'86 RV coolant hoses

[mechanic1]

Well, I been putting off changing all the hoses on My '86 ,....kind of dreading searching for hoses....nightmares of standing in an endless warehouse full of hoses of every kind trying to find ones that would work or with a little trimming. So, tomorrow is the day...gonna start taking it apart and have a look see....first experience with hoses on it. No leaks, just don't know how old they are. I did get the one rad. hose substitute from auto zone,...thanks for that tip guys....anyone found any others that would work? Also had another thought too...would tubing with the correct bends in them and size with short pieces of hose to make the connection work?...just a thought.

[kentuckyrider]

I have a 91 this is what I used. http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d101/TJ41/th_20140406_115813_zpsea853470.jpeghttp://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d101/TJ41/th_20140406_115702_zpsdbfdb2eb.jpeg

[mechanic1]

Those are for the radiator? I kind want to change all the coolant hose if possible too. That's great...complete with numbers even.

[kentuckyrider]

Yeah, that is what I used for the rad after I cut them they was a perfect fit.

[mechanic1]

Ok....three hours later now I have all the hoses off or at least the 6 major ones anyway there is however one smaller hose that runs from the "T block" I will call it down to what appears to be a crankcase breather.....does this hose circulate coolant also and if so where does the coolant go from there?

 

 

any help muchly appreciated

[mechanic1]

This is the one I am talking about.....what does it do?

[mechanic1]

Am I wrong or looks like to me that it is one of the 6 coolant hoses listed on the parts diagram? If I can manage to get all 6 coolant hoses replaced new and the cross-pipe o-ring...I should be good right?

[mechanic1]

Well, spent most of the day working on new hoses for the bike.....so, as I have search the internet some with no suitable success we went to our local Yamaha dealer to check one last time for oem hoses...the guys there were very polite and willing to help but no real hits on oem hoses except hose 5 that they said they could order for me for about 14 buck so I bit on that one,.....so off we go to bother a local Oreilly's auto parts dealer. The young guy there was most helpful and patient. He took my hoses one by one and searched their inventory for the fit and form I needed...and with success for most applications although I have yet to fit check them so is on going. Oddly enough during part of my search at Lowes for metal tubing options,...met a gut working there that was into Harley bikes and building them that had some rather unique idea's...namely forming straight rubber hose into the crooks and turns I needed....so in the process of trying that out to see how that works out. I will say that I have already had some suprising success with that already! I will post results of what works out well and what does not including part numbers as best I can as I progress. High hopes of real life working solutions. These are to good of bikes to let die just cause of lack of parts.

[mechanic1]

I'm having success! Work in progress and showing very good promise!

[mechanic1]

Anyone remember how antifreeze use to be flammable...? Guess what? ...it still is...LOL I nearly burnt down my whole "Hose Forming" operation earlier today.lol. If anyone else decides to try this....DO NOT, I repeat....DO NOT add water to very hot antifreeze....It will foam and boil over with explosive intensity and make your hot plate, can of antifreeze and the hose your trying to form all catch on fire....LOL I should have realized it would do that but wasn't thinking so everyone becareful. I did have enough for-thought to do it all away from the house so I didn't take a chance of burning my shack down...lol really easy to get burnt by steam to and don't breath any of the vapors.

[Prairiehammer]

I'm having success! Work in progress and showing very good promise!

I am interested in the 'hose forming' process. Care to elaborate on the method?

[kentuckyrider]

I am interested in the 'hose forming' process. Care to elaborate on the method?

Have someone hold your beer.

Step 1. Have 911 on hold.

Step 2. Have first aid kit handy...

Post on you tube..LOL:225:

[mechanic1]

lol...Kentuckyrider is very close to right...lol. And to Prairehammer.....This is all reinventing a new wheel for me too and I intent to post my full experience at it with materials used and what works, what works well and what does not. Right now it is 10:00 pm central time here for me but if you would like to give me a call in the morning be glad to tell you what I know so far about it. Up to this point I have my hoses formed and plan to install then in the morning and do some run testing...ie....operating temp. and pressure. So, will see....

[mechanic1]

Oh,....forgot to mention....my cell# is on the member list under ....Mechanic1...Alabama.

