Kubota brand radiator hose or aftermarket

[rScotty]

funny this came up, i've had a weeping rad hose all winter on my 7060. finally decided to order a new one. Saw this thread and looked for aftermarket but had no luck. I'm in the boonies so a trip to napa is not a quick trip (nor possible with the shopping restrictions). The Kubota hoses were a day or 3 away from the dealer, and around $30 each. i can't imagine they'd have been any cheaper anywhere else. the $4 hose clamp now is another story, but it'll all show up in one box and i won't have to start my truck.
slightly irritated that a 3 year old hose with 400 hours is needing to be replaced.... i can't tell if it was just leaking a bit around the clamp (tight as could be) or what.... tractor is in unheated shop all winter with -30 as normal temps so maybe just the cold had stuff shrunk up a bit...... only have lost maybe a 1/2 cup in 50 hours of running, just enough to smell, not enough to drip

It sounds like it may be the same thing that I'm seeing on OEM hoses. Especially if what you are seeing is a very slight leak that appears to be coming from where the hose fits over the flange and is tightened by the hose clamp......but for some reason no amount of tightening the hose clamp or even putting on a double hose clamp seems to affect the slight leak. You have a wet hose end, but from the outside, the surface of the hose looks good. Can't see any cracking at all.

What happens is that the hose has begun to form little cracks on the inside surface of the hose right at the end and those inside cracks run under the area that is tightened down by the the hose clamp. The outside of the hose looks fine and no cracks show there. Because the cracks start at the inside surface at the end and run in the same direction as the hose, they are growing perpendicular to the hose clamp as they go under the clamped area and no amount of tightening will seal them off.

This is a problem I never saw in the last 50 years up until about 10 years ago. It used to be that good quality domestic hose didn't do that - the inside surface of the hose stayed soft and rubbery & didn't crack when compressed. But now some of the newer stuff seems to do so. And some doesn't (old stock?). I'm beginning to suspect that this is now normal maintenance - especially when poor quality hose is exposed to hot fluid and then sits in cold weather. I've seen it even on low hour machines.

The good news is that it isn't a catastrophic failure. It doesn't all of a sudden let loose. Or at least I haven't seen that. The fabric in the hose and the outside cover seem to last OK. It is the inside hose surface that changes from soft rubber to harder plastic.... and then it cracks. Bad news is that periodically replacing radiator hose and some hydraulic hose is now a maintenance item because of the dripping.
rScotty

 

[Thunder chicken]

^ thanks rScotty, that is EXACTLY to a T what i'm seeing. Thanks

 

[Alan W.]

Messicks wanted $42 plus shipping for a lower hose on my L3650. I ordered one from ebay for $29 shipped. It was manufactured by AI products.
Works fine. Angles were correct fit was good.

 

[Gem99ultra]

OEM hoses? Maybe...., but I doubt that Kubota makes them. I replaced a lot of hoses when I had a mechanical shop. Never had a problem with any of the
name brand hoses. Locally, a lot of them are made by Gates and/or sold by NAPA.
rScotty

On the other side... I once spent 3 hours trying to replace a busted radiator hose on daughter Chevy Cavalier. On the roadside, in the rain and cold. Parts house hose just needed a 'hair' more diameter to go on, but simply would not. I finally went to the dealer and bought another hose. And, like you said, I'm pretty sure GM doesn't make their own hoses.

The dealer purchased hose slipped right on, no muss no fuss. Sometimes the specs on aftermarket items are just not good enough.

 

[RickB]

The takeaway there is it matters not who manufactures the part. The entity providing the build spec and oversight makes the difference.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Took out my Rad for flushing and cleaning. Was shocked at the price of new hoses so opted out. I have no doubt that prices will only get MUCH higher. Priced the Rad at 850.00 CDN and it's already gone up thirty or so bucks in a couple of months.

 

[Hiptfarms]

I checked with the Napa guy who said he couldn't help me on this. I wound up ordering the upper and lower hoses from Complete Tractor out of TN. Cost 48.48 including free shipping. The upper at Messicks would have been 65.96 and the lower 44.29. I bought the return hose and clamps from Coleman's. Now I have to learn to flush the radiator. Wish me luck!

 

[Chewwy]

I checked with the Napa guy who said he couldn't help me on this. I wound up ordering the upper and lower hoses from Complete Tractor out of TN. Cost 48.48 including free shipping. The upper at Messicks would have been 65.96 and the lower 44.29. I bought the return hose and clamps from Coleman's. Now I have to learn to flush the radiator. Wish me luck!

Good luck!

Seriously though, flushing the cooling system is not that difficult. Google it and you’ll find lots of help, mostly by companies pushing their products. Unless you see significant rust or scale, I would go with a simple water flush and then drain and refill with coolant mixture.

 

[Hiptfarms]

Thanks Chewwy. Sounds like a plan.