Cooling Hoses

In some instances, it will be required to reduce the ID of a hose to make a transition. For these instances, special rubber reducers are available from Gates that slip inside a hose and act like a “bushing,” effectively reducing the ID. The table included at the bottom of this article shows what ID reducer options are available.

Another option is to use a transition hose to step up or down a hose size. This option can work well especially if additional length is needed to make connections. Popular Gates transition hoses are also listed in this article.

We've also included an image showing one possible way to construct a lower coolant hose when a 5.9L engine was installed in a White 2-135. In this example, a factory White 100 series lower coolant hose was used in conjunction with a transition hose and a stainless steel tube. Since the 5.9L engine is much shorter than the original Hercules engine, it was necessary to extend the lower coolant hose to reach the radiator. In addition, it was also required that the coolant hose ID be increased to fit onto the original radiator. It should be noted that when a stainless tube is used, hose beads must be rolled onto both ends of the tube to keep the hoses from working off the tube.