Heater hose riser tube from thermostat housing?

I'm not sure what this part is called, but mine is a bit too rusty for my tastes, and I would like to replace it. I have searched here, an looked at my Haynes, but I can't find the name of the part or what it is called.

It connects the heater hose to the thermostat housing, and is metal. Here are a couple of pics of it:





Thanks for any tips on what it is and/or where I can get one.

it's a standard npt fitting, you can go down to the hardware store, get a new fitting and bend some new pipe.

That is just a hard line to keep your hose away from the fan. It screws into the water pump. When you swap pumps it has to be removed and re-installed on the new one. As rusty as yours is, it might not want to come apart very easy without crushing or twisting the tube. In that case you probably would be replacing the water pump too.

That's not the thermostat housing (it's higher up,) that's the water pump housing. That housing with the larger hose going generally upwards is the thermostat housing.

That nipple should be threaded into the housing, using a 3/8" NPT (National Pipe Taper) thread profile. Advantage? You can get a length of 3/8" pipe, already threaded, at your local hardware store. I recommend brass - that's what I use. Brass won't rust, it won't corrode as quickly (nowhere near it!) and it holds up rather better under hot water environments anyhow.

Should only cost a few bucks... If they thread pipe for you when you buy it (but they should have nipples in the plumbing section,) you should only need it threaded on one end. However, having the other end threaded won't cause you any harm at all.

I've found it useful to smear a bit of RTV Black over the outside of the pipe nipple before slipping the hose on. Since you don't have a bead on a pipe nipple, allow at least a half-inch of overlap past the threaded section, and the clamp for the hose should clamp onto a flat part of the pipe, not a threaded part. Allow about 1/8" or so of "flat" between the clamp and the threads for a good seal, and use RTV (as mentioned.)

I threw mine away with my old pump, as it was seized. Advanced had the piece that screws in , so I just ran some heater core hose with a couple of adapters. I am not too confident with it, so I carry ALOT of spare cooling parts

Wow, thanks for all of the help, guys.

Steve - it's a 98, sorry I didn't include that. Thanks a ton for the parts fiche (among other things....) link. It's a "heater hose fitting".

Manche - thanks; I didn't think it might be a standard NPT fitting, that simplifies things.

Commando - thanks, I'm going to try to replace it when I do a flush next week, and I'll keep that in mind should it doesn't want to come out.

5-90 - thanks, I see now it is in the water pump (still figuring this vehicle out). Thanks for the tip on using the RTV between the hose and the tube; I'll look for brass while I'm at it.

If all else fails, it's a $15 part at the dealer but I've had good luck even building it out of galvanized elbows and pipe. Like 5-90 said though, brass would be fantabulous.

in the event you dont like giving money to the dealership you can purchase that tube here. Its called "Water Pump By-Pass Tube". Its found under the "Cooling System" sub-category (page 2).

http://teamcherokee.com/

pic: http://www.teamgrandwagoneer.com/parts/Detailed/1274.html

Sport - thanks, the local pipe guys only want three bucks for a six inch chunk of 3/8" brass nipple, so that'll be pretty cheap that way. Galvie might have less problems with expansion differences though, but I'm probably splitting hairs.


Cool, thanks Green, those guys have a lot of different stuff, and they beat the dealer price on that tube by eight bucks!

jonnycat said:

5-90 - thanks, I see now it is in the water pump (still figuring this vehicle out). Thanks for the tip on using the RTV between the hose and the tube; I'll look for brass while I'm at it.

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No worries - we were all new once (for me, it was about 30 years ago...) Those of us who are no longer "new" - teach. You'll learn a lot hanging around here, I think we've got a collective of several thousand man-years of mechanical experience, and probably 700-800 man-years of

You can score the OEM part from some of the sources cited, but I don't think I've used an OEM heater hose nipple on anything domestic in 15 years. Granted, I've got a bit more tooling than most (the "internal camming pipe nipple wrenches" are nice for this sort of thing...) but brass can and do last a good deal longer.

