Heater hoses

I have looked for topics on this but not found anything specific to the question.
The background to this is a wish to renew the coolant hoses to resolve what I believe to be a recurring issue whereby the hose relaxes and lets a little coolant out and the expansion tank needs topping up. A nip on the jubilee clip seems to fix this but this can't go on indefinitely.

As mine is a TF135 pre PRT I'd like to convert to the PRT system, and so if changing most it makes sense to consider the heater hoses too.
So can anyone tell me if they have ever managed to renew the heater hoses at the rear of the car without removing the engine?
Similar question at the front without dismantling half the car?

At the rear the hoses seem to disappear through a rubber blanking cover into the tunnel. Where is the hose connection and can it be accessed from under the car?
Any advice please? 
 

Leave well alone on those pipes!
I’ve changed the gears cables with the engine in situ & that is not a job I would do again on a whim.
The blanking plate is a two piece item, rusted together & held in place by what were steel screw before they decided to take on atmospheric oxygen; I managed to remove one in the conventional manner.
I have also fitted a PRT, I didn’t experience problems prior to this but there is a feeling of extra security in the knowledge it’s there.
One job for next time I’m in the pit is to replace my dripping union, I have the pipe but not the inclination at the moment, it’s an age thing.
Over to you Cobbs.
M

These are the only two posts I have read on here that scare me!
I shall close this door and hopefully never have to open it again.
Good luck OP.

1st thing: try replacing that hose clamp, those worm drive type clamps can work loose with over time as they can wear in the threads, I replace then wit T bolt type clamps


They don't have as large an adjustment range as the worm type but they don't fail either and their extra width is kinder to the hoses.

I know about these clamps & have used them in the past, what I don’t know is why I don’t use them now, insisting on the traditional Jubilee hose clamp.
As you say they are superior & I’ll be systematically changing those I can easily get to & the harder ones when I’m in their vicinity.
M

Thank you for the advice. I do understand about the t style clamps. But opening them out to fit over a hose without removing the hose is not good for them as they don’t necessarily recover good shape.
So if going to the trouble to drain the system new hoses would be a good idea.

Can anyone tell me if the pre PRT connecting to the heater pipes are the same as those deployed in the PRT system?
I’m thinking specifically of the bits that join to the heater pipes. Will they fit without modification to hoses associated with the standard PRT hoses?

 

Whenever I alluded to David being the custodian of arcane knowledge on the PRT, he demurrers & make the excuse that the information he put up was from a third party.
I simply can’t recall doing any jiggery pokery around the heater pipes but that’s my memory mist.
I would have another look at David’s information & maybe he’ll put in an appearance to add his weight of knowledge to my dearth of memory.
M

Although only eighteen months or so ago when I replaced those heater hoses on our TF I am sure it is an engine out job. On ours those spring hose clips were well inside the “tunnel”. As Airportable says those screws retaining the cover plates are hell on earth to remove. I am sure that you can only use the spring type of hose clip due to the very limited access. 

When you say spring type do you mean these awful bastard things:
 
These things are evil and should be banned!

 

Airportable wrote:

Whenever I alluded to David being the custodian of arcane knowledge on the PRT, he demurrers & make the excuse that the information he put up was from a third party.
I simply can’t recall doing any jiggery pokery around the heater pipes but that’s my memory mist.
I would have another look at David’s information & maybe he’ll put in an appearance to add his weight of knowledge to my dearth of memory.
M

David Aiketgate replied:-
When my pipework was converted to accommodate the prt, my friendly professional  mechanic did it.
he referred to this photograph:-
 

and I recall him saying that he only needed a 't' piece and one small diameter piece of hose in addition to adapting the existing pipework to fit.
The work was completed from below without the need for engine out!
Don't forget to remove the original thermostat...






 

Hi so why do you want to change to a PRT? I thought about doing the same conversion but was advised not to bother by others on another site, so I stayed with the original system on my 2002 TF but fitted an 88 degree stat with a jiggle valve incorporated. Can't say anything about it as yet because I'm still working on the engine and underbody surface rust. I also noticed on Rimmers site that some of the pipes need for that system are NLA.
But good luck with whatever you decide to do. Glyn.

First up though. Does anyone know of a source for the flow restrictor that fits into the hose associated with the PRT system?
It apparently has a hole through it of 8mm bore.
i know you have to cut the “mechanism” from the existing thermostat (mounted at the engine), but in doing that the hole must be way larger than 8mm.

Now to answer various questions
Yes, those are the spring clips, and without good access difficult to get aligned properly.
Why convert. Well as said I have some doubt about hose condition, the existing hoses no longer have the heat shield, if renewing hoses it makes sense to convert to reduce potential for HGF (if the conversion by the factory was not beneficial why would they have done it).
Hose kits are more readily available for the PRT particularly in silicone.
The downside- leaving the hoses for the heater will forever be a weakness (but I’m not about to drop the engine to gain access).