Heater, fuel, and vacuum hose sizes? And best hose brand?

[robroy]

Good evening,

Since my truck is fifty miles away we only hang out on the weekends, and I'm curious to know some hose sizes. Does anybody happen to know the stock sizes for these hoses? I'd like to order some fittings and lengths of new hose before the weekend. Sorry to bother ya'll with such a petty question, but I'm guessing that a number of you know these sizes by heart.

Also, is it generally true that Goodyear hose is top notch, USA made stuff? Any other tips of hose brands? Thanks very much!

1. Heater hoses.
2. Fuel hose from fuel line to fuel pump.
3. Fuel hose from fuel pump to carb.
4. Vacuum hose from intake to brake booster.
5. Vacuum hose from intake to distributor.
6. Are there any others I'm forgetting about?

Thanks very much for your help!
-Robroy

[fordman]

heater hose 3/4
fuel line 5/16
booster hose i would guess at 1/2
vacuum line 3/16 i think
lengths i dont know without measuring them

gates is a good usa brand of hose. no other names come to mind right now.

[robroy]

Hey thanks Fordman! I haven't heard of Gates before, but I probably haven't paid much attention to the brand of hose since I used to buy that at the auto parts, and I was glad to buy whatever they had--beggars can't be choosers. But now that I buy almost all parts online it's easy to be more selective.

Thanks for thinking of giving me the lengths--that's going beyond the call of duty! But I'll probably order a generous coil of each size to make sure I don't run short. It's good to have around.

Thanks again Fordman!
-Robroy

[fordman]

watch otu that heater hose can be expensive in full rolls. i wouldnt but no more than 6 feet or so of it. the fuel line you could get away with about 18 inches or 2 feet. the vacuum line maybe 18 inches for the dist to carb. booster maybe 18 inches to 2 ft. these are all just guesses. and are probably short a ft or atleast a few inches i'm guessing.

[willowbilly3]

Heater hose is 5/8 and 3/4, 2 different sizes, on my truck. If you can still get it, motorcraft holds up the best. Gates and Goodyear are fine but no replacement hoses ever last as long as the oem ones.

[fitzwell]

If you have a Napa in your area, the belts & hoses they sell are made by Gates. Finest kind, made in U.S.A. The brake booster hose is a special size....11/32 i believe, and it IS idnetified as such. The Napa guys should have it in stock. If you have anyone in your area the sells the Goodyear line of belts & hoses, they used to make a short line of Silicone hoses for our trucks.Don't know if they still do....the ones on my 69 have been on there for the last 12 years.... One thing ...if you have ethanol in your area, there is a SAE spec. for fuel line for use with that crap. Regular rubber hose will be attacked by the alcohol, and will crack.

[robroy]

Hey Fordman, WillowBilly3, and Fitzwell, thanks for replying!

Fordman, thanks for the length guesses! That gives me a good ballpark figure for each.

WillowBilly3, it's good to know it's two different sizes sometimes. I'll have to check on my truck this weekend to see. That's a good tip regarding getting Motorcraft hoses, but I think I'll just go with regular good, USA made hose to avoid complications/delays.

Fitzwell, there is indeed a Napa nearby here; it's good to know that they sell the good stuff! Maybe I'll bring my samples in there for new hose. Thanks also for letting me know that the brake booster hose size is a little peculiar.

So here's my current mystery: a piece of fuel hose I happened to have around has "3/8" printed on the outside, yet the inner diameter measures 5/16". Am I missing out on a basic law of hoses here?

Thanks very much folks!
-Robroy

[robroy]

Strangely, I'm having trouble locating some 11/32" I.D. hose for the brake booster!

Much to my surprise, Summit doesn't list any. And most of the hose they seem to have is the type with stainless braiding around the outside, which I don't fully appreciate. Doesn't that stainless braiding make it impossible to watch the tubing rubber for signs of age?

I called the local NAPA and Kragen and neither of them have 11/32" tubing. Any ideas?

Thanks very much!
Robroy

[robroy]

I just called a local Autozone and they said that they have 11/32" fuel line in stock, but not vacuum line.

Isn't fuel and vacuum tubing the exact same thing? If not, won't fuel tubing work as vacuum tubing with no issues?

