Now that I have my welded aluminum radiator situated (see my older post) I'm trying to figure out what radiator hoses to use. The upper one that came with the car is the Gates 21675 that's designed to ride along the top of the original upper radiator support before it goes back to the thermostat housing. Since I had to make my own upper radiator support (to mount my new radiator properly) I don't need this design. I really would like a hose the runs more or less straight from the radiator inlet to the thermostat housing instead of zigzagging back and forth.

As far as the lower hose goes I got the Gates 21324 that the parts books call for. This doesn't fit well at all: you practically have to bend in in two to plug it in on both ends, and there's no way I can tell to shorten to try to get it to fit better because of the bends and so forth.

So what should I do for good fitting hoses? What about silicone radiator hoses: are there any of these that fit 3rd gens with the performance radiators like I have now? It seems to me like the parts store rubber radiator hoses are getting flimsier these days, and to make matter worse the lower hoses don't come with coiled wire installed in them like they used to to prevent them from collapsing. The car parts situation we are stuck with nowadays is really depressing!

 

Oddly, it seems the the aftermarket for something as common as a 3rd Gen F-body are crap!! A picture of what you're talking about will probably be worth 1000 words, unless you're waiting to hear from someone who's done this exact job and has part numbers in hand.

 

That's what I'm hoping for. I can't believe I'm the only one who has had this problem.


The Gates lower hose really needs to be shortened on both ends, but on the end that goes on the water pump it would cut away the part of the hose that is expanded to fit over the WP inlet. Cutting away part of the hose on the end that goes on the radiator outlet would cut away the curve needed to direct the hose around the idler arm mount.

 

That looks like a stock setup the way it is laid out....... have you tried a stock lower rad hose?

 

Like my original post said the Gates hose I used was the replacement hose the parts books call for. That's about as stock as you can get without using an NOS hose. Even the AC Delco hoses are rebranded Gates hoses in my experience.

Actually this isn't a stock set-up in the sense I have a 3-core welded aluminum radiator instead of the plastic tank original. The tanks of this radiator might be slightly thicker, but they shouldn't be so much thicker that the hose won't fit I wouldn't think.

 

Try ordering upper rad hose for an early 3rd-gen Camaro with V8 engine, standard cooling, and no A/C. It's much more straight
than the HD cooling and A/C version.

EDIT: Gates 21193

 

I tried the Dayco version of the hose you described (71160) and it was way too short. Maybe the Gates version (which is what it looks like you have pictured) is longer. Did 3rd gen F-bodies just use one radiator width and the "HD cooling" just referred to the number of radiator cores?

 

What if you got one for a S10? Same water pump as a 350, rad outlet is on the same area. I didnt compare mine to the 3rd gen but as I recall its a bit shorter.

 

I would need to be able to compare it in person to the lower hose I have to see if it would work.

Hose manufacturers don't like making a hose for just one car model. they like to make a hose and claim it will fit many car models, often times of different car manufacturers, whether it fits right or not (I'm learning). Usually you have to trim radiator hoses a little so they fit right, but after installing dozens of hoses in my lifetime I've never run into a situation like where trimming the hose wouldn't make it fit better, or the problem I mentioned above with the Dayco upper hose being too short.

I still can't believe I'm the only 3rd gen owner who has had the lower radiator hose problem, and no one else has chimed in on this with a solution that has worked for them.

 

I have an aftermarket wider radiator and the stock GM hose fits fine.I have no idea what brand / the actual specs though. All I know is that it is bigger than stock.

Yes, you'd have to check the S-10 hose yourself. But the hose is a different part number compared to a 3rd gen as far as i am aware .
Also I just realized but that bottom hose in your picture... the straight section over the radiator nipple looks excessively long compared to the stock radiator hose... I still have the OE GM one..... Looks like you could trim 2 inches at least at the radiator nipple which would bring the hose more forward and may give you the correct angle t avoid the bend.

 

Yes, I noticed that, too. Part of the problem is this radiator I got has a pretty long outlet, so I'm limited in how much I can trim off of the hose. I thought I'd try trimming an inch off and see how it fits then, but I doubt it will be short enough. Just looking at pictures on Rock Auto the Continental brand lower hose spec'd for our cars looks like it's more compact so it might fit better.

