Smurferific

Being injured kinda sucks (fractured rib), but it does allow time for the smaller things to come together like expenses. I guess, it’s not a surprise I’m ahead; just shocking how far ahead 

Anyway, on to the updates. The standard heater hose 5/8″ coming off the turbo started to look gooey and I’m willing to bet this is not a good thing.  In comes the replacement blue stuff…

Why Silicone?
Silicone hose is made from a synthetic polymer rubber. Anybody who has ever stretched, bounced, or lifted comics with Silly Putty has firsthand experience with the stuff. Compared to standard (organic) rubber, silicone rubber is more stable under extreme temperature conditions, is very resistant to damage from ozone and ultraviolet rays, and can be formulated to resist degradation from gasoline, oil, and other chemicals.

Silicone rubber also has good flame-retardant qualities (it’s used to make spark plug wire covering and heat sleeving, for example) and does not absorb water as readily as organic rubber. In short, silicone hose will last much longer and perform better than the regular rubber stuff.

Silicone hose is made from a composite of silicone rubber and reinforcing fabric. Polyester is the most common fabric reinforcement used; for very high temperature applications, such as turbo plumbing, an Aramid or Nomex fabric is used. The hose is built up in plies, or layers, around a form. The number of plies varies by the hose’s intended use. Once the hose has been built up, it gets a high temperature vulcanizing treatment to bond the separate plies together.

Coolant lines will be replaced after. I’m on the fence if I should spend the money on SAMCO pre bent coolant hoses. It looks to be much cheaper (3X less) for me to place a 45 or 90 degree coupler and then use 34 mm silicone hose.