98 viper upper rad hose

[Darth Menace]

Hi, while walking to my car in the parking lot today I saw it dripping antifreeze right in front of the oil pan. I went home and jacked it up and after some looking it appears to be coming from the rear part of the upper rad hose. I can't tell whether it got cut by the clamp or the clamp relocated itself a bit and it letting some antifreeze out. Either way once the car cools I will take this off and look closer obviously. These are Roe hoses which ultimately doesn't matter to me as I am sure there is no performance gains from Roe vs something more generic. That being said if I have to buy a new rad hose, is there a Chrysler vehicle that uses the same hose? Anyone have the part number of the factory upper rad hose?

[AZTVR]

That being said if I have to buy a new rad hose, is there a Chrysler vehicle that uses the same hose? Anyone have the part number of the factory upper rad hose? Part numbers link (http://www.roeracing.com/productcart/pc/Original-Equipment-Parts-d7.htm)
I bought an OEM upper radiator hose about 3 or 4 years ago. It did not fit properly. It could be made to fit; but then it rubbed against things that it shouldn't have because it was not shaped correctly. Others reported the same thing, indicating that the manufacturer screwed up the mold for that manufacturing run. I don't know if they have gotten it right since then. I then bought silicone hoses from JonB in order to get a correct fit. I have read recently two threads about silicone upper hoses bought this year from other places that had an extremely (and annoyingly) tight fit to the radiator end. Sounds like another mold issue. (I don't know if the silicone hoses that every one sells come from the same manufacturer, or different ones. Its a very small market for sales.)

[Darth Menace]

Yep and the part of discontinued by dodge but I did get the part number.

[Rand1993]

I have a '93 and replaced all of the hoses (and a bunch of other stuff) when I bought it three years ago. I ordered the upper hose three times from three different sources. All had the wrong bend at the top and rub against the hood spring. The part number Dodge lists for GenI is a hose with the incorrect bend. I finally found the correct hose after talking to Sean at Roe Racing. At that time, the only way to get it was to order a complete set of the silicone hoses. I bought the entire set and the upper radiator hose fits perfect. Give Sean a call. Maybe the individual hose is available now. I'm also a JohnB fan and he might have the part, but I'm sure the Roe part fits properly.

[Darth Menace]

Update. I just came in from working on it. I loosened the clamp and moved it back, and the moved the hose back and forth/side to side. I felt and looked all around the hose to see if the clamp had cut into it, but in fact it didn't. I added more coolant and burped the system, and it heated up and cooled fine with no overheating. I am thinking over time it moved itself ever so slightly and caused a leak...or there was a small piece of something allowing it to leak, but the movement fixed that I think. I had the same issue on my 69 GTO, a new hose dripped slightly, but a small movement by myself fixed that. Guess it is good to get a back-up set eventually as since Dodge can't get them, the car might be down for prime driving time if it happens in the summer.

Now onto the hose rubbing. The Roe upper rad hose I have on it now rubs on the air box and the cross-member. I think with some of these things we are maybe doomed with inaccurate bends and rubbing. There won't be a tonne of people producing these so I think we are stuck with what we have.

[dave6666]

Now onto the hose rubbing. The Roe upper rad hose I have on it now rubs on the air box and the cross-member. I think with some of these things we are maybe doomed with inaccurate bends and rubbing. There won't be a tonne of people producing these so I think we are stuck with what we have.

I have had a hose rubbing the air box and cross member for 8 years with barely a mark on the hose. The silicone hoses are 5-ply. Going through the outer layer leaves 4 more layers.

dave6666

[Darth Menace]

new update: The rad hose leaking. I pressed hard on the hose numerous times and the coolant came out of the metal spout thing at the top. This is a Roe hose, so I don't know if this came like this from factory or not. Either way is this telling me there is an issue, or did it possibly loosen over time and I just tighten it and forget it

[ICPREY]

So did you tighten the bleeder valve on the hose?

[AZTVR]

new update: The rad hose leaking. I pressed hard on the hose numerous times and the coolant came out of the metal spout thing at the top. This is a Roe hose, so I don't know if this came like this from factory or not. Either way is this telling me there is an issue, or did it possibly loosen over time and I just tighten it and forget it

Roe used to sell a hose with a bleeder valve in it. They now sell it as a separate assembly. The bleeder valve, like any valve, does have a life span. Perhaps just re-tightening it will re-seat the valve. If it doesn't reseat, maybe you can take it apart and clean/fix it. Probably not. You could cut it out and put Roe's new bleeder valve (http://www.roeracing.com/productcart/pc/Upper-Radiator-Hose-Bleeder-Kit-96-02-GTS-97-02-RT-10-157p496.htm) in there or just a straight pipe.

