Samco silicone coolant hoses, possible group buy.

[ab2cv]

spoken to james for us S2 guys, we will need a joiner which amber can supply it is a stepped connector 16m-19m, he is going to add it to the kit as an extra
john

Oops. I missed this bit when ordering mine, so I've just sent James an e-mail. There's a 4 week wait for the hoses at the moment anyway so they wont have been dispatched yet. Is there another thread somewhere else with questions / advice on how to fit the hoses? I'm actually (stupidly) thinking of doing this one myself

Alan

[al]

Is there another thread somewhere else with questions / advice on how to fit the hoses? I'm actually (stupidly) thinking of doing this one myself

Alan

Hey Alan,
I put my hoses in just last weekend, it's actually not all that difficult to do.

My tips would be:
- take off the expansion tank cap and then drain the coolant by taking off the bottom rad pipe (and if your car is on axle stands try not to drink any of it as it splashes all over you - I can tell you it doesn't taste nice
- a few of the pipes get in the way of fitting others (for example the heater pipes are down underneath a lot of other pipes) so you'll probably want to take all the old pipes out before putting the new ones in.
- you can take out the coolant expansion tank and the large pre- and post-turbo air pipes for more room.
- I found quite a few of my old rubber pipes had corroded on to the metal, I double checked I had the replacement pipe and then used a scalpel to slice the old ones off.
- careful when you take hoses out - a few of mine had sensor wires and stuff cable tied to them.
- make sure you put the new clips on in such a way that it's easy to go around a week later to re-tighten them, they loosen off as the pipes shrink apparently.
- the little stubby hose that goes on the end of the radiator by-pass pipe can be a bit of a bugger to get on
- you can use stones/nuts/bolts/rice + water to clean the brown gunk out of the header tank - fill it up with some of the above and shake
- don't forget to flush the cooling system with water before you refill it with new coolant.
- be super careful not to get any coolant on your shiny paintwork
- there's a little plastic bleed screw under the headlight on the same side as the expansion tank which you can use to let air out of the system once you've refilled it, careful when you unscrew it as they're prone to shattering.

That's all I can think of right now (I'm distracted by the pub calling to me, telling me to leave the office... ). I'm sure the others will point out other stuff that I might've missed.

Other than that, good luck and have fun !

Al.

[ab2cv]

Thanks for the tips Al, been really helpful to refer to as I've been working on the car the last few days (as have the various under-bonnet pictures). It's been a bit like a game of 'snap' for me as I wasn't sure what hoses were the water hoses and which weren't, so I end up matching the hoses in the kit to similar shaped ones under the bonnet.

I'm still confused by this stepped connector I have in terms of which way round it goes and why it's needed (couldn't that hose have been made into a 1 piece hose as it is already on the S2?)

Alan

[Dico]

I'm still confused by this stepped connector I have in terms of which way round it goes and why it's needed (couldn't that hose have been made into a 1 piece hose as it is already on the S2?)

Could have been, only the template set was from an SE, which was in two pieces
The stepped connector should be larger at one end (hence the word 'step' ), I imagine this end would point towards the front of the car as that is the larger end??????

[Monty]

IIRC the stepped connector was cause one hose was slighly larger diameter than the other (for some reason ) so the larger end will fit the larger diameter hose. I went with the straight connector which was already on the old SE hose.

BTW if Dico and i new that the S2 was a one piece at the time then we would of had it done as one but it was to late as the molds were made

[ab2cv]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Some progress today. Here's a pic for reference showing how the stepped connector two piece hose replaces the existing one piece hose for S2 cars.

The other pic shows the only hose I have yet to identify where it goes. Answers on a post(card) please...

Alan

[ab2cv]

OK so I found it. It's the one that goes from the back of the plenum(?) down to somewhere around the thermostat housing.

Question I have now is, it appears that there is a similar hose running from the front of the plenum down, but I don't have one of those hoses in my kit. Therefore is it
a)not a water hose or
b)is a water hose but not in the kit or
c) a water hose that's missing from my kit?

