The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Radiator hose sizes

I went to replace the upper radiator hose on my '65 last weekend and had a bit of a hard time. I hadn't changed it since I bought the truck, and it always looked a little funny to me, but I never bothered to check it out. When I pulled it off, the thermostat housing was 1.5" diameter and the radiator was 1.75", while the hose was a molded to shape one that was 1.75" I.D. Needless to say, it was squeezed down quite a bit so that it would seal. When I went into the parts store, he looked up the hose for my application and brought one out that was the exact same shape as mine, but it was 1.5" I.D. on both ends. My truck has the 4-row heavy duty radiator, does it have a bigger inlet than the standard radiator? The guy at the store had me go in the back and look at all his hoses for one that might work--none, then we looked through his book where they are listed by size and found a couple that might work, but I didn't want to have to order them and then wait ro try them. We also looked for a thermostat housing that uses a 1.75" hose, but no luck. So I ended up buying a 1.75" flex hose and a reducer that slips inside one end to bring it down to 1.5" for the thermostat housing. It works fine, but I was just wondering if they had radiators with two different size inlets. I guess this is a pretty stupid topic, but I just felt like asking.

Had the same problem with my upper radiator hose in my 66 c10 shortbed stepside. I went from the stock 18 1/2-inch 2 core "mickey mouse" radiator to a larger 25 1/2-inch 3 core box and ran into the same dilemma. Fortunately Pep Boys had a flex hose with different sized ends. Cost about 15 bucks. I also had a great sales person who went above and beyond to find this hose.

I know you've resolved your problem but just an FYI for future reference, one does exist for your needs.

-ftyler

When I was the manager of a Ma and Pa parts Store we also had a Radiator Shop. They used to buy those addapters by the boxes. Was the hose you bought Molded or a Flex Hose?

The guy at the store was very helpful and patient with me too. I noticed hoses with different sized ends in the book, but none of them looked like they were shaped right or the right length. I didn't see any flex hoses with different sized ends. I really wasn't very impressed with the selection of hoses at the store. I wasn't able to go to my usual store because they were closed. But I did get it all worked out.