SE Lower radiator hose replacement

wasp47 · Postby **wasp47** » Mon May 21, 2018 12:31 pm

Hi,
Can anyone help this old fart out. I need to replace the lower hose on my SE, the engine end is up behind the air con pump. Is there a trick to it as no way can I get my hand in there.
Cheers
Steve :roll:

Nevyn72 · Postby **Nevyn72** » Mon May 21, 2018 1:12 pm

After wasting nearly 5 hours doing this job myself I'll give you the suggestion I was supplied with WAY to late.....

Unbolt the Air-conditioning compressor from it's mount and let it hang from it's hoses + some wire.

Note: the engine end fitting on the SE is angled slightly differently to other NB engines.
I read that this required a different lower hose but the generic Silicone hose I used worked fine without trimming.

wasp47 · Postby **wasp47** » Mon May 21, 2018 2:15 pm

Thank you

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon May 21, 2018 2:53 pm

Nevyn72 wrote:After wasting nearly 5 hours doing this job myself I'll give you the suggestion I was supplied with WAY to late.....

Unbolt the Air-conditioning compressor from it's mount and let it hang from it's hoses + some wire.
:

I'm betting that even IF you knew this first, you'd have spent at least an hour TRYING to get the hose off first without unbolting anything - it's the sort of thing that looks possible to do but turns out to be a major pain in the arse and takes you MUCH longer to do without removing surrounding components (been there, done that too).

This should have been a cynch for you thoug Nevyn72h, didn't you manage to install your aftermarket intercooler without WITHOUT removing the front bumper?

If you can do that, you can do anything!
(might take 4 times as long though)

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Mon May 21, 2018 3:01 pm

There is a replacement mixer available which rotates the inlet 180*, not sure it is plug'n'play though. It does create much more space down there though.

I'll be in there shortly working on my oil cooler installation, I might see if I can find one as the radiator has to come out. I have some ideas for that area ...

:mrgreen:

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Mon May 21, 2018 4:43 pm

The MSM/SE mixing manifold is different to the regular NB's, the rear-facing outlet bends differently.

When I get around to installing the TSE manifold, I plan on cutting that section, rotating the barb further clockwise and getting it re-welded so that the hose can run diagonally down behind the A/C compressor and straight to the lower radiator barb.

Not sure why this wasn't the original routing since it's much more direct than the current routing (I suspect that the convoluted OEM routing was to work around the driveshaft on LHD cars and they simply used the same hoses and barb for RHD cars).