Aron Nance

Gawd, will it ever stop? Anyone out there have the spring that goes inside the lower radiator hose on a '68 Cutlass 350? Keeps the hose from collapsing under high RPM's, as I understand it.
Aron

Nilsson

Look on EBay, under

1964-77 GM Lower Radiator Spring 1pc OEM NOS

gearhead1218

Hey Nilson, great minds think alike.
From a fellow Olds & Cougar owner.

Aron Nance

Appreciate the assistance, ordered and paid for via PayPal!
Aron

gearhead1218

I solved my problem of lacking the spring.
Picked up a length of 1 1/2 Stainless tube, fully deburred it, inserted it into the lower hose, and secured it in the middle with a hose clamp.
Cost for the tube, $10.

Funkwagon455

Gee, Thanks for the post Aron. I installed a new lower hose on the '40 coupe last year but did not install one of these prior. I have not had any issues, but realize that I should have done it on installation. I have also ordered one for added peace of mind.

Greg Rogers

I thought those springs came with the hoses when bought at NAPA or the like. Not so?

pogo69

Its like ice cream you used to be able to buy a 1/2 gallon, now its more like 1.4 qts and dont forget about the potato chips a huge bag has only 5 oz's or so...everything costs more for less

gearhead1218

None of the replacement hoses come with a spring in them. Just the universal hoses. I checked with all my local parts stores and a GM dealer. No luck.
That's when I went with the S/S pipe in the hose.

Funkwagon455

To be honest, I would assume the same. However for my application a fella has to be a bit creative. I was prepared to source one from salvage but it is easier to have one sent to my doorstep. The older our cars get, the more creative you have to be to keep them running right.

jag1886

I called the hose manufacturer when mine didn't come with a spring and they told me that the new hoses are made of much more superior rubber than old hoses an the spring is no longer needed. So I put it on without and have had no problems at all.

Greg Rogers

Amen to that, brother. Actually I replaced the hoses on my Vista and I don't remember if there was a spring in it. Probably not. Maybe they are stiffer now.

507OLDS

You need the spring,old hose or new. If you ever run an engine on a dyno,you can see the hose collapse.You can't see that when driving the car down the road.

Rob delta

Anytime I've changed lower radiator hoses I always ended up using the old spring again. Luckily they were in good enough shape to be used again. They may claim the spring is no longer needed but if I can easily squeeze the hose closed with my fingers, why wouldn't the suction from the pump be able to collapse the hose too? So I say if it originally had a spring then keep it that way.