Braided Stainless Heater Core Hoses
01-12-2009, 01:01 AM
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Braided Stainless Heater Core Hoses
Just thought I'd make a thread about this. I bought 3 feet of -12AN Summit Racing brand hose a month ago to make my oil drain. Well, I only used like 8" of it for the drain, so I had a good 2 feet left. It occured to me that it just might be the right size for the heater core hoses. I tested it and it was a very snug fit. Anyways, when I bought this from summit back in early december it was 20 bucks for 3'. Now it's 25 bucks for 3'. Still not a bad price. It's cheaper than buying new factory hoses from Mazda or Autozone.
I made these up when I was doing my turbo build. Used some stainless 1" hose clamps from Lowes and so far, it's working great. I was worried the hoses might collapse when bending them, but they did not. Heater works fine, and no leaks to speak of.
Summit SUM-230203 - Summit® Stainless Steel Hose - summitracing.com
I made these up when I was doing my turbo build. Used some stainless 1" hose clamps from Lowes and so far, it's working great. I was worried the hoses might collapse when bending them, but they did not. Heater works fine, and no leaks to speak of.
Summit SUM-230203 - Summit® Stainless Steel Hose - summitracing.com
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lol
01-12-2009, 01:12 AM
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My turbo oil feed line is 48". It's plenty long. A 42" would fit. A 40" might fit. I really didn't measure the exact length that it was too long. Actually, I stuffed the extra down near the belhousing for it to vibrate and rub agains various wires and whatnot so it could cut into them and cause future problems!... Yeah, I gotta fix that one day. I'll probably just split some 3/8 fuel line and slide it over the hose to keep it from cutting things till I can measure and get the correct length hose. I'm gonna say get a 42" if you can find it.
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01-12-2009, 01:12 AM
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I too will probably do this when I get the turbo, since I also bought 3'. Do you think the braiding adds any heat protection to the hoses? Not sure if they would just transfer the heat, or maybe shield it.
PS, what in the hell is up with your valve cover
Talking about that nice bead of sealant where the gasket goes. Or am I just seeing things? I guess you got tired of leaking problems?
PS, what in the hell is up with your valve cover
Talking about that nice bead of sealant where the gasket goes. Or am I just seeing things? I guess you got tired of leaking problems?
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01-12-2009, 01:17 AM
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EDIT: Yeah, I used a new mazda gasket and some Ultra black RTV. I was definitely tired of it leaking. It don't leak now.
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01-12-2009, 01:21 AM
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Yeah, thats true. Any reason you went with -12AN size? I forgot I actually got 3' of -8, so no go there, but I like the way that looks, and the functionality of it, so I will probably buy some -12 anyway since its cheap.
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01-12-2009, 01:25 AM
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I wanted a nice big oil drain so I wouldn't have oil backing up into the turbo. It's probably overkill, but... I'm pretty bad about overdoing **** so I don't have to worry about it (like this thread for example... and if you look in the pics you'll see I mounted the feed line... and if you look verrrryyy carefully just to the left of the dipstick, you'll see a custom hardline that goes to the wastegate... And if you look carefully at the turbo bolts, you might notice I drilled the heads out so I could wire them together to prevent them from backing out....And I RTV'd the valve cover gasket to make sure it wouldn't leak....)
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01-12-2009, 01:28 AM
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I've replaced all stainless steel hose that I've put in my engine, from fuel lines to heater lines to oil drain lines (scratch that, I replaced one stainless drain line with another) the point is I hate the stuff. It doesn't hold any excess pressure, it cuts everything (including my hands) its stiffness often hampers routing it, and you can't get reliable clamping pressure over the stainless web.
The cheaper stuff you're referring to pat shouldn't have much more pressure rating than standard reinforced rubber hose. This is what I've found from the cheap stuff I've bought from summit in the past, you may of gotten different stuff though.
You'll find plenty of rubber hose under the hoods of race cars, its only when people care what their engine looks like do you see a bunch of stainless hose. You'll note that spec miatas don't have any stainless steel hoses.
The cheaper stuff you're referring to pat shouldn't have much more pressure rating than standard reinforced rubber hose. This is what I've found from the cheap stuff I've bought from summit in the past, you may of gotten different stuff though.
You'll find plenty of rubber hose under the hoods of race cars, its only when people care what their engine looks like do you see a bunch of stainless hose. You'll note that spec miatas don't have any stainless steel hoses.
Last edited by curly; 01-12-2009 at 01:34 AM. Reason: you people post too fast, that or I respond too slow.
