Replacing '99 T&C Van 3.8L Coolant Hoses

Since my 1999 Town & Country Van is now approaching 9 years in age and is
otherwise running beautifully (86K miles), I decided today to attempt a full
replacement of all of the rubber coolant hoses while doing my regular
bi-annual flush and fill. To be clear, this vehicle is a 3.8L engine and
came equipped from the factory with the auxiliary rear heater/AC unit.

I managed to replace the upper and lower radiator hoses and the 4 separate
8-9" sections of 5/8" heater hose that run to the rear heater core without
too much trouble. Unfortunately, I am having a lot of trouble getting at
the other hoses and since I do not have the FSM for this vehicle (I know, I
know...), thought I would ask here if anyone is familiar with
removing/replacing the other coolant hoses.

Specifically, I need answers to the following 4 questions:

1. How do I access the small section of what appears to be standard heater
hose and serving as a bypass from the front of the water pump? I can't
figure out how to get in there to release the spring hose clamp at the
bottom since it is so buried and there is no room to use pliers or channel
locks. Is there a special tool or must something (what exactly, the oil
filter and oil sender appear to be clearly in the way if accessing from
below) be removed first?

2. There is another small molded bypass hose that comes out of the back of
the water pump housing assembly and runs left over the oil filter to another
inlet tube. I was able to get this hose off easily enough once the oil
filter was removed, but neither NAPA's or CarQuest's parts computers show
any replacement molded hose part number. (I brought it in and it did not
match up to any of the 3 molded hose part numbers they listed for this
application.) Does anyone know a Gates or other part number for this
molded hose or is it orderable from the Chrysler dealer only?

3. There is another very small (90 degree bend and about 7" total length)
molded bypass hose to the left side of the oil filter down near the middle
of the engine. How does one get access to the spring hose clamp up near the
exhaust manifold since there does not appear to be enough room to get at it?

4. There are two other molded rubber heater core hoses at the driver side
firewall. These are located behind the intake manifold near the brake
master cylinder and the EGR. There is also another slightly longer section
of 5/8" heater hose that also seems to terminate to a tube near the same
place that the other two molded hoses from the firewall run to. I've
removed the air filter box and the intake to the throttle body, but still
can't seem to get enough access. Does something else need to come off to
get access to these spring hose clamps or is there a special tool of some
sort that can be used?

Maybe I'm just getting too old to do this, but I've never encountered this
level of difficulty in any other vehicle that I've replaced the coolant
hoses on before. (I've done many over the years, including an earlier
vintage Chrysler minivan and have always had a few challenges to contend
with, but nothing like what I am seeing here on this vintage of van.)

At this point, I'd really appreciate some advice before attempting replacing
the above hoses one more time. If this fails, then I'll need to admit
defeat and take it to the dealer to finish the job. Are there any special
hose clamp tools that can reach into these difficult locations?

Thanks in advance for all recommendations/advice.

Bob

 

Re-posting since I've seen no replies. I'm hoping that someone has replaced
the heater hoses on a '99 3.8L T&C and can provide some ideas. Thanks.

Since my 1999 Town & Country Van is now approaching 9 years in age and is
otherwise running beautifully (86K miles), I decided today to attempt a full
replacement of all of the rubber coolant hoses while doing my regular
bi-annual flush and fill. To be clear, this vehicle is a 3.8L engine and
came equipped from the factory with the auxiliary rear heater/AC unit.

I managed to replace the upper and lower radiator hoses and the 4 separate
8-9" sections of 5/8" heater hose that run to the rear heater core without
too much trouble. Unfortunately, I am having a lot of trouble getting at
the other hoses and since I do not have the FSM for this vehicle (I know, I
know...), thought I would ask here if anyone is familiar with
removing/replacing the other coolant hoses.

Specifically, I need answers to the following 4 questions:

1. How do I access the small section of what appears to be standard heater
hose and serving as a bypass from the front of the water pump? I can't
figure out how to get in there to release the spring hose clamp at the
bottom since it is so buried and there is no room to use pliers or channel
locks. Is there a special tool or must something (what exactly, the oil
filter and oil sender appear to be clearly in the way if accessing from
below) be removed first?

2. There is another small molded bypass hose that comes out of the back of
the water pump housing assembly and runs left over the oil filter to another
inlet tube. I was able to get this hose off easily enough once the oil
filter was removed, but neither NAPA's or CarQuest's parts computers show
any replacement molded hose part number. (I brought it in and it did not
match up to any of the 3 molded hose part numbers they listed for this
application.) Does anyone know a Gates or other part number for this
molded hose or is it orderable from the Chrysler dealer only?

3. There is another very small (90 degree bend and about 7" total length)
molded bypass hose to the left side of the oil filter down near the middle
of the engine. How does one get access to the spring hose clamp up near the
exhaust manifold since there does not appear to be enough room to get at it?

4. There are two other molded rubber heater core hoses at the driver side
firewall. These are located behind the intake manifold near the brake
master cylinder and the EGR. There is also another slightly longer section
of 5/8" heater hose that also seems to terminate to a tube near the same
place that the other two molded hoses from the firewall run to. I've
removed the air filter box and the intake to the throttle body, but still
can't seem to get enough access. Does something else need to come off to
get access to these spring hose clamps or is there a special tool of some
sort that can be used?

Maybe I'm just getting too old to do this, but I've never encountered this
level of difficulty in any other vehicle that I've replaced the coolant
hoses on before. (I've done many over the years, including an earlier
vintage Chrysler minivan and have always had a few challenges to contend
with, but nothing like what I am seeing here on this vintage of van.)

At this point, I'd really appreciate some advice before attempting replacing
the above hoses one more time. If this fails, then I'll need to admit
defeat and take it to the dealer to finish the job. Are there any special
hose clamp tools that can reach into these difficult locations?

Thanks in advance for all recommendations/advice.

Bob

 

I am answering my own questions for the benefit of anyone else replacing
coolant hoses on a 3.8L T&C minivan equipped with the rear auxiliary heater.
(Mine is a 1999, but I assume other years are the same).

Answers:

1 & 3. I found a very nice ratcheting spring hose clamp removal tool (Ampro
#T70630) that utilizes a flexible cable and is able to reach into fairly
tight areas that would otherwise defy access. The one I purchased at
AutoZone for $53 appears to be pretty well made and came with a lifetime
warranty.

2. The hose that runs from the water pump to the oil cooler in the front of
the engine is Mopar #4677371 and listed out at $28. It was a special order
item at my local dealer so will take two days to obtain.

4. Chrysler's solution to this problem is to sell an entire assembly that
consists of the pre-bent and painted tubes that connect from the engine
compartment to the rear auxiliary lines located under the passenger
compartment. These also have the two pre-molded heater core hoses, the 5/8"
flexible hose that connects to the tube from the engine, and all the spring
hose clamps. The only problem here is the list price is $150!

I may try to remove the existing assembly, remove the rubber hoses, re-use
the old tubes and replace the hoses with the ones I purchased from NAPA
which appear to be a good match. If not, then I will go ahead and use the
complete assembly.

I hope that this information is useful to others. As I noted earlier, I've
done a lot of hose replacements, but never encountered the level of
difficulty and problems that I have on this van. I'll be happy to be done
with this and know the cooling system is hopefully in good shape till we
sell the vehicle some years down the road.

Bob