GT4 Vacuum and Heater Hoses

My son and I replaced the vacuum and heater hoses in my GT4 yesterday. My engine and fuel tanks are out so we figured this would be a good time to replace the hoses. I used Gates green stripe hoses for replacements, and sheathed them at the places where they touch sharp metal areas with Kevlar mesh sleeves. I got the hoses at O'Reilly, vacuum hose P/N 27211 and heater hose P/N 28417. You can get the Kevlar braided sheathing from an outfit called Electroduct (866 673 9590). You also need one 1/2" plastic barbed union - like the kind you use to connect 1/2" plastic drip watering hose, 2 small self-tapping pan head screws and a roll of electrical tape.

I pretty much followed Rob's posted procedure with a few twists and a couple of suggestions.

Here's the procedure we used:
1. Locate the small removable panel at the rear bottom of the LH front wheel well, drill out the pop rivets and remove the panel.

2. Drill out the pop rivets and remove the panel on the LH side of the rear firewall, the insulating panel behind it, and the two metal straps securing the hoses.

3. Disconnect the hoses going to the LH heater core and unbolt it from the bottom (top of the wheel well) swing it out of the way so you can see where the hoses run down to the bend at the wheel well access point.

After much discussion we decided to do the vacuum hose first, then the heater hose.

4. Splice the old vacuum hose to the new vacuum hose using the plastic barbed fitting. Get it on as far as you can and drive the self-tapping screw into each end securing the hose to the fitting. Liquid dish soap works well as a lube. Cut an appropriate length of old hose and split it so you can fill in the space between the hoses eliminating places where it can catch. Wrap the whole thing tightly with the electrical tape.

5 Lubricate the length of the new hose with liquid dish soap (we used the green stuff, but I think the blue stuff will work as well). One guy pulls from the back, while the other alternately feeds the hose from the top, then works on the transition bend on the bottom. You may have to pull the hose down from the top and make a loop outside the access port, then feed it straight into the frame rail. It actually went pretty easily.

6. Replace the heater hose the same way .

7. If you chose to use the Kevlar sheathing now is the time to install it before buttoning everything up. We drilled all the pop rivet holes to 3/16" (5mm) and used 3/16" pop rivets to button everything up. You will need some long ones for the insulating panel.

Rob did it with his engine in, but he (of course) had to remove the LH fuel tank. I'll refer you to other threads for the procedure to do that.

To be perfectly honest, those 40-year old hoses didn't look bad at all. In fact they looked pretty good, so I wouldn't run out and do this project unless you have an indication of a problem. or have the engine out and desire to replace every hose in the car.

We then reinstalled both fuel tanks with all new hoses and clamps everywhere. All 20+ hose connections- fuel filler and breather (which looked like the original was clear garden hose).

Pitfalls

With a sense of true transparency I must caution the practitioner to be very careful when drilling out the pop rivet holes. One might drill right through the hole and deeply into the vacuum hose, necessitating an emergency trip to O'Reilly to procure another $50 worth of vacuum hose and get to pull the new hose through all over again. But experience makes for expediency, and Dad got to practice keeping his cool. A father-son bonding experience.
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It will need a little cleaning up, but it's yours, gratis. PM or email me with your street address and it will be in the mail tomorrow. I had your address one time when we were playing around with our Allens, but it's has become misplaced like lots of stuff around here. I've got a nice length of Gates vacuum hose with a hole in it strategically placed at a location where it can't be used to span the length required for a GT4 if anybody wants it..