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01-12-2009, 01:35 AM
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looks like he tried to wipe excess sealant after he tightened it down, its hard to wipe off, mine looks the same
I've replaced all stainless steel hose that I've put in my engine, from fuel lines to heater lines to oil drain lines (scratch that, I replaced one stainless drain line with another) the point is I hate the stuff. It doesn't hold any excess pressure, it cuts everything (including my hands) its stiffness often hampers routing it, and you can't get reliable clamping pressure over the stainless web.
Admittedly I haven't dealt with the expensive stuff, but the stuff Pat's using isn't it either. I'm not saying its bad to use it, if its not leaking or rubbing on anything it should hold up fine, I just wanted to throw my experiences out there to inform others that were thinking about this. Then again I race my car so its subjected to much more severe conditions and looks mean nothing to me.
I've replaced all stainless steel hose that I've put in my engine, from fuel lines to heater lines to oil drain lines (scratch that, I replaced one stainless drain line with another) the point is I hate the stuff. It doesn't hold any excess pressure, it cuts everything (including my hands) its stiffness often hampers routing it, and you can't get reliable clamping pressure over the stainless web.
Admittedly I haven't dealt with the expensive stuff, but the stuff Pat's using isn't it either. I'm not saying its bad to use it, if its not leaking or rubbing on anything it should hold up fine, I just wanted to throw my experiences out there to inform others that were thinking about this. Then again I race my car so its subjected to much more severe conditions and looks mean nothing to me.
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01-12-2009, 01:42 AM
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Yeah, it's only rated at 1K PSI. But the thing is, nothing on my car operates anywhere near that. So I'm not too worried about that aspect.
Yeah, some people w/ race cars use rubber hoses. But around here, most of the cars I see at the strip run braided hoses. Nobody likes being the guy that dumped 2 gallons of antifreeze on the left lane... I know a guy that runs a mustang. He threw a belt one day at the track right as he was crossing the lights and it cut the upper radiator hose into two pieces. He runs braided lines there too now.
Yeah, some people w/ race cars use rubber hoses. But around here, most of the cars I see at the strip run braided hoses. Nobody likes being the guy that dumped 2 gallons of antifreeze on the left lane... I know a guy that runs a mustang. He threw a belt one day at the track right as he was crossing the lights and it cut the upper radiator hose into two pieces. He runs braided lines there too now.
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01-12-2009, 01:48 AM
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the most important thing I've found out is that its no good for our fuel system, every time I taken it off I find bits of rubber left on the fitting and the inside is all chewed up. I've replaced it all because it was leaking, since I've replaced it I've had no problems, although the one hose I left because it wasn't leaking; is now leaking.
I just hate the stuff cause its like having barbed wire in your engine bay, any time you reach down into it, you get stabbed. At least I did.
I just hate the stuff cause its like having barbed wire in your engine bay, any time you reach down into it, you get stabbed. At least I did.
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01-12-2009, 02:23 AM
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How does it get frayed that badly though? All of it Ive seen has a nice tight pattern that would be tough to break. If you are talking about the ends, did you cut it with something like a hack saw, nad have the area wrapped in tape as to not rip the strands apart? Wonder if wrapping the ends where the clamp goes with some kind of tape would help matters. Thats why I like using fittings any chance I can, looks much cleaner, and less likely to leak.
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01-12-2009, 02:59 AM
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Pat, i see your using bolts rather than studs/nuts. Some of the guys who track there cars have issues keeping there studs/nuts in place and tight, is there any particular reason you chose to use bolts? Do you think the bolts might stay tighter than say a stud/nut combo would for a track car?
I ask because i just did my first track event with the turbo and had a bit of a problem with this and want to eliminate this issue all together.
I ask because i just did my first track event with the turbo and had a bit of a problem with this and want to eliminate this issue all together.
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01-12-2009, 08:29 AM
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Pat, i see your using bolts rather than studs/nuts. Some of the guys who track there cars have issues keeping there studs/nuts in place and tight, is there any particular reason you chose to use bolts? Do you think the bolts might stay tighter than say a stud/nut combo would for a track car?
I ask because i just did my first track event with the turbo and had a bit of a problem with this and want to eliminate this issue all together.
I ask because i just did my first track event with the turbo and had a bit of a problem with this and want to eliminate this issue all together.
And if you read the above, you'll note I said I drilled holes in the bolts so they can be wired to gether, esentially making it impossible for them to back out.
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