Their tubing was Goodyear, so it's probably of OK quality.

Thanks very much!
Robroy

[70_F100]

Robroy, you need brake booster vacuum hose for the booster. It's a reinforced, thick-wall hose. I just checked mine, and it's 3/8". I didn't even need clamps on it with the tight fit. NAPA or any heavy-duty truck parts store should have it.

The heater hoses should both be 5/8". They can be interchanged in the hook-up, so I know they are the same. You'll find people asking which hose should go where. If they were different sizes (like on GM), there wouldn't be a question. Check the parts manual, you'll find that I'm correct. Like fitzwell suggested, silicone is the way to go. That's what's used on heavy-duty trucks and it's meant to last for many years. If you buy a 6 or 7 foot length, you'll have plenty. 6 should be enough, but 7 will give you some "fudge factor" to play with the routing.

As for the stainless steel braided hose, it's generally used with special fittings. If you decide to use it for any of your applications, don't worry. It will be there "til the cows come home".

Hose size should be approximately the same ID as marked on the hose. The stated size is "nominal" size. There's a small "stretch" factor to be considered, but it should be close. I just measured a piece of 5/8" heater hose that actually measured .600", and a piece of 1/4" vacuum hose that came in dead on .250". Buy some 5/16" fuel line, as the 3/8 will probably leak, even though it measures 5/16".

You ask about the fuel line from the pump to the carb. OEM specs call for a 5/16" steel line. If you don't want to go that route, this is a good application for the stainless steel braided hose. You can fasten it down similar to what you did with the fuel line coming to the pump to prevent chafing, whereas rubber would probably flex enough to wear. This line is under pressure, and a rupture would cause gas to spray all over the engine. You can buy that hose to meet the SAE spec fitzwell mentioned.

The only hose (other than radiator hoses) that you didn't mention is the PCV hose. That's actually a formed hose, and from the factory had two different sized ends. One is 3/8" and the other is close to 1/2" where it attaches to the carb spacer. If you're connecting directly to the carb, the fitting should be 3/8", so you can actually use the same hose as you use on your brake booster. It, though, will work fine with 3/8" fuel line.

[fitzwell]

Strangely, I'm having trouble locating some 11/32" I.D. hose for the brake booster!


I called the local NAPA and Kragen and neither of them have 11/32" tubing. Any ideas?

Thanks very much!
Robroy

Napa part # H1450 11/32 booster line

[robroy]

Hey 70_F100 and Fitzwell, thanks for your superb replies!

Robroy, you need brake booster vacuum hose for the booster. It's a reinforced, thick-wall hose. I just checked mine, and it's 3/8". I didn't even need clamps on it with the tight fit. NAPA or any heavy-duty truck parts store should have it.

Okay, thanks! I think Fitzwell's suggestion for the 11/32" booster hose is ideal. But I'm sure 3/8" is OK too!

The heater hoses should both be 5/8". They can be interchanged in the hook-up, so I know they are the same. You'll find people asking which hose should go where. If they were different sizes (like on GM), there wouldn't be a question. Check the parts manual, you'll find that I'm correct. Like fitzwell suggested, silicone is the way to go. That's what's used on heavy-duty trucks and it's meant to last for many years. If you buy a 6 or 7 foot length, you'll have plenty. 6 should be enough, but 7 will give you some "fudge factor" to play with the routing.

I see, thank you! So far I haven't found a source for the silicone hose, but I'm very interested in that! Do you happen to know of a specific source for this hose? NAPA claimed that they didn't have it. And surprisingly to me, Summit doesn't seem to have it.

As for the stainless steel braided hose, it's generally used with special fittings. If you decide to use it for any of your applications, don't worry. It will be there "til the cows come home".

Okay, so that's pretty good stuff huh! I like that stuff, but I'm not sure I want to get that fancy at this point.

Hose size should be approximately the same ID as marked on the hose. The stated size is "nominal" size. There's a small "stretch" factor to be considered, but it should be close. I just measured a piece of 5/8" heater hose that actually measured .600", and a piece of 1/4" vacuum hose that came in dead on .250". Buy some 5/16" fuel line, as the 3/8 will probably leak, even though it measures 5/16".

