oops! Fan hit the lower radiator hose

FRITZ47

FRITZ47

Senior Member
We just reassembled our '40 Convertible and I was planning on showing it this weekend, so yesterday gave it a 1 mile test run. It didn't sound right, and I thought the generator bearing might be bad, but drove it anyhow. Upon return noticed that the fan belt had hit and torn into the lower radiator hose. We had new Ford Script hoses bought from a reliable supplier. I am thinking that we should have trimmed off about 5/8" to 3/4" of the top of the hose to pull the hose back towards the block.

I am thinking that I am not the first person so have this occur. So the car is back in our shop until next week, waiting for a new hose (sold only in pairs). Just one of the blades seemed to do the damage, so it may have been bent backwards a bit. We should know more about it when we get the car on our lift and take a closer look!

Fritz
 
Don't punish the car for a meager radiator hose....patch it up and take it to the show!!!!
Fix it after the show so you're ready for the next one.
 
Did the hose leak water ??? I did the same thing on my 39 Deluxe . The fan blades are close to the hoses and when I put the hose back on after doing some work on the car it was hitting. I made a pretty good mark in the hose and you can feel the hose is soft in that spot. I ordered new hoses and trimmed them on one side only to get more fan clearance. But ....... while I was waiting on the new hose I adjusted the existing hose so it didn't hit anymore and drove the car . I still have the stock cooling setup so there is no pressure which means the hose with the mark/soft spot would probably last forever. Like you I wanted to replace it so I now have one new spare and one spare with a mark in it for emergencies.
If it's not leaking and you don't run any pressure and the show isn't 500 miles away then adjust the hose so it isn't hitting and go enjoy yourself :D
My 2 cents
 
As I remember, there is a top and bottom on those hoses. One end is longer than the other. The short end goes on the engine.
 
Two things... yes, they are probably "upside down" as one end is longer than the other. However, the reproduction hoses were copied off of Ford's first design. They were meant to be installed on a car without a sway bar as your '40 deluxe surely is equipped with.
That being the case, you must be certain you have them "right side up" and trim a little so they don't rub the sway bar.
One more thing, no markings on top or bottom hoses in '39 or '40. Lacquer thinner removes the paint very well. Service replacement parts had markings, not factory installed hoses.
 
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