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Lower radiator hose spring

Started by rms70, April 09, 2023, 06:02:05 AM

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rms70

Planning on flushing out the cooling system on my 70 DeVille and changing both upper and lower hoses with new AC Delco hoses I already purchased. When I restarted the car after being idle in storage for 2 decades I did a quick flush and had the hoses off. There was a spring in the lower hose which was quite worn, rusty with sharp ends, but still flexible so I cleaned it off and reinstalled it. It's in there now after a couple of hundred miles I've put on the car but I really want to change it out.  What springs I've seen available online,which claim they fit GM models from 1958-76, have a 2 1/4 inch diameter and 17 inch length. The new hose I have (which appears to be correct) has only a  1.55 inch ID and is about 19 inches long. Springs for Mustang lower hoses come in 1 5/8 inch diameter and are 8 inches long.
The spring seems to have an important function to prevent collapse so I want to replace it but not sure which way to go.



                            Thanks in advance,
                                      Rob


                                 

79 Eldorado

#1
Rob,
I don't have a 70 DeVille, so I'm not certain what's correct for your car, but 1.55" seems smaller than and of the many lower radiator hoses I've come across. Are the ends of the hose flare-formed to go over the water pump and the lower radiator connection?

Did you measure the original spring? That's a sanity check for the hose size.

One other thing: I've been cleaning/treating rusted parts with dilute phosphoric acid and it does a pretty amazing job if there is steel left to protect. It converts the rust to Iron-phosphate which offers pretty decent corrosion protection. You may need to just brush the part you're soaking with an old toothbrush or similar. Springs are normally of the type of steel where they don't rust quite as severely as stamped sheet metal parts so if the original spring isn't too bad, if I were you, I might try to save it one more time.

If you can find a piece of tubing, like a piece of PVC with an end-cap, you could soak the spring without needing a lot of liquid to dispose of after. I can also say you can reuse the phosphoric acid MANY times. You just want to store it in a compatible plastic container because it has a tendency to leave a scale behind after sitting a long time even in plastic. If the plastic is flexible you can twist the plastic to free the scale. Also just be careful to not soak small delicate features for extreme times. It did a fantastic job on some trim clips after around 4hrs but after 24 hours it dissolved the clips. Severely corroded threads can act the same.

Edit: If you try soaking I normally just rinse after removing, dry excess moisture, and hang dry overnight. After that you can even paint over the coating directly (basically a conversion coating with a great surface to paint). In the case of a spring inside the coolant system I probably wouldn't paint it; just a general comment.
Scott

"Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364

1-1?2" is correct for your car. It seems that the spring seems to have been eliminated on replacement hoses. could be the material is more structurally rigid. Never had an issue with spring-less lower hoses on my 72-76 cars but I change the hoses (and drive belts) on a regular basis.
Greg Surfas
Cadillac Kid-Greg Surfas
Director Modified Chapter CLC
CLC #15364
66 Coupe deVille (now gone to the UK)
72 Eldo Cpe  (now cruising the sands in Quatar)
73 Coupe deVille
75 Coupe deElegance
76 Coupe deVille
79 Coupe de ville with "Paris" (pick up) option and 472 motor
514 inch motor now in '73-