Alan

[Dico]

Unfortunately I think the answer is 'C'

This was missed from the initial production, but greengrass ,no sorry, Aldigras picked up on it and informed Amber performance. Samco then produced the extra hose for around £16.
Why they have never included it as part of the kit, or informed future purchasers that they need it amazes me.

[ab2cv]

Unfortunately I think the answer is 'C'

This was missed from the initial production, but greengrass ,no sorry, Aldigras picked up on it and informed Amber performance. Samco then produced the extra hose for around £16.
Why they have never included it as part of the kit, or informed future purchasers that they need it amazes me.

OK, thanks for confirming that Dico.

All hoses now fitted (except for the elusive throttle body inlet hose). Will contact James about the missing hose.

Alan

[mikeydude]

Just put one hose on to see how it looks...tried the expansion chamber return pipe..the little one!

Te pipe is so sall the the Jubilee clip supplied by samco will not tighten properly around the pipe. the screw mechanism is too large to put even pressure around the pipe causing it to leak.

I tried putting the old one on but it's too big as these samcos have a smaller outside diameter.

Oh...I got red ones..interestingly they are blue inside with a red coating!!!

[ab2cv]

Just put one hose on to see how it looks...tried the expansion chamber return pipe..the little one!

Te pipe is so sall the the Jubilee clip supplied by samco will not tighten properly around the pipe. the screw mechanism is too large to put even pressure around the pipe causing it to leak.

I tried putting the old one on but it's too big as these samcos have a smaller outside diameter.

Oh...I got red ones..interestingly they are blue inside with a red coating!!!

Which end will not tighten? For the engine side I had to re-use the little clip as the kit didn't come with a replacement for this. At the header tank end I don't recall having an issue, but then I haven't tried refilling the system yet.

Alan

P.S Despite Blue being the apparent 'default' colour for these hoses I am still going to have to wait a further 4 weeks for them to send me a single hose that was missing from my kit.

[mikeydude]

It's the engine side that's the trouble, I tried to reuse mine but it will not go small enough for the new hose.

I was suppled with clps, but they are Jubilee type and they are to big and clumsy to properly compress the hose.

I am a bit miffed because I paid extra for there so called stainless perfect smooth clips!!

[Monty]

Just build up the hose with Insolation tape and then fit the clip

[rip]

Having spent some time reading through the entire thread earlier today, I have seen that for several extras are required in addition to the basic kit to finish the job off.
I now have a water leak somewhere around my oil cooler, so would like to take the opportunity to do the job properly.

I expect that Monty will metaphorically bite my head off for not reading the thread through several times I can take it, but please could somebody who has a good memory post a list of the various bits required to complete the shopping list?

I have dropped James a line, but would just like to be assured that I will not be starting a job with a few bits missing.

[ab2cv]

The 'basic' kit should now include everything you need. The only 'extras' would be the stainess steel clips if you want them, and the stepped connector pipe if you have an S2. The throttle body inlet hose should be part of the main kit but for some reason was missing from mine. I'm still waiting on it (thankfully i didn't take the old one off).

Alan

[nitroman]

Good thing you didn't disturb it too badly. I am waiting on the USA kit to be 100% complete but have the original "wishful-thinking UNIVERSAL" kit. When I removed the TB I disturbed this hose enough that it split from being old/dry. As such it is the only hose from the Amber kit I've installed thus far.

[paulwatkins]

You may want to change the thermostat for a new one whilst you've got the coolant drained out. They are only a few quid from halfords and come with a new gasket. (kit HTK602)

You may also want to buy some of the plastic clips for holding the bottom hose against the anti-roll bar. IIRC they are available from SJ's. I used cable ties though, and cut up one of the old pipes as a bit of sacrificial rubber where the new samco hose is attached to the roll bar.

You may want to flush the system - so you'll need rad flush!

And to state the obvious, you'll need antifreeze and DI water (if you live in a hard water area) to refill the system when you're done

[nitroman]

Distilled water is ALWAYS a necessity, as even pure Spring water is packed with minerals. They may be unseen to the human eye, but that won't stop them from bonding to & decreasing the efficiency of your cooling system.

[rip]

Amber-Performance now have some of these hose kits in stock.

[drasicjazz]

Is there like a full Part list of the samco hoses for a SE with aircon?