[dave6666]

I believe what would fail on the Roe hose is not the bleed port, but the attachment of it through the hose. I had several of them and they could develop a small drip under them. There's a nut on the inside of the hose. You may be able to tighten it or pull it out and re-RTV it back in. Or get the new bleeder as has been mentioned.

dave6666

[Darth Menace]

Roe used to sell a hose with a bleeder valve in it. They now sell it as a separate assembly. The bleeder valve, like any valve, does have a life span. Perhaps just re-tightening it will re-seat the valve. If it doesn't reseat, maybe you can take it apart and clean/fix it. Probably not. You could cut it out and put Roe's new bleeder valve (http://www.roeracing.com/productcart/pc/Upper-Radiator-Hose-Bleeder-Kit-96-02-GTS-97-02-RT-10-157p496.htm) in there or just a straight pipe.

I will do the straight pipe for the rest of the season then worry about the bleeder in the winter. Do you know what diameter pipe I would need to slide in there?

[AZTVR]

I will do the straight pipe for the rest of the season then worry about the bleeder in the winter. Do you know what diameter pipe I would need to slide in there? No I don't. As I was thinking of this, you may still have a possibility of leakage if you don't get a good enough interference fit for the hose onto the pipe. On the OE engine and radiator connections you will see a ridge that is meant to stretch the hose a bit for a tight fit in addition to having the clamps. The Roe Bleeder Kit also has those ridges. So, perhaps a straight pipe and clamps without that feature may still present some troubles with sealing unless you get a large enough pipe, and then you are trying to slide the hose over at least an inch of that larger diameter pipe rather than just a 1/4 inch width of that OE-type ridge.

[Dan Cragin]

Roe can sell you a new upper hose, I think without the bleeder.

[Darth Menace]

Oh I know, but I am wanting something to hold it together for now. My season isn't too long in Alberta, and I want to drive it and not wait for Roe to ship/it take forever at Customs, etc. I will try the pipe thing for now and see what happens. Plenty of time in the winter to tinker around :)

Edit: and No offence to Roe, but I will either buy a factory hose for 1/4 the price compared to Roe or buy the Roe bleeder. I try to avoid the Viper tax as much as I can so I have more money for more toys.

[dave6666]

Roe can sell you a new upper hose, I think without the bleeder.

I'm pretty sure that's the only way they sell them now. Also, aren't the OEM hoses long since NLA status?

[Darth Menace]

I'm pretty sure that's the only way they sell them now. Also, aren't the OEM hoses long since NLA status?

from the Dodge dealership, yes..

[dave6666]

from the Dodge dealership, yes..

Even Rock Auto has no listing for them. If you can find an OEM or OEM style replacement go for it. I however per reading threads on this in the past am under the impression that there are no non-aftermarket non-silicone hoses available any more. But there could be.

[Darth Menace]

I dont have it on me as I am at work, but Dodge gave me the part number of the upper rad hose and when I typed it in google, many websites came up with it in stock. Not sure how correct that is though so don't quote me

[dave6666]

They also let you order cam sensors, so.....

[Darth Menace]

so.....

[dave6666]

So try ordering the hose from Dodge and see if you actually get one lol. Like everyone that ordered cam sensors with a smug look on their face, and, um... never...

[Darth Menace]

Turns out it was the bleeder valve had parted ways with the hose. I used high temp gasket maker and put some on the inside and outside and it resealed it. Looking at the bleeder I am amazed this doesn't happen more often as it looks like the weak link to the hose for sure. I will be ordering that roe bleeder during the winter but this works great to get me through the summer

[justme]

Saw this thread last year and although interesting, didn't feel it applied to me. Turns out three years ago when I purchased my 02 RT10, I had taken it to a very reputable mechanic to fix my over heating problems (replaced thermostat, water pump radiator (three core) and hoses). He insisted in using all OE parts and the repairs on the car worked fine. Fast forward to this spring - I now do a lot of my own work on the car and while upgrading the power steering pump pulley I noticed the upper radiator hose was rubbing on the cross member and hood spring just before it connected to the radiator. I don't know if these wear points would eventually cause the hose to fail and I didn't want to find out. So my solution was to take a couple pieces of Kydex (E-bay or Amazon) 2.5 x 5.5" heat and wrap them around a calk tube into a "C" shape and snap the Kydex around my radiator hose at the wear points. Others may have a better solution but this should work until I replace the hoses at a future date.

I just mention this because you or others may have replaced the hoses on your Viper and it's conceivable it could rub through.