Radiator hose replacements?

[HerronScott]

All,

We have a 1996 Contour Sport with 161,000 miles and I'm looking to replace the radiator hoses. Can someone tell me how many there are and where they are located? The radiator upper and lower ones are easy enough to find and there appears to be a straight short one coming off of a metal hose leading to/from the lower radiator hose. I'm assuming there should be at least 2 other hoses for the heater core somewhere as well.

Any recommendations on preferred hoses or does it matter (RockAuto, Advance, Autozone?)?

Thanks!

Scott

 

[jrichardson]

granted mine is a 98 but on my zetec (from what i can see) there is only the two large rubber hoses that run from the radiation to the motor. there is four more hard lined hoses that run to two separate "radiators" that I can see by looking up under the front bumper.

 

[HerronScott]

Hey thanks for responding. I think that I found the additional 2 hoses leading to the heater core although I didn't fully trace them to find the other ends so that would appear to be 5 hoses altogether that I can see.

Scott

 

[HerronScott]

Ford lists a different lower radiator hose with a manual transmission than with an automatic transmission (and of course it's more expensive for the manual transmission hose). Dayco only has 1 part number listed while Gates and ACDelco also list different part numbers.

Any idea what the difference is?

Scott

 

[jrichardson]

not sure on the actual differences between the hoses. but i'm sure there are just some slight routing differences to accommodate for the atx cooling lines. and it does suck that the lower for the mtx is more expensive.

 

[Lavell]

Yes, there are 2 hoses coming from the heater core. To locate these hoses, go under the car at the center of the firewall and you will see these 2 hoses. They are very difficult to remove. More than likely, you will end up cutting them off. There is also a small hose underneath the bracket in which the coil pack sits on. This small hose will be a challenge to remove as well. To see this hose, remove the coil pack. The hose that comes off of a metal pipe that you mentioned is part of the lower radiator hose. I hope this helps.

All,

We have a 1996 Contour Sport with 161,000 miles and I'm looking to replace the radiator hoses. Can someone tell me how many there are and where they are located? The radiator upper and lower ones are easy enough to find and there appears to be a straight short one coming off of a metal hose leading to/from the lower radiator hose. I'm assuming there should be at least 2 other hoses for the heater core somewhere as well.

Any recommendations on preferred hoses or does it matter (RockAuto, Advance, Autozone?)?

Thanks!

Scott

 

[HerronScott]

Lavell,

Thanks for the confirmation. Sorry to hear that those heater core hoses are difficult to deal with though!

Sounds like you've replaced yours. Do you have any info on the difference between the manual and automatic transmission lower radiator hose and which brand did you go with?

Scott

 

[Lavell]

I've replaced every hose in the cooling system. Some of them are easy to replace than others. I'm not sure as to the difference between the automatic and manual transmission lower radiator hose. I went with Autozone because at the time of replacement, they were the only store that had it in stock. All the other stores requires special ordering. I didn't want to wait that long for the part to come in. I wanted to fix the car and get it back on the road as soon as possible.

Lavell,

Thanks for the confirmation. Sorry to hear that those heater core hoses are difficult to deal with though!

Sounds like you've replaced yours. Do you have any info on the difference between the manual and automatic transmission lower radiator hose and which brand did you go with?

Scott

 

[amc49]

The only hoses I use that are specific are the upper and lower rad hoses. all others are bulk straight hose. I had to cobble up some adapter to do that, I'll be butchering the factory hose scheme even more in the future when forced. I want to use the 3 hose bottom rad hose of Focus instead of the more expensive 5 outlet Contour one. I've already checked out the differences in coolant flow to make it work. I also want to drop the metal coolant line that bolts to the exhaust shroud, simply too much hassle trying to line that back up when working on motor front. '98 model zetec.

special ordering specific bend hosing=bull----.