BTW, I measured the tanks on my old and new radiator and my new radiator's tanks are only 1/4" thicker, so that shouldn't matter much.

 

It could be the gates one gives a few courtesy inches..... I know I replaced the upper hose with a delco hose and although it was a direct fit spec hose, the engine side fit perfect but the radiator side was considerably longer than the stock one and I had to trim the end about 2-4? inches... ... I remember not wanting to deal with cutting it and tried to install it as is but the hose was long enough where it would kink like yours.....my guess is they give a courtesy inch or four "just in case"

When I got NAPA brand hoses for my Camry they were too short. so I had to go return it and go search for another brand
.

 

Like I've already mentioned, I'm well aware that it's common to have to shorten replacement radiator hoses, but I just don't think this Gates hose can be shortened enough to make it fit like I would want it to fit.

I don't think, anymore, that Gates hoses are all they are cracked up to be. I suppose you could probably say the same thing about Dayco. It just seems like it's a crapshoot buying parts for these cars nowadays. I think things went south with hose manufacturers about the time they quit putting the (anti-collapse) springs in the lower hoses: Used to be every single lower radiator hose you would buy would have them in them; now none of them do. There's no doubt in my mind this was done to save production costs so the large corporations that own the hose companies now can make more profit, not because hoses are so good now that they won't collapse.

 

I shortened the lower Gates hose about an inch on the rad outlet end and 1/2" on the WP end, which was all I could see shortening it. The hose still doesn't fit right like I suspected. Now the first bend in the hose goes right across the rad outlet, so it looks like there could be some restriction in coolant flow there because of that. The hose still wants to sort of bend in the middle of it, which obviously isn't good either, although if the hose had a spring in it like it should have this wouldn't be as bad.

The problem with this hose isn't that it is too long on the ends, it's that it's too long in the middle of it where the large bend takes place. To me it looks like it should be for a vehicle with the engine further away from the radiator, and possibly one with the rad outlet on the bottom of the tank instead of 4" above the bottom of the tank like the radiators for our cars are. The fact that I'm using a high performance welded aluminum radiator and not the original plastic tank rad doesn't have anything to do with why this hose doesn't fit, because all the measurements on my new radiator are within 1/4" of the old one.

 

Is there any markings on it that says "Gates 21324"?

Im wondering if you were given an incorrect hose that maybe was either labeled incorrectly or they grabbed the wrong one. Around here, NAPA will give hoses with no part numbers that are hanging "in the right section".



At this point, I'd just buy another brand to compare, or cut the hose in the middle somewhere and join it with a barb, although that's not ideal to add more potential leaky connections. I've never had fitment issues with Delco hoses for what it's worth. .

 

There's no sticker on it anymore or part number on the hose, but I'm pretty sure it's the right one because it looks exactly like pictures I've seen online of the hose.

I've never had trouble either with Gates/AC Delco hoses, but, let's face it, these are weird cars. There are so many corny things about 3rd gen f-bodies it's not even funny. For example, why would anyone design a radiator for a car with the outlet 4" above the bottom of the radiator tank: that makes no sense at all!

I had Carquest order me in a Dayco S10 hose, so I'll see how that compares with the hose I have tomorrow.

 

The Dayco S10 hose looked very similar to the Gates 21324 lower hose but it definitely didn't fit. I suppose I could start trimming it to get it to fit like I did the last one and waste $19, but I"m tired of wasting money this way. My next plan is to order the Continental f-body hose since it looks more compact than what I've tried. If that doesn't work I'll have to custom make something. Under no circumstances am I going to use one the cheesy corrugated universal hoses.

 

The S10 is a narrower core with fairly short engine bay.

An Astro van 4.3 radiator is wider and the engine probably sits further from the radiator than the S10. A friend using an aftermarket aluminium rad with non-stock passenger side outlet problens like yours had luck w/the Astro hose.

 

As I stated above, my new radiator has the same measurements (within 1/4") as my old original one, so the radiator isn't the problem as you stated. (I probably shouldn't have even mentioned I got a new radiator.) The problem is with this stupid Gates hose. Maybe having a sloppy, half-collapsed radiator hose fit is "good enough" for most people that own these cars, but it's not good enough for me. I want my engine to get all the coolant from the radiator it possibly can.

 

interested to see how a different brand works out