Ford 5.0 HO coolant hose restrictor?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Aaron - 28 Aug 2004 04:25 GMT

Sorry for the cross-posting, but I wasn't sure where this would go... It's
not in a Mustang, but I'm told tons of the parts are the same. Anyways:

Car: 1992 Lincoln Mark VII LSC SE, 5.0 HO V-8, 135,000 miles

Said car has been leaking coolant fluid, and I can't quite figure out
exactly where, so I pulled all the hoses (most were still factory original!)
and am in the process of replacing them. One thing that I've come upon has
me stumped, though. There's a formed hose towards the back of the engine, on
top, that has a metal insert inside it. The hose is 3/4" diameter, but this
insert restricts the flow down to about 1/4". So, my questions are:

1) Does anyone know what this is?

and

2) Does it need to be in there?

If needed, I can post pictures of the insert, the hose that it was in, and
the new hose.

Thanks, all!

----------------------------------------------
The way the world perceives me
Is not the way I am
The one half thinks I'm crazy
The other thinks I'm mad

Reply to this Message

Jim Warman - 28 Aug 2004 05:32 GMT

Well..... it doesn't really "need" to be there.... you can remove it but
there is a very real chance that the noise of the coolant flowing through
the heater core may disturb you.

> Sorry for the cross-posting, but I wasn't sure where this would go... It's
> not in a Mustang, but I'm told tons of the parts are the same. Anyways:
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> The one half thinks I'm crazy
> The other thinks I'm mad

Reply to this Message

Christopher Wall - 28 Aug 2004 05:43 GMT

Hello,

Sounds like you are reffering to the coolant flow restrictor going into the
heater core. My knowledge is that this is there to stop the core from
becoming over-pressureized and cracking, or getting pin-hole leaks that will
eventually have you tearing apart the car to replace it.
Coolant pressure rises as the engine spins faster, and this is ford's
correction to what I think was a bad design (3/4" intake, into a 5/8"
exit?!?). You can remove it, but with that many miles, you may end up like
me--replacing the core soon after removing the restrictor. It doesn't really
inhibit the normal operation of the heater core, so I'd say better safe than
sorry.

Reply to this Message

Big Al - 28 Aug 2004 07:08 GMT

> Hello,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> inhibit the normal operation of the heater core, so I'd say better safe than
> sorry.

Be sure to buy the hose from Ford. The restriction is as explained, to
protect the "very hard to replace" heater core when the engine is wound up.
Most factory Ford hoses are molded with the restrictor in the hose. Ford is
not the only one to do this, early V8 Chevy's had the restrictor in the
fitting where the water came out of the intake. Lots of guys drilled them
out to get more heat. If you didn't "hot rod," the core would hold up. BMW's
have an elaborate pressure regulator to control the pressure.

Al

Reply to this Message

Ironrod - 30 Aug 2004 19:48 GMT

In police applications there is a restrictor that is even smaller, something
to keep in mind if your car sees a lot of high RPM.

> > Hello,
> >
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Al

Reply to this Message

lugnut - 28 Aug 2004 05:49 GMT

>Sorry for the cross-posting, but I wasn't sure where this would go... It's
>not in a Mustang, but I'm told tons of the parts are the same. Anyways:
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>1) Does anyone know what this is?

It restricts the flow of water thru the heater core.

>and
>
>2) Does it need to be in there?

Yes. But, only if you don't mind the groaning noise from the
heater as the engine speed changes. The one I had would
overpower the radio at times without the restrictor. The
efficiency of the heater is not obviously impaired with the
restrictor in place as it should be.

>If needed, I can post pictures of the insert, the hose that it was in, and
>the new hose.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>The one half thinks I'm crazy
>The other thinks I'm mad

Reply to this Message

Backyard Mechanic - 30 Aug 2004 16:23 GMT

> Sorry for the cross-posting, but I wasn't sure where this would go...
> It's not in a Mustang, but I'm told tons of the parts are the same.
> Anyways:
>
> Car: 1992 Lincoln Mark VII LSC SE, 5.0 HO V-8, 135,000 miles

Not the engine.. it's the application.

and it's mistaken to believe that the problem only occurs because of hose,
piping sizes... it's because of the honeycomb core design.

Reply to this Message