Silicone radiator hose installation

Infomercial

Infomercial

Joined
Apr 14, 2020
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208
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Usa
I got a full set of silicone radiator hoses for my v6 mustang.

They come with worm clamps, but I see people using the stock ford tension spring clips in review photos. Is either or both preferable? I read the worms need to be tight, 2 fingers on a 1/4" socket tight.

I also have a few tubes of Permatex Blue RTV for coolant. Should I smear it on anything?


I heard silicone hoses have less grip and more tendency to pop off. Part of me wants to avoid that.


Any other install tips greatly appreciated, there seems to be no install instructions from mishimoto.
 
I read to top off with water as it is not the glycol evaporating.

The included clamps are a bit different, they have a spine type design across the whole outside and half the length of the otherwise smooth interior. It may be a difference of how tense it can hold.
 
Used them a lot and had no difficulty. The colors can be entertaining.
Silicone vacuum hoses come in 4/5mm, 6mm, 8mm and 10mm so you can retrofit a "turbo's tree".
 
I had a 90 Caprice with the 9C1 police package. It had the 5.7 engine with heavy duty cooling that included an engine oil cooler and a complete set of those green silicone hoses all from GM. Not sure what people are going on about with silicone hoses being permeable and having to check the coolant frequently. The use of these hoses by GM on the police package was for reliability. It would be pointless if the car needed more cooling system maintenance because of them. The problem with silicone coolant hoses is the garbage offshore ones.
 
ms21043 said:
I had a 90 Caprice with the 9C1 police package. It had the 5.7 engine with heavy duty cooling that included an engine oil cooler and a complete set of those green silicone hoses all from GM. Not sure what people are going on about with silicone hoses being permeable and having to check the coolant frequently. The use of these hoses by GM on the police package was for reliability. It would be pointless if the car needed more cooling system maintenance because of them. The problem with silicone coolant hoses is the garbage offshore ones.
Click to expand...
As someone who worked during that time in PD maintenance, I don't remember topping off many coolant tanks.
I do kinda remember them having a black inner liner though (radiator hoses).
 
meep said:
I love me some silicone vacuum hoses. Any drawbacks?
Click to expand...
If they get nicked they split very easily. I'd use only clamps with rolled edges. Silicone hoses are slippery and can pop off hose barbs. They do however last a very long time and do not become dry and brittle like rubber vac hoses. I have used silicone vacuum hoses successfully.
 
Well, seems all hoses have come along way and tend to last - the more common failures are on the complicated 3 way hoses with a plastic T … already own one for my 2017 Tahoe …
 
ms21043 said:
I had a 90 Caprice with the 9C1 police package. It had the 5.7 engine with heavy duty cooling that included an engine oil cooler and a complete set of those green silicone hoses all from GM. Not sure what people are going on about with silicone hoses being permeable and having to check the coolant frequently. The use of these hoses by GM on the police package was for reliability. It would be pointless if the car needed more cooling system maintenance because of them. The problem with silicone coolant hoses is the garbage offshore ones.
Click to expand...
Our law enforcement fleet always had silicon hoses. They are a must for the 24/7 usage in the extreme heat of our area. They don’t leak….
 
I installed blue silicone coolant hoses on my G35 a couple years ago - thinking that would be the first and last time I would ever have to touch a coolant hose, they wept slightly the entire length of the hoses. The hoses were blue and from a reputable company, after driving for a while, there would be white dots on the outside or each hose and the whole engine compartment smelled like antifreeze. The vendor gave me a refund and I put a mix of new and removed OEM hoses back in place. It was a pain to do, in fact, there is still one blue hose that is hard to replace without removing the radiator. It still weeps.

I suspect there is some rubber inner lining that has to be present for them to not leak. Mine said something like '3 layer construction', but it was not enough.
 
Ok, that helps me understand. I’ve used good ole blue silicone hose in a number of vacuum applications. Worked well, didn’t seem to age, and frankly in a neat engine bay looked kinda cool. I had considered using it for coolant but never did, glad I hadn’t after reading this.
 
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