Heater hose

[Mark_A]

Hi All,
 
any suggestions for where to get a lower heater hose from (the short curved one below the ABS unit that goes from the heater pipes protruding from the firewall to the engine)?
 
I assume Mazda can supply one for £silly and I\'ve also looked online and found this http://www.sfsperformance.co.uk/prod_carkits.asp?make=mazda 5 piece "ancilliary" hose set - anyone know if this would include the one I need?
 
Alternatively I guess I could find an "old school" motor factor and root through their hose collection to try and match up something very similar...
 
Thanks
Mark

[Mark_A]

It\'s this one I need... Any recommended sources?
 

[redgti]

I just used some universal coolant hose that was the right size. Needed to cut it a little bigger than original and it didn\'t like the bend. You could always get some samco flexible but i\'d say its about x4 more expensive than regular none branded rubber coolant hose.

[SiH]

Get the mazda part dude - heater hose in that diameter will be a right sh!t to bend to the right shape, and may well kink.

[Mark_A]

Yes I\'m going to get price and availability from Mazda and see how they compare to the cost of the SFS 5 piece silicone ancilliary set - which does appear to include the one I need.
 
The SFS set is £66 off ebay although the sellers feedback suggests it will take a good couple of weeks to arrive..

[Mark_A]

Well I tried Mazda yesterday, the hose is in stock in Europe but they can\'t price it or sell it to me until Mazda UK "add it to the system"!! :2Rolleyes
 
Was advised to call back next week to see if the system has been updated by then...
 
So yesterday afternoon I removed the hose and cut the damaged end off - it had holed under the hose clip - looked like someone had caught it with pliers previously when removing the clip and taken a chunk out of it.
 
Fortunately there is just enough length left in the remaining hose to refit it without it being under tension or kinking, so a quick refil of the cooling system, a couple of goes at bleeding it and all seems
 
Will keep a close eye on both the hose and the water level over the next few days, but it got me to work this morning without expiring in a cloud of steam so that\'s a good start!!

[SiH]

I\'ll give my local parts guy a ring if you want for a price? He\'s dead helpful

[SiH]

Bum, looks liek he was telling the truth.
It\'s £6.92 plus VAT, but listed as \'not active\', meaning it could well be unavailable. The dead helpful guy is just having a ring around to see what the deal is.

[SiH]

Right, Spoke to local guy again, and unfortuantely it\'s not available He\'s made a few enquiries but they may well end up with some of our vendors on here I guess!
Best bet is a breakers or get someone like SFS/Samco to make you one.

On a related note, if you need any parts like this, Danny at Mazda Leamington is a top bloke and goes out of his way to help you, thoroughly recommend him. If you need any parts, give him a bell, and tell him Si with the FD sent you

[Mark_A]

Thanks Si.
 
Checked the coolant level at lunchtime (by removing the main pressure cap) and it had dropped a bit again.
 
The header / overflow tank (with the dipstick) is still on max though so it doesn\'t seem to be pulling extra coolant through from there when needed as I thought it might? Is there anything I should check that might be preventing this from happening?
 
Took about half a pint to top up, no obvious signs of leakage but could still be purging air I guess??

[SiH]

It takes utterly yonks to get all the air out of an FD

I do get a strange thing though, in that no matter how many times I\'ve bled it, it always seems to settle just below the secondary \'hole\' that you can see when you take off the cap on the filler neck. It did this with the original engine, the rebuilt engine, and the second rebuilt engine. Dunno if it\'s normal or not, but there always seems to be a small air gap ther - maybe 3/4 inch or so. I\'ve pressurised the system, checked for leaks a billion times, and all seems fine. Bit baffled tbh. Mine may be a bit different as I\'ve binned the AST.

[Mark_A]

Cheers mate, I\'ll not start panicing just yet then!! :Laugh