Heater Hose Install

[DanDalessandro]

Hey guys, so I just finished installing the heater hoses on my 97 Z28. I believe the hoses are the same from 95-97. Anyways, the part number is 10261147. I got mine from GMpartsdirect.com for $125, so it was a fair price. I am not liable for any damages caused by following this guide.

Now, there are multiple ways to do this. I choose to do it a hard and then easy way.
You are going to want the car elevated, whether that be jack stands or just a jack and some support. Please what ever you decide to use, be safe and smart. I used mini ramps and put a safety jack underneath just in case
Step 1: Drain coolant.

Drain the radiator so you don't make a big mess. You don't have to drain it, but I did since I was replacing my radiator hoses as well.

Step 2: Start unbolting things.

I have larger than average hands. So I removed the alternator, battery and the A/C canister drier. I believe it is almost required to remove all of these in order to get the hoses in correctly. The drier has a torx head screw. Don't mistake it for an Allen bolt like I did! The power steering reservoir has to come off in order to slide the old hoses out. DO NOT DETACH THE HOSES ON THE POWER STEERING PUMP OR YOU WILL HAVE A GIANT MESS. I took off all the emission crap from the manifolds too for more wiggle room.

Step 3: Unbolt the heater hose assembly

There is one bolt that holds in heater hose assembly, and also a clip. It is a Torx bolt. I just a Torx 40 Bit that fit it snug and used a 1/4inch wrench to get it out. You will need a pipe for this as it has been in there for a long time. I ended up just destroying the mounting plate, and removing the screw later. I removed the pipe assembly by cutting the metal pipes where it bends to go towards the heater core. I just used bolt cutters and tree branch cutters.

Step 4: Clean up the engine bay a little!

Now would be a good time to clean around the nooks and crannies while all these parts are out. I just used a moist paper towel and some dry ones to scrub it. I'm not a big clean freak, but I wanted it to look better than it did.

So now the heater pipes are out of the way. Now lets put the new one in. I had A LOT of trouble trying to get mine in. I have headers, and one of the primaries sticks out a bit far so there was not enough clearance for just an easy slide in. So I had two choices at this point when I was doing mine. Either I can pull the manifold off, or find something else. The new hoses came riveted in two places like the original one. One was at the mounting plate, and the other was further towards the back of the car. Well, I decided to drill the rivets out, and put one in at a time. After drilling the rivets out, I put a regular BOLT in the original place with the new mounting plate. I used a 8mm x 1.25 bolt, which was the correct size. Then I put the pipes in and plastic tied the bracket together.

Now, you could have done it the easy way and just pulled the motor like my grandfather and I joked about endlessly. The biggest thing I can recommend is TAKE YOUR TIME. This isn't a job you want to rush and end up bending the pipes.
All in all, I know this isn't the GREATEST guide, but I figured it gives you some background on it. It was a fun job, just a pain. I can throw up some pictures tomorrow of my new install on it if I can. I had the car back together in about 15 minutes after I took a break when the hoses were all in.

[DynoDave]

Good work Dan.

You younger guys working on your cars sure have a different learning curve than I did with my first car...a 1970 Plymouth Duster. If you needed new heater hoses, you went to the parts store and bought the bulk rolled hose by the foot...dirt cheap...some new clamps, and it was right there on top of the engine with wide-open access.

I'm glad you dug in and got it done for yourself.

[DanDalessandro]

Thanks Dave, although it was a pain, it was a learning experience. It was my grandfather's idea to separate the two pipes. I would have pulled off the manifold if it wasn't for my gramps!