Proceed as your conscience directs. I've no trouble with OEM parts, just with the accountants that dictate to the engineers

Just remember if you use that factory pipe you need to remove the water pump to do so, it won't turn, not enough space. The straight nipple and a 90 bend works too, that was 5-90's original one about a year and a half ago. Thats what I used. On a 2.5 I reused the pipe when I replaced the water pump after sanding it down, priming and painting it with rustoleum.

You could cut the bend and then attempt to loosen it up while the water pump is still in place.

RichP said:

Just remember if you use that factory pipe you need to remove the water pump to do so, it won't turn, not enough space. The straight nipple and a 90 bend works too, that was 5-90's original one about a year and a half ago. Thats what I used. On a 2.5 I reused the pipe when I replaced the water pump after sanding it down, priming and painting it with rustoleum.

Click to expand...

There are two things wrong with the first part of that...

1) If you're careful, you can usually get a deep socket on the bare nipple - I've done it before.

2) If you check the plumbing section at the hardware store, you can usually find "inside camming" pipe nipple wrenches that have a hex shank, and will accept a wrench or a socket. I've usually been able to get those to work when I can't get a socket on there.

Either way, I know it's possible to remove the nipple and replace it without pulling the water pump - I've done it a couple of times on XJs, and several times on other vehicles. It takes patience and some creativity, but it can be done, and with "conventional weapons."

I'll have to take a pic of those "inside camming" wrenches one of these days, so everyone knows what to look for. But, if the guy in plumbing knows what he's about, he'll usually understand what you're talking about. Plumbers usually use them for very short pipe nipples and for nipples that go through walls (like the nipples behind angle stops under the sink.)

Well, I was just figuring on using a crow's foot, and if it didn't swing around all the way I'd cut the pipe and use a deepwell. THanks for the tip on the internal wrenches, hadn't come across those before.

jonnycat said:

Well, I was just figuring on using a crow's foot, and if it didn't swing around all the way I'd cut the pipe and use a deepwell. THanks for the tip on the internal wrenches, hadn't come across those before.

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I'd wondered what they were - then I did high-rise commercial maintenance for a few years.

You don't have room for a crow's-foot, I've tried. The deep socket will be easier, but I think the "inside camming" wrench is easiest.

Good to know; I appreciate your experience on this one, 5-90!

5-90 said:

There are two things wrong with the first part of that...

1) If you're careful, you can usually get a deep socket on the bare nipple - I've done it before.

2) If you check the plumbing section at the hardware store, you can usually find "inside camming" pipe nipple wrenches that have a hex shank, and will accept a wrench or a socket. I've usually been able to get those to work when I can't get a socket on there.

Either way, I know it's possible to remove the nipple and replace it without pulling the water pump - I've done it a couple of times on XJs, and several times on other vehicles. It takes patience and some creativity, but it can be done, and with "conventional weapons."

I'll have to take a pic of those "inside camming" wrenches one of these days, so everyone knows what to look for. But, if the guy in plumbing knows what he's about, he'll usually understand what you're talking about. Plumbers usually use them for very short pipe nipples and for nipples that go through walls (like the nipples behind angle stops under the sink.)

Click to expand...

Maybe on some year XJ, on my 98XJ 4.0L and my 97TJ 2.5L it will hit the AC compressor on the left and 2 inches down from the top of the valve cover on the right, that stock pipe does not have a 'loose' fitting nut on the bottom, it's one piece. I guess if you were to bend the end of the pips up past those parts it might come out.

Here's a picture of the internal pipe wrench:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=28191-943-05212

One question about using a threaded pipe nipple for the replacement: what should I use as a thread compound? I normally use teflon tape for plumbing, but what would be the best for this application, with the heat and all?

Teflon Tape is stable up 260°C or 500°F, I think you'll be fine with that.