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FYI on dealer radiator hoses

ehall

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
My jeep was getting reaally hot and upon inspection I found some black powder crap in my coolant. I saw this before on one of my other cars (the joys of always having beaters) and pretty sure that one of the hoses is rotting from inside so I bought all new replacements and flushed the engine. Anyways I just got back with the dealer hoses and they are kinda different.

The lower hose now has a spring and a belt protector (old hose on top)

Dealer_Lower_Hose_1.jpg


Dealer_Lower_Hose_2.jpg


The upper hose is now a one-size-fits-all design--the models with and without A/C share the same "upgrade" design. Note that the plastic sleeve is to protect the hose from the hood and/or compressor but it no longer blocks the A/C lines

Dealer_Upper_Hose_1.jpg


Dealer_Upper_Hose_2.jpg


I like the lower hose a lot. For the upper I think it would probably be better to get aftermarket that was in the original molding.
 
I like the upper hose better than the stock one. It is more of a straight shot from the thermostat housing to the radiator. Also, as far as I know all XJ lower radiator hoses have a spring in them. My lower hose has both a spring and the protective cover. The spring is to prevent the hose from collapsing.
 
Autozone says (insists) that they no longer sell lower hoses with springs, and their hoses are redesigned to no longer need the springs (hose man told them this!). I could not find an after market hose at the usual places with a spring last week.

Looks to me like that shorter upper hose is going to get crushed between the hood and compressor? Maybe there is more room in HO models than renix?
 
I purchased two hoses from Advance a few months ago. The lower hos had no spring and rubs on the power steering pump. The upper one fit but didn't fit well. Got two dealer hoses and I was surprised that the lower one actually had the spring. I have yet to put them on though.
 
I just got some hoses from Advance about a month ago. They still have the OEM-bend upper hose.

The lower hose is a little longer than necessary so it's squished a little bit, and did NOT come with a spring.
 
If I got new hoses and the lower one did not come with a spring I would clean up the spring from the old hose and put it in the new one. I don't trust anything auto parts employees say and it's one less thing to worry about.
 
yea dont trust big chain auto parts employees... all they see is numbers of sales, they might act as your best friend help you out, but its just to up sell you stuff.. first day on the job at vatozone,your told to lie and smile alot :)
 
If I got new hoses and the lower one did not come with a spring I would clean up the spring from the old hose and put it in the new one. I don't trust anything auto parts employees say and it's one less thing to worry about.
That's what I did when I replaced my radiator hoses a month ago.

Looks to me like that shorter upper hose is going to get crushed between the hood and compressor? Maybe there is more room in HO models than renix?
Nope, it won't get smooshed.

My OEM hoses on my '99 looked just like that, it goes over the AC compressor like that. (I have every belief they are OEM, got the vehicle at 70K and it didn't have any work done to it.)
 
I just put an Advance Auto lower hose on mine about a month ago...all the stores I called around to did not offer one with a hose. Other than a little bit of leaking, I have not had any problems with this one.

I tried to remove the hose from the old one but it started bending as soon as I tried to remove it.
 
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