silicone hoses

[jboy012000]

Hi All,

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I have a 2008 Berlingo, M59 with the 1.6 HDI engine.

I have removed the blocked EGR valve and with any job you ever do, there is one tool you don't have, so whilst I wait for my torx kit to land, I move my attention to the radiator and coolant hoses.

Rather than fit standard rubber hoses I was looking at fitting a silicone hose kit.

A quick look on Google and I have not had a great deal of luck, can anyone recommend a site where I can get a set.

Thanks very much

John

[Sol]

I've seen silicone hose kits for intake and turbo boost pipes, but never for radiator hoses.. I'd think they would be way too soft to take the pressure reliably without ballooning. Yeah they can take immense heat but aren't tough like rubber.

[notsofast]

I've done a bit of a google search and it looks like it might well be possible for silicone hoses to be used for radiators etc. e.g. see this blog page:
https://www.viperperformance.co.uk/blog/...tor-hoses/

Though when I did some work on the radiator and cooling system of my M49 last year (replaced the rad and disconnected the heater matrix), I contacted a couple of local trade parts stockists, and they both offered composite rubber hoses as standard.  I think rubber's probably cheaper.  You could contact the firm responsible for that blog page, or phone a local parts stockist (like I used) and see what they say - e.g. there's this place in Sheffield (which I see is where you're based):
https://sdlminorfern.com/branches/sheffield/

One problem I had was that the largest diameter rubber heater hose the stockists had was 19mm, which is merely a metric conversion of 3/4", which I suspect is not quite correct for a metric-based French vehicle - I found it an absolute b*gger to get the hose onto the vehicle's male connecting ports.
Another point to note is that, at least on my 2001 M49, it isn't possible to disconnect the heater hoses at the bulkhead without destroying the connection point, for which replacements are no longer made. Don't know if it's the same on your M59 (or even if you're planning on replacing the heater hoses), but I'd advise checking first before attempting removal.

[jboy012000]

Thank you very much for the responses, I will save myself a load of hassle by the looks of things and just get the standard rubber hoses.

Thanks again everyone

John

[paulstuarto]

I run silicon water hoses on my track bike, day glow orange worth an extra 10mph down the straights over black ones .

[jboy012000]

I run silicon water hoses on my track bike, day glow orange worth an extra 10mph down the straights over black ones .

The only thing that made me think about silicone was, I was watching car SOS and they took some old rubber coolant hoses in to a specialist that said sislicone does last longer than rubber because it doesn't go soft over time, but I couldn't find anyone that makes them.

[Sol]

One thing you will come up against is the lack of aftermarket goodies for the Berlingo, as it's seen as a mature driver's car so very little is made for it other than standard items.

Nothing wrong with that of course, I'm sure our demographic is that of the more mature folks mostly.

[notsofast]

Thank you very much for the responses, I will save myself a load of hassle by the looks of things and just get the standard rubber hoses.

Aftermarket rubber hoses aren't necessarily plain sailing (e.g. my previous comment about heater hose diameter), though they're probably simpler from a supply point of view.

[notsofast]

The only thing that made me think about silicone was, I was watching car SOS and they took some old rubber coolant hoses in to a specialist that said sislicone does last longer than rubber because it doesn't go soft over time, but I couldn't find anyone that makes them.

As regards lifespan, my original rubber hoses still look OK after 22 years, and the only reason I got some new hose was to install a new loop to bypass the heater matrix (in fact I've left the old hoses attached to the bulkhead, ready to be re-attached to the coolant system if/when I get the old matrix replaced).

[saskak]

I have ordered a few silicone hoses from here: https://www.autosiliconehoses.com/

Some of these are fluoro-lined, so fuel/oil safe, not that you would expect any oil/fuel in the coolant. I have not had problem with these hoses, one can also find them on amazon/ebay. I think they might make custom ones, but I have not tried the service.