Trying to find lower radiator hose with spring. Seems like everyone has a stock one just not one with the spring! Anybody have a guy? I have a 70 Cutlass S with a 455. Thanks

 

Inlinetube.com sells the spring. You can put it in any hose you buy.

 

Springs are plentiful in junkyards.

 

Just bought one a couple of weeks ago. You will have to enlarge the coils as their spring is too narrow and will eventually make its way up into the water pump or radiator. All I did was "unwind" the coils and it made the spring fit snug.

 

Well I wish I was near you then. I have been looking around junkyards for parts for my '72 and haven't found anything near that old. The closest was a '75 Chevy sedan all beat to hell. Most yards I visited didn't invest in anything older that 20 years old. One guy I called asking for old GM parts (being really general in my request) replied that he had some "really old" 90's Chevy pickups.

 

You can find springs on Ebay and you can also make your own. The newer hoses seem to be stronger which in my opinion do not warrant the use of a spring, I can't remember the last time I've had a lower hose collapse.

 

I made one for my Chevy approx 10 years ago and just pulled the hoses for R&R, I will get a picture of it. Wound solid wire around a broom handle, iirc.

 

Happened to me on a two year old hose from Fusick.

 

A collapsed radiator hose can be caused by a faulty vacuum release device in the radiator cap--test the cap.

 

Dunno how a hose collapses when the system is pressurized to 15 psi.

 

That doesn't surprise me.

 

Indeed, a lower hose collapse most likely results from a weak hose, or some sort of obstruction in the system, for example a partially stopped up radiator, rather than something similar to negative pressure as I stated in post #9. In this case, the water pump would pump more water than that available in the lower part of the radiator causing collapse; some argue the spring is unnecessary in the lower hose in a properly functioning system.