I see, thanks. I've been curious about this before.

You ask about the fuel line from the pump to the carb. OEM specs call for a 5/16" steel line. If you don't want to go that route, this is a good application for the stainless steel braided hose. You can fasten it down similar to what you did with the fuel line coming to the pump to prevent chafing, whereas rubber would probably flex enough to wear. This line is under pressure, and a rupture would cause gas to spray all over the engine. You can buy that hose to meet the SAE spec fitzwell mentioned.

For this, I'm considering bending up a 5/16" piece of stainless tubing to suit. Do you agree with what I've read from others, that the ends of that tubing should be rubber (to isolate vibration from the tubing segment)?

The only hose (other than radiator hoses) that you didn't mention is the PCV hose. That's actually a formed hose, and from the factory had two different sized ends. One is 3/8" and the other is close to 1/2" where it attaches to the carb spacer. If you're connecting directly to the carb, the fitting should be 3/8", so you can actually use the same hose as you use on your brake booster. It, though, will work fine with 3/8" fuel line.

Thanks! I'll check out my PCV hose with this in mind! I think my engine builder clamped some rubber hose on to a plastic fitting for this. I'll check it out!

Napa part # H1450 11/32 booster line

Fitzwell, thank you very much for this! That's just what I need. I suppose folks don't replace this hose too often, since none of the NAPA guys I talked to seemed to know about it.

Thanks again 70_F100 and Fitzwell!
Robroy

[70_F100]

The 5/16 stainless tubing should look great on your engine. Personally, I would not use rubber at the ends. If I were going to go that route, however, I would securely fasten the tube to the engine at both ends. I'd also make sure to have some sort of barb on the end of the steel line. I've done that before by using a double-flaring tool and just starting the first step in the flaring process. By using the insert to START the double flare, this causes the tubing to "bulge" right at the end.

As for the silicone heater hose, I've always used Gates. Here's a link: http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?broch ... on_id=1175
If your NAPA store can't get it, look for a heavy-duty truck parts store or repair shop. Here's the link to the Gates dealer directory, just in case you can't find it locally: http://www.gates.com/buy.cfm?location_id=3362 The stuff is definitely available, and you can see by the description on the Gates website that it is designed to last virtually forever.

If you can't find 11/32" hose for the booster, get the heavy 3/8" stuff I mentioned. The extra 1/32" is NOT going to make a difference in this case. I think the stuff I used on mine is actually a pressure-rated hose, which will work equally as well as vacuum hose.

[robroy]

Hey 70_F100, thanks very much for your superb reply!

The 5/16 stainless tubing should look great on your engine. Personally, I would not use rubber at the ends. If I were going to go that route, however, I would securely fasten the tube to the engine at both ends. I'd also make sure to have some sort of barb on the end of the steel line. I've done that before by using a double-flaring tool and just starting the first step in the flaring process. By using the insert to START the double flare, this causes the tubing to "bulge" right at the end.

Got it, thanks! If I do go the route of using small segments of rubber hose at both ends to isolate it from vibration, I'll be sure to press a hump in to the tubing somehow, as you've advised.

As for the silicone heater hose, I've always used Gates. Here's a link: http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?broch ... on_id=1175
If your NAPA store can't get it, look for a heavy-duty truck parts store or repair shop. Here's the link to the Gates dealer directory, just in case you can't find it locally: http://www.gates.com/buy.cfm?location_id=3362 The stuff is definitely available, and you can see by the description on the Gates website that it is designed to last virtually forever.

Fantastic, thank you very much! When I'm ready to install the heater hoses, I'll check some of this stuff out. It'll be worth it, even if only for the fun of using an ultra premium product.

If you can't find 11/32" hose for the booster, get the heavy 3/8" stuff I mentioned. The extra 1/32" is NOT going to make a difference in this case. I think the stuff I used on mine is actually a pressure-rated hose, which will work equally as well as vacuum hose.

You know, thanks to Fitzwell for posting the NAPA part number, I managed to get some good stuff!



Thanks again for the fantastic help! I'll keep this thread updated with info on where I wind up getting the hoses and installation photos.

Robroy