Good Morning folks,

So, I have a leak in the heater hose assembly and I decided I would replace the upper and lower radiator hoses while I was at it. I drive a 2002 3.0L V6 Ford Ranger.

The upper radiator hose looks easy, and the lower looks fairly easy EXCEPT the smaller branching line that goes up behind the pulleys ( see pictures below)

How on earth do you access that band clamp? It looks as if you need a flexible hose clamp plier just to get at it and even then you probably have to remove the serpentine belt.

What advice do yall have accessing this band clamp ? And are there any tips for installing the replacement? It looks like a real PITA.

Thanks,



The clamp when viewed above the truck.

The clamp when viewed from under the truck.

 

Can the cable actuated hose clamp tool (a $40 item) not reach it?

 

Hey George, thanks for the response.

Based on the orientation of the clamp, I don't know if there's enough clearance on either side? Although I may need to double check to see if there's anything blocking it in from the engine side.

Currently I have two ideas:

1. Remove the serpentine belt and use long nose pliers (either straight or 45 degree) to get at it from under the truck.

2. Get flexible hose clamp pliers, remove the air intake manifold hose, and then either see if that clamp can get to it, or remove the idler pulley so it will have unobstructed access.

I am going to try and do a "dry run" of the first option and report back.

If the first option shows I can get my long nose pliers to access it... I'll probably go forward with the repair today. If it doesn't, then I may just stick to draining the system, replacing the leaking heater hose, putting in flush solution with distilled water and driving around for the week while I wait for flexible hose clamp pliers to come in the mail, so I can replace the other hoses without worrying. 😅

I swear the anxiety levels surrounding working on a vehicle are 50x greater when it is your only vehicle and you are working out of an apartment parking lot.

 

Update 1:

I think option 1 will work.

I took off the serpentine belt to allow for my straight long nose pliers (11in) to reach up towards the clamp. I was able to reach the clamp with these pliers and was able to put each "ear" of the band clamp between them. I also tried to see if my actual hose clamp pliers would fit and I don't think they do because they are a little too wide at the mouth and handles to use effectively in that space. You might be able to get the them to work if you have some smaller ones I guess though it may not be worth it. I'm using a pair of Lisle brand ones that have a 45 degree offset.

The coolant is still a little too warm for me to do anything safely IMO, so I am going to wait another hour to check again.

At the very least I want to try to get the system drained, the leaking hose replaced and then fillthe system with flush solution and distilled water so I can drive around during the week and let it do its thing and then I can finish the job next weekend.

I might just try to make a guide out of all of this. Lol

 

Update 2:

Okay, after sweating my *** off in this summer heat I managed to replace the upper radiator hose, heater hose assembly, radiator cap (easy I know), and drained and filled the radiator with flush solution and distilled water. The heater hose assembly is really weaved in there and can be a pain in the ***, BUT it is relatively simple to get to provided you have the tools handy and are willing to do some disassembly to get to what you need to.

Sadly the pair of hose clamp pliers I bought weren't as helpful as I thought they would be. They're just too big to really help with these small clamps and tight spaces. They did well with the large clamps, but I ended up using my various long nose pliers and regular pliers more often than not. Try to do this job in the morning or in a garage where you will be comfortable, because I can tell you the heat is ridiculous right now.

I'm going to run the solution for a week and then drain it next weekend, swap the thermostat and lower radiator hose, flush with distilled water, and then drain and fill with coolant.