. I would cut a piece of hose and match it up but since i am the only one home this weekend it might be a little hard to get to the parts store. I think i have found a way to reroute the hose and fix the car today so i can save my money and time for more interesting car parts.

I am sorry to hear that is the same hose. That's a bad-ass hose, let's put it that way.

They do have it aftermarket, because that is the one I have right now. It is shorter, a little bit, and it bends kind of sharp... which makes me wonder if I have a running-hot zetec because the hose is shorter and it is not flowing as expected.


I don't know what to tell you. Just don't slice the air hoses, I guess !!

Again, they do have it aftermarket, all you have to do is know how to buy it.


Later

Well this has reall become a PITA. We can thank the engineers at ford for giving us a hose that is 5/8 on one end and 3/4 on the other(hence the reason they can charge $100 dollars for a *^$#!@( hose. Now i am in a real pickle, I messed up the 3/4 end of the hose while removing it so i think i need to figure out a way to splice a short piece of 3/4 to the 5/8 hose that i have run down to firewall which is where the 3/4 fitting is.

It costs too much because the only sell it as a package: (1) heater and (2) air hoses.

And you CAN buy it aftermarket. Any decent garage shop has a supplier that have these things. I am telling, I saw the guy making the phone call in front of me, and they delivered the hose 20 minutes later. It is not the same exactly shape, but it works. My car been running since that (i know, running a little HOT, but running )

Well while under the car banging my head on the eshaust pipe and cussing the enginner that designed the system i noticed that the splice that is in the other hose actually connect a smaller hose to a larger hose before going to the firewall which is what i needed.So I ran a 5/8 hose to within 3in of the firewall then used a splice exactly like what is on the other heater hose to connect a piece of 3/4 to that then connected it up. The new hose runs in a better place now where it doesn''t rub on anything. Car actually runs cooler now than when i got it a couple of weeks ago.