Guess whose heater hose blew up and owner got stranded for 6 hours waiting for a tow truck? Yes, me. Ten years ago when I got this 328 I changed every hose, except for that heater hose and the booster hose. The 28 years old hose blew up, and I got stranded. I got it home, spliced in a new section for now but the next free weekend the gas tank will get dropped for hose replacement. If yours is 20 years or older, do that now. I know it is a pain in the ass, and expensive, but for 6 hours waiting, I could have been 80% done with that job. Image Unavailable, Please Login
On most 308/328, it is about 15 feet long, 16mm coolant hose, attached one end on bank 1, left hand side of the head, the other end goes to the front of the car to the heater valves. That little piece 2 inches long in my picture is what I cut out to show where the hose blew up, right at the attachment to the head. The inside of the hose is all gooey and black. It could no longer stand the surge of pressure when I gunned the engine.
My '82 GTSi did not require the tank out. Not sure on other years. I found the long heater hose easy to replace considering all I have heard. The hose is "clamped " behind the gas tank. I did not use the old hose to pull the new one through. I used bailing wire. There is a small triangle cover at the inside base of the door jamb rear corner.
It's SOP to splice in a section there at major services. I have a bin box full of brass unions for just that purpose.
It blew right on Columbus, middle of North Beach in San Francisco. The tourists were shouting at me "it's smoking" and it did look like the whole car was on fire with smoke blowing everywhere. I can smell coolant, and I was half a mile from my friend's place so I continued driving until I got to his garage and pulled over, shut it off. No overheating !!! The 328 got enough attention by itself without the smoke. I did not want the added attention. Never a dull moment.
Is that section of hose more prone to problems because of the heat from the motor? Just trying to understand better, thanks. That section has been changed in the past on mine, but I feel I need to do the whole thing as the heater hose by the steering rack (where I drained from) is garbage... Still curious as to why the SOP isn't to just change out the whole piece?
Because the standard quote for changing that heater hose in total is $1,000. Most people would forgo that in exchange for a 12 inch splice at the head for ... $100. It blows right at the clamp connection where the hose suffers the most stress from the clamp, and the most water pressure from the engine.
Mitchel, it is not necessary to remove the fuel tank to replace this heater hose or the brake booster hose. I believe Bill Brooks was the first to document on Fchat how he replaced these with the tank in. I followed his protocol several years back when I replaced them on my 328 and it worked great. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
But but but I am getting quite good at removing gas tanks. Just did it to remove the injection rail, sample tubes, and header on the front bank of a QV.
Right at the head they deteriorate very badly. For some time you can just splice it up by the oil cooler duct where the hose disappears over the fuel tank. Eventually the whole hose needs to be changed but for those that do not it is an unnecessary expense. Like I said it was a routine preventative measure at services.
Picture of mine, which I caught before it blew. Right at the end by the cylinder head. Image Unavailable, Please Login
If you buy the Scuderia Rampante (Dave Helms) coolant hose kit from Ricambi, they include a 12" section of new hose to splice into the cylinder head end of the heater hose, instead of the entire heater hose length. (But I replaced the entire length anyway, and used the SRI section at the cylinder head end)
I believe the hose goes through thermal cycles where it expands and contracts but the clamp of course does not so eventually it cuts into the hose which then causes it to tear open. An end splice can fix that but now you have three clamps where before you only had one so I wouldn't ignore it again for another 25 years. Also, not all hose clamps are equal, I think the Euro clamps with closed serrations and rolled edges (not as sharp) are a bit better.
When replacing it I recommend not using OEM-stuff. I used multi purpose industrial hose for oil and hot water under low pressure. It's a bit stiff, but I replaced it without removal of the fuel tank. Just coupled the old with the new hose and with the help of two additional hands, it worked perfectly. Prior to this job I did the rifledriver procedure and drove around with this for two years. Best Regards Martin
I did the splice fix too but was concerned about the nipple. I cleaned it up as best as possible and it didn't leak but the corrosion was starting to take it's toll. The bigger problem will be trying to remove and replace the nipple. I wouldn't have wanted to try that. So keep an eye on it because if it goes you have a real problem.
I need to do this job. Does it take 16ft for both of them? I thought of going with something like this Flexfab silicone hose: 8ft 5/8" ID FlexFab Silicone Heater Hose 5526 Blue 16mm 350F Radiator Coolant | eBay
I am one year to another major, maybe I will just take the whole effing engine out this year. Clean it up, power wash the engine bay, finish the chassis and the fuel tanks, oh and new timing belts. The fancy Hill engineering bearings will get re-used. Or lie down and let it pass.
