Rear Of Intake Manifold Heater Hose?

[Rock-N-Blues]

I've searched and perused 20+ pages of threads and the best I found was this pic (posted by another member) of the same issue I have on my 91 short body Astro Cargo van:

before.jpg (107.07 KiB) Viewed 2092 times

My questions & observations surround finding and/or designing a suitable solution for this issue.
A) First, due to the "crust" it was not evident how this connection operates and given that there is no active/evident leak, I did not yet clean off the crust to get a better look, for fear of causing a new leak!
B) That metal "pipe", with a heater hose crimped onto it does not appear to be available. At least I can't find one. The pipe looks crusty enough for it to not seem sensible to try and re-use it.
C) Concerning the fitting that the pipe is attached to, is that simply a fitting that is screwed into the intake manifold with standard pipe threads? Or is it one of these doo-dads?

http://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating ... 1_200011_0

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D) If it is currently one of those "doo-dads" is there any problem created by simply replacing it with a standard type fitting and connecting standard heater hose directly to it?
E) Any and all info and/or work arounds for this would be seriously appreciated!

Thanks To All,
Gene

[Rock-N-Blues]

Also, when I goggled this, I found some less than pleasant stories about that fitting breaking off upon removal attempts. Are there any good tips/tricks to getting that fitting out? Maybe the "heat wrench" trick with an oxy/acetylene torch, carefully, of course? Maybe PB Blaster? Or maybe.......?
Thanks In Advance,
Gene

[CopperFiremist]

They make a reamer tool to get it out if it brakes or corrodes into nothing. I would ditch that quick disconnect fitting and just screw in barb fitting ( available at LAPS ) 3/4 or 5/8 whatever that hose size is.

[Rock-N-Blues]

Well Sir,
That was kinda my plan, but was just confirming that it wasn't some "important" special gizmo, as most suppliers call it a Water Shutoff Valve Fitting! I sorta figured it was just a glorified nipple for the intention of utilizing the quick disconnect abortion and some descriptions allude to it having a check valve in it, but I've never seen that to be necessary in the hundreds of vehicles I've owned/worked on! Thanks for confirming my suspicions that it wasn't rocket surgery or brain science!
Thank You Sir,
Gene

[Mmusicman]

They make a reamer tool to get it out if it brakes or corrodes into nothing. I would ditch that quick disconnect fitting and just screw in barb fitting ( available at LAPS ) 3/4 or 5/8 whatever that hose size is.

^^ Exactly!

In fact, you can replace that entire metal hose all the way to the valve.
A nice rubber hose is your friend.

PS: That photo looks "familiar"....

[Rock-N-Blues]

I will likely keep & use the pipes under/around the HVAC box, as that looks like a handy way to do it. And use the short molded hoses up top to the valve. Anyone know the sizes? Looks to all be 3/4?
Thanks,
Gene

[markmitch]

I just removed mine installed a hose barb the size of the heater hoses and replaced the top with hose. Get some PB blaster spray it 1 times daily for 3 days in a row then it should come out.

[AstroWill]

Just be prepared for it to break when you go to remove it, cheapest pot metal known to man. Even using a t-handle they will break. Have a set of plumbing easy outs or something similar on hand.

I have done it both ways, replacing the same part and going to a barbed fitting. While the replacements are of slightly better quality, replace it with a barb and never have to touch it again.

[Rock-N-Blues]

All great tips and suggestions folks! Thank you! It's good to know what to be prepared for. In keeping with that spirit, do any of you know for sure what size/thread that threaded hole in the manifold is? Given that most replacement fittings show either plumbing tape or dope on the threads, one would think it's pipe thread, but it kinda doesn't look like standard, tapered pipe thread. Also, when viewing the specs for the replacement fitting (which I'm not gonna use) they list one end as 5/8" and the other as 3/4" but don't specify which end is which! FWIW, I've never seen/encountered/heard of 5/8" pipe thread, though I wouldn't be surprised if GM designed some oddball thread just for this silly use! I suppose I could purchase one of the correct, original style fittings and use it for sizing, before returning it for a refund.
Thanks Again,
Gene

[AstroWill]

It's standard tapered pipe thread. I honestly thought that the threaded part was 0.5inch then going to a 5/8 hose, but I could be mistaken as it's been a while.

[Rock-N-Blues]

It's standard tapered pipe thread. I honestly thought that the threaded part was 0.5inch then going to a 5/8 hose, but I could be mistaken as it's been a while.

Well that's about as cool as cool can be! Now if I can just be lucky/skilled enough to get it out with a minimum of torture, all is good! And just a quick FWIW, I'm one of those guys who researches stuff to death and usually takes much longer to do a job than it should, but I very rarely have to do a job twice! Being aware of and prepared for any and all possible pitfalls often helps avoid encountering them!
Thanx Again!
Gene