89 Upper radiator hose replacement?

[Fox W.]

Should be an easy one I'd think. I bought the two recommended products (Dayco 71297 (upper)  and Gates 21714 (lower) and only the lower one fits.  The upper is quite different and doesn't seem to come close to being the right shape.   Anyone have experience with sourcing the right one?   Attached shows the Dayco vs the original.   Thanks.

[2seater]

As far as I know there are two different styles of upper hose. One has more bends to sort of hug the contour of the front of the engine bay where it runs parallel to the radiator header before turning into the radiator. The other runs more directly at a diagonal to the radiator. Both should work.

[DAVES89]

The one with more bends is like factory original while the other one shown is more of a universal fit. 2seater is correct in that both should work.

[Ronnie]

The Dayco 71297 is in the Reatta Store. That is the same upper radiator hose sold by RockAuto, Advance, AutoZone and many other auto parts stores. I find it hard to understand why a hose sold by so many auto parts stores won't fit. I guess it is molded differently from the original Reatta hose so it will fit other vehicles with a 3800 engine.

[Fox W.]

Maybe mine is just a bit poorly formed.  I'd much prefer the original design, oh well. Thanks.

[Ronnie]

6 minutes ago, Fox W. said:

Maybe mine is just a bit poorly formed.  I'd much prefer the original design, oh well. Thanks.

 

I would prefer one shaped like the original hose too. Let us  know what you come up with.

[2seater]

I received this pic of the hose in question. It illustrates what I meant by the other fitment. Personally, I would think the straighter hose would flow better, although it may not be as pretty.?

 

 

[Ronnie]

Looks like that routing might be exposed to a little more heat from the crossover pipe but I doubt it's a problem. I see nothing wrong with how that hose fits.  A lot of the aftermarket hoses require some of the hose to be cut off to fit properly. Looks like that might possibly be the case with the Dayco 71297.

 

Thanks for the photo... Bob?

[Ronnie]

The only hose I can find that looks like the original is the CONTINENTAL 61496  but the description says it needs to be cut to fit. I've never used a Continental hose but they might be good product.

[2seater]

7 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Looks like that routing might be exposed to a little more heat from the crossover pipe but I doubt it's a problem. I see nothing wrong with how that hose fits.  A lot of the aftermarket hoses require some of the hose to be cut off to fit properly. Looks like that might possibly be the case with the Dayco 71297.

 

Thanks for the photo... Bob?

What can I say, it's a good photo

[Ronnie]

On 4/25/2018 at 10:18 PM, Fox W. said:

Should be an easy one I'd think. I bought the two recommended products (Dayco 71297 (upper)  and Gates 21714 (lower) and only the lower one fits.  The upper is quite different and doesn't seem to come close to being the right shape.   Anyone have experience with sourcing the right one?   Attached shows the Dayco vs the original.   Thanks.

 

Did you end up using the Dayco 71297 after all?   I thought I saw it in the list of new parts you had replaced in a previous topic. If so could you not find one molded the same way as the original?

[Fox W.]

I was mistaken,  the Dayco 71297 does indeed fit, it just, as people noted, runs a more direct path over the exhaust manifold shield.   Nothing wrong with that from what I see, it's just maybe somewhat aesthetically less pleasing.   I used my original because it was still in good shape.  The Dayco 71297 will work though, and I'm keeping mine for future use.   Thank you Ronnie!   You help us so much and I hope you know that it's highly appreciated. 

[Ronnie]

12 hours ago, Fox W. said:

Thank you Ronnie!   You help us so much and I hope you know that it's highly appreciated

Thank you. I'm glad to hear the hose did fit.