Original Coolant Hoses - Replace!

Whenever people on this board ask for advice regarding purchasing a Mondial, I always refer to the need to replace fuel hoses for safety, and coolant hoses over time to ensure reliability on driving and not have a hose failure. The fuel ones are the most critical, and every Mondial should have them replaced regardless of mileage as modern fuels are hard on older hoses, and they will all be in various stages of degradation.

The coolant hoses are less critical, sure if a hose blows you will be stranded and possibly you can do engine damage if things overheat, but it is not as critical as the fuel.

On my 1988 Mondial 3.2, over 18 years of ownership I have replaced some of the coolant hoses as I have done various maintenance over the years, but not all of them as for the most part they all look like they are in decent shape. I nearly had a hose blow out of the one under the intake manifold that rarely gets replaced, only by accident while looking at the engine while idling after a long drive did I spot huge hose bulge. I am lucky it did not burst while I was looking at it, that would have been an absolute disaster. So of course that one was replaced, and it is very difficult to do without removing the whole plenum/manifold, but I managed to do in situ. But I could see why this hose would often be overlooked, it is not really visible at a casual look over the engine.

One easily accessible hose, the one from the bottom of the overflow catch tank, I had never replaced, and as it is branded SAIG, which was the OEM supplier I presume it may be a 32 year old original hose. I was mostly focused on the more difficult to replace hoses, and since this one was so visible and looked fine, I never got around to replacing it.

Finally did, and I was very surprised to see the inside of the hose being so badly worn, while the exterior of the hose looked pretty much as new. 32 years of coolant chemistry and heat eventually takes it toll, and that presumes the old style green coolants many now use the BMW or other HOAT coolants, the acid chemistry which are much harder on hoses.

I have been replacing my hoses with those offered by Scuderia Rampante, which I had purchased a fuel hose kit and coolant hose kit years ago. Their current silicon based coolant hose offerings are designed with a liner layer that is resistant to the modern coolants, much like some modern gas hoses have liners to help with the alcohol resistance. The OEM style hoses are available, but the Scuderia Rampante hoses have some advantages for those who work on the cars more frequently, the OEM rubber tends to "weld" itself on to fittings over time, good for no leaks but bad for dismantling connectors for servicing and risk damaging the hose connections or having to cut the hoses. The silicon hoses will have some aspect of leak potential because they don't self weld like that, but can be removed and reattached without the damage potential to the hose or fittings. As long as the hose clamps are snugged up periodically, and or a slight silicon gasket sealer coating is applied on install, I would expect these hoses to be the best choice for a car that by its nature has hoses removed and reconnected as part of many of its service requirements.

Thought it useful to share my hose experiences, many cars of my vintage being purchased can still have quite low mileage, but age and chemistry will still take their toll on hoses, and replacement should be costed into a purchase price for those who expect to drive their cars reliably.

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Can't disagree with the logic of replacing hoses as routine consumable service items. The problem is the regular hoses are not so easy to source in the correct sizes, and if you buy from the usual Ferrari parts suppliers the proper fit hoses the prices are not so cheap either. If you have your own spools of the relevant hoses, then it makes perfect sense. But for a do it yourselfer like me, I don't want to cut and replace a hose where a reusable option is available. I do however not want leaks so time will tell if there is downside to the silicon option.

My favorite OEM hose is the coolant type 90 degree bend hose sleeve that attaches from the air bypass hose to the auxiliary air valve pn 123860 that lists on the various Ferrari parts suppliers from about $200 to $700!

Do you have a lead on a correct fit for this little hose?

 

Part 34
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Correct, hence I refer to a coolant type elbow hose, that would have the suitable thickness and rigidity to handle the air flow in 5his application.