Thor Forums

[jabrabu]

This is the lower radiator hose for the Ford E450 with the V10 gas engine. There is a plastic clip that holds it under the radiator. The clip is poorly designed with a thin spot that allows it to bend, but is a failure point. Mine broke and allowed the radiator hose to rub on the steering, and nearly wore a hole through the hose. So I replaced it.


The hose looks like an octopus because it also has 2 hoses that go to the oil filter housing and a hose to the coolant reservoir.


There isn't a local Ford dealer that can do this job on a 32 ft. RV, and I'm getting ready to go on a 4-week trip around the country, so I replaced it myself. The job sucked. The connection to the water pump is nearly impossible to reach from above or below or from inside the cab. I could get one hand on it from the top, but removing a hose clamp with just one hand holding a pair of pliers is really hard. The other difficult part was a clamp that holds the oil cooler hoses to the frame. I was able to reach the attachment screw from below to remove it, but could not get it lined up and the screw started to reinstall it. I was finally able to get it started from inside the cab (after removing the doghouse).


So, I don't recommend this as a DIY job. If this is needed again, I will drive to the dealer 2 hours away who can do this job and wait all day. Or maybe the truck tire shop I use could do it.