Need Help removing heater hose

first of all last night i noticed my heater wasn't blowing warm air just normal cold air was coming out of it, so i turned it off for a few minutes then when i turned it back on it blew warm air for about 5 seconds then went back to blowing cold air. then this morning on my way to work i had a bunch of smoke pouring from my hood and dash in the jeep so i pulled over and i thought it was coming from the top radiator hose. trailerd the jeep home and now think its one of the heater hoses?


I think that is the hose that is leaking but im having a hard time getting to it. my radiator hose is kind of in the way and stuck on pretty good i dont know if anyone has some good tricks to get them off.


that seems to be the spot it would be leaking from. it doesnt feel broke how i would have expected but the surface of the hose is not the same it feels like rusty metal there so thats my best guess where the leak would be.

any tips you guys have on getting that heater hose changed would be greatly appreciated I need to go back to school monday and need a vehicle to drive.

Thanks,
Cullan

by the way its a 2000 jeep cherokee with the 4.0 and has just over 100,000 miles

To get stuck radiator/heater hoses off, I take a pair of channel locks and open them to the correct width so they fit around the hose. I squeeze not too hard, so that I'm just grabbing the hose, and not pinning it against the nipple it is on, and try to rotate it back and forth (just like you were using a wrench on a bolt). This usually breaks the hose free, and then you can pull it off.

If the hose got too chewed up, I would replace it, but then again if they are the original hoses, I think they could stand to be replaced anyways.

It might be a rusted through hole in that steel tubing. Dorman makes one, part of their Help! product line, rockauto sells them, advance auto and autozone can't get them for some reason (at least anymore.) If it is rusted through, buy a new one from rockauto for like 7 bucks, get a water pump gasket as well because you have to remove the water pump to unscrew the tube.

As I recall, it's a standard pipe thread on that part so you could substitute some pipe fitting from the hardware store in a pinch.

Personally if the hoses are old, I just slit the hose lengthwise and peel it off and then replace the hose. I highly recommend this if you're trying to get the heater hose off the heater core as it's easy to damage those pipe stubs and you really don't want to go down that road. I agree if you need to pull the pump, you might as well replace it with a quality NAPA unit. Don't go with CrapZone's lifetime warranty rebuilts unless you want to replace it a few more times when they fail.

Yeah, I usually just slit and peel them too. They can get stuck on there pretty damn hard and no use destroying the nipple.

Anything wrong with replacing that metal tube with a barbed pipe fitting and a short length of heater hose? Mine's barely leaking at the threads (guess I didn't wrench it down tight enough when I replaced the water pump) and I really don't feel like pulling it all apart again just to tighten that thing down.

fyrfytr1717 said:

Anything wrong with replacing that metal tube with a barbed pipe fitting and a short length of heater hose?.

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Works just fine. When I did it, I didn't bother with a barb fitting as the heater hose fit nicely over the threaded black pipe I used. Use a little pipe sealer/dope where it threads into the pump, btw.

Im another one that will wiggle it a little bit with some pliers... If that don't work just cut the bastid off.

lawsoncl said:

Works just fine. When I did it, I didn't bother with a barb fitting as the heater hose fit nicely over the threaded black pipe I used. Use a little pipe sealer/dope where it threads into the pump, btw.

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I used that slow-set PTFE paste on it when I installed the new water pump. I use it on pretty much everything from natural gas pipe to drain plugs. Since the tube can only be tightened in 360 degree increments, I ran into the predicament of back it off just a little, or wrench it on almost another full turn. I think I was just scared to overtighten it since it was a steel tube threading into my shiny new aluminum pump.

If or when you take the heater hoses off the heater core inlet outlet on the opposite of that hose be very careful. They will be stuck on there, I would recommend slitting them down the middle and peel them off. The in let and outlet are fragile and could crush or break if you use a pliers to get them off...I know I don;t wanna replace a heater core, and I bet you dont either.

Skreed said:

If or when you take the heater hoses off the heater core inlet outlet on the opposite of that hose be very careful. They will be stuck on there, I would recommend slitting them down the middle and peel them off. The in let and outlet are fragile and could crush or break if you use a pliers to get them off...I know I don;t wanna replace a heater core, and I bet you dont either.

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And that is why I cut the hose length wise on multiple sides and peel it off. A length of heater hose is a very small price for not damaging the heater core in/out tubes.

you could eliminate the whole system, to obscure from future problems, and install a power inverter and get a blowdryer, to heat up the ambient air in the cab... youll only have the recirculate feature tho, unless you crack a window.

thanks for all the feedback. anyone know exactly what hose that is in the second picture that the arrow is pointing to so i can order a new one?

mxracer5647 said:

thanks for all the feedback. anyone know exactly what hose that is in the second picture that the arrow is pointing to so i can order a new one?

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That's the hard pipe piece that's threaded into the water pump. The parts catalog calls it "TUBE, Water Pump Heater Return", Chrysler part number 5300 7978.

Napa should have it for $9
Water Pump Inlet Tube, Dorman part number 56398 or Balkamp BK 8257002
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?A=BK_8257002_0264782666&An=599001+102000+50038+2038004

ChryslerPartsDirect.com has it
53007978 $15.09 (so maybe $20 at the dealer)
Cooling - Water pump - Return tube
Return tube - 4.0 liter 1999 - 2004

perfect thank you