lucasbkellner

Ok, so here's the deal.

I got radiator hoses from Honda, and when I replaced my old ones I noticed that the new ones were just ever so slightly smaller... in fact, small enough to crack the top tube on my radiator...

So, I go and buy a radiator from radiatorbarn.com... and when I replace my old radiator I notice that the tubes on the new one are slightly larger than the old radiator.

NOW I have a radiator that is slightly too large, and a hose that is slightly too small. Not a chance in hell will the hose fit over the tube. I had to go out to Home Depot in the middle of the night and buy 1.2 inch copper tube and 1.3 inch clear PVC hose to make an "adapter" (It's kinda sweet, though, you can see the coolant right through the hose) anyway.

I need some help. Have any of you had a similar problem? Is there a hose from Honda that will fit on my new radiator, the OD of the tubes are 32mm, and I'm pretty sure the thermostat housing is 28mm...

Is there a larger thermostat housing I can get? I would also need to modify the bottom hose where it connects back to the engine too, but that would be ok, it might help cooling.

Specs:
1993 Honda Del Sol, D16Z6, Aftermarket OEM Replacement Radiator (Nippondenso)

Any solutions/ideas are appreciated, thanks!!!


Modified by lucasbkellner at 9:34 AM 11/15/2004

2lua

need more on the car info. like year, model, motor, swap???

lucasbkellner

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2lua &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">need more on the car info. like year, model, motor, swap???</TD></TR></TABLE>

Whoops! I edited my post to include the specs.

jungletronic

Integra hoses are a little bigger, you'd just have to clamp the heck out of them on the engine side. (not unlike how I had to clamp them on the radiator side when I did my swap)

lucasbkellner

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jungletronic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Integra hoses are a little bigger, you'd just have to clamp the heck out of them on the engine side. (not unlike how I had to clamp them on the radiator side when I did my swap)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you happen to know which year and trim the hose should come from? The radiator is completely different on Integras, and I wonder about the location of the thermostat housing on the B-series engines...

Are any of the Integras D-series, with the smaller size radiator, and larger hose? I'm clueless about this "swap"

Also, would the thermostat housing be "swappable"? This would help with connecting it back to the engine.

Thanks for your help guys, I'm looking for a solution today. This really needs to get fixed.

BTW if I remember, I'll take a picture of my ingenious adapter that I 'fabbed' up.

Spade

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with hoses I cannot get my hands on. Go to a local auto store and buy some that fit the correct diameter for the radiator and clamp down on the engine side. Take your existing hoses with you to compare them to the new ones.

fakemike

When I bought my rad hoses they looked a little too small. But with some elbow grease I got them to fit.


But if they cracked your rad tube there has to be a problem.

I would question your aftermarket rad. but nippon/denso makes alot of quality honda parts (along with other auto makers).

lucasbkellner

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Spade &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with hoses I cannot get my hands on. Go to a local auto store and buy some that fit the correct diameter for the radiator and clamp down on the engine side. Take your existing hoses with you to compare them to the new ones.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Alright, thanks. This is exactly what I'll try.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fakemike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When I bought my rad hoses they looked a little too small. But with some elbow grease I got them to fit.


But if they cracked your rad tube there has to be a problem.

I would question your aftermarket rad. but nippon/denso makes alot of quality honda parts (along with other auto makers).</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, buh-lieve me, I used up my entire supply of elbow grease trying to fit the friggin thing on there. I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt the 28mm radiator hose will never fit on the 32mm tube, especially with the way the tube has a lip on it. Apparently, these hoses have nylon or something weaved in it to resist expansion... damn it!

lucasbkellner

Pictures of my ghetto-rigged radiator hoses







kinda cool except I'm pretty sure that clear PVC is only meant to withstand 60 degrees Celcius or 140 degrees Farenheit.

oh well, it got me to work today!

lucasbkellner

I just wanted to bump this so people could check out my crazy, temporary, set-up.

Also to see if anybody else had any input.

Thanks!

Bakeoff

the B series hoses should fit fine. You'll just have to trim an inch or so (if I remember right) from one end. Sounds like a shitty way to do it, but I normally spray wd40 on the inside of the tube to slide it on the tubes. With teg hoses for a 94-01, you should be set.