Hot Rods Can a top radiator hose be Too Long ?

May be a odd question My radiator sits high on the frame and the engine is mounted low in the frame. As a result there is quite a distance between the top radiator hose connection and the thermostat housing.Will take a LONG top Radiator hose.... Might this be a issue for circulation and cooling ? Gene

 

Don't worry about the distance. As long as the radiator cap is the highest point in the cooling system, you are good to go. Yes, if your radiator is in the trunk and the engine is in front, there may be pumping issues, but for your situation, don't worry about it.

What are you building??

-Abone.

 

Another consideration may be not to kink the hose in some way when you route it.

 

Like this? Not a problem!
KK

 

You should have seen some of the full size GM cars of the 70s with V6 engines. They had a top rad hose about 3 feet long that looked like a snake that swallowed a lit cigar. No cooling problems I ever heard of.

 

............So true! Even V-8 versions. Look at '70-'72 Monte Carlos.

 

IF a top hose is longer than it needs to be then it's too long.

 

Here are a couple of examples, Pontiac and Buick

 

The fact that the rad is higher than the engine will help circulation due to the thermosyphon effect. Hot water rises, cold water sinks. If the height difference was big enough and the coolant passages and rad hoses big enough you wouldn't need a water pump. Ford Model T and others proved this.

 

Have run rear mounted radiators before with over 4 feet of top and bottom hose with no issues.

 

I had a 74 Monte Carlo and went to the local NAPA store to get an upper radiator hose. The counterman looks it up, goes in back and brings one out. I told him it's way too short. He assured me that was what the book says and shows me. I pointed out that he looked up a Chevelle not a Monte Carlo. He told me they are the same. I looked up the Monte Carlo, showed him, he went back and got one. It was well over a foot longer. One of the few times I was looking for a stock part for a definite make and model of a fairly current vehicle and the guy doesn't look it up correctly.