Hose ID

[Brett Dikeman]

At 1:09 PM -0400 5/28/02, RICHARD MEZIC wrote:
>As a measure of preventive maintenance, I changed my coolant hoses last
>week.  While under the hood, I saw another hose that I can't ID.  Under
>the hoses running to the radiator and under the turbo after-run pump
>there's a hose that is connected to the block.  Fairly large diameter.
>Not too long.  My seems VERY squishy and almost flat at one point.  It's
>not part of the cooling system.  But it doesn't look like it's part of
>the oiling system or the brakes/steering.

Sounds like your crankcase breather hose; it comes off the block,
attached to what looks like a pipe stuck in a metal sphere of sorts.
Yours has collapsed and should be replaced.  It curves around behind
the engine and comes up to a valve located roughly at the back bend
on the metal intake pipe.  It's not that tough a job to do yourself,
just need a good shop light and preferably a 6mm socket on a driver
handle to get the hose clamps off.

Be sure to transfer the flashback arrestor from the top of the old
hose to the new hose; it's a copper spiral thingy.

If you get stuck trying to find a P/N, let me know and I'll dig it out.

FYI to all listers, this hose is pretty important and it -does- fail
with time, guaranteed; if it collapses and starts blocking airflow,
you'll end up pressurizing the crankcase under boost and start
getting things like oil residue/vapor inside the distributor, which
can cause cross-firing.  It is a good item to check, say, every oil
change.  If you find yours has collapsed, it might be a good idea to
take the distributor cap off and check to make sure everything is
clean in there(just be aware that getting the cap back on is slightly
tricky and may take you a bit.)

Brett
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