[mechanic1]

Ok....newly formed hoses on...bike filled with water...no antifreeze just yet....ran it thru several fan cycles and no leaks or hose straightening back out or weird stuff going on....all I had time for except a short ride after it got up to temp. As far as hose material....wound up getting plain 3/4 and 1/2" heater hose from autozone made by company named CADNA.....called ARMORMARK. I did buy the little "S" hose at the bottom of the radiator from a local Yamaha deal cause it was available to order...like 14.00...however it is 1/2" I.D. also And had I known the forming thing was going to work so well, I would have just made it too. I Also Bought a cut to fit hose for hose 3 that was suggested here on this sight...don't remember it's number but got it also from autozone....(close to me out here in the boonies lol). I kind of cheated on the small 1/4 hose by using a 1/4 steel brake line about 20" long and cut one end off with tubing cutter and remover the nuts and bent it like the formed rubber hose and when I got it sized and to account for the short connector hose on the ends, I put a slight flare on the ends to keep the hose from slipping off.....don't take much, to big and the hose wont go on very well. Have to make sure no burrs or shape edges so it don't cut the inside of the hose.

Think I may have mentioned that I used bare copper strand of wire to fill the inside of the hoses to bend and hold them in the form I wanted.....

[mechanic1]

....for 90 plus degree bends the wire inside will allow the hose to flatten more than desired. To correct this I cut and made sheet metal bands to wrap round the hose with about 1/4" gap and twisted tie-wire around them tight and used pliers to gently squeeze the hose back to round by taking up slack with the tie-wire....usually took 3 of these bands per bend....sometimes to tie-wire twists per band depending on the tightness of the bend. Can't have ANY sharp burrs or edges on the bands or the pressure and temp on the rubber will make it cut into it. Forgot something important....the straighter the wires (about 1/16 dia. what I used) the better. And because you have to pull them out one at a time,....I de-burred and rounded one end of them. At first I coated the wires with cooking oil with keeping them from sticking to the inside of the hose when heating and also make them come out easier and it did all that very well. But was concerned that the oil might degrade the hose at those temps. So decided to use baby powder instead....it works, not quite as easy to get out but manageable. The copper wires is the only thing I could come up with that was readily available, would stand the heat and that I could get out after I got the bends formed in them and hose cooled and set. Also note that seems like ....I'll guess....the hose needs to be over bent about 20 derees-ish past what you want for an end result. As far as what temp....Can't say exactly....no thermometer that goes that high....I just used full strength...off the shelf antifreeze from walmart and heated with a hot plate till it boiled and turned it down to keep it right there.....dunked the hoses for 10 full minutes....15 for the really tight bends....then pliers and grabbed the ends of the wire and took them out and cooled them with garden hose water......careful!....lots of steam.....and the water will flow thru the hose around the wires....works very well actually....only bad part is straightening the wires for the next setup...lol

[mechanic1]

Here are some pics I took of my hose forming setup and type of hose I used

[Oldseadog]

What great timing for this post. I developed a coolant leak on the way home from the Venture West Rally. We tightened the clamp, and slowed it to a small drip, which quit when the engine heated up. I have been thinking about changing the hoses ever since. How long did you boiled the hoses for to form them?

[mechanic1]

Hi....to be honest, I was surprised the forming actually worked....but got about 70 plus miles of riding and lots of idling and fan cycles here in the Bama heat on them so far and no issues yet. lol To answer your question,....10 minutes at a low to moderate boil...sorry got no exact temp cause I don't have a thermometer that goes that high. You can get my cell # off the member list here and give me a call if you want all the details. Might save you the learning curve...

[mechanic1]

Just realized your in Canada so you might not want to make international call....but....when you get them in the form you want...takes about 20 degrees ish over bent to get what you want.

[Oldseadog]

Thanks Mechanic1. I'll be looking at the hoses soon.

[mechanic1]

Not sure if Ya'll have Autozones there but that is where I bought the 1/2 "(12.7mm) and 3/4"(19mm) heater hose material off a roll from...name of it was....Armormark....made by company named Cadna. The 1/4" coolant hose I couldn't find readily available so I cheated on that one and bought a 20" length of steel brake line and bent it to the curves I needed and just use short connecting pieces of fuel line hose on it and that material was called ...Barricade...made by Gates. temp on it was only good to 257F But...silicon coolant hose can be ordered from McMaster car

[mechanic1]

Well.....took the hoses I formed back off and added some anti-rub material to them since it looks like they are going to work ok....back on now and fresh oil and filter in the bike and all day cleaning job....man that bike sure was dirty...so ready to ride looks like

[mechanic1]

WE took a little trip today...about 300+ miles round trip at 95F temp out side or so during the heat of the day....no hose issues so looking good.