The hoses on my 38 half ton are pretty sketchy looking, so I bought a hose kit. Now that I'm ready to replace them, I'm not sure on the best way to replace the upper hose (from the thermostat housing to the radiator).

The hose is a straight hose and pretty short. It seems the only way to remove it is to lift the radiator. Seems like a lot of work to replace a hose.

Any suggestions on how best to replace the hose? I'm worried about damaging the radiator/upper fitting if I try to strong-arm it too much.

I should add that this truck is currently a weekend driver, so I was hoping to avoid any major disassembly.

Thanks for your thoughts.

1938 Chevy 1/2-ton
More info in the Gallery Forum
She looks good at 50 yards, and 35 miles per hour, on a dark night.