Heater Hose Replacement - 2018 Alante

cfisher523 · 08-12-2018, 07:21 PM

Has anyone here replaced heater hoses on a newish F53 based motorhome? I have a 2018 Alante and while Jayco and Ford argue about who is responsible for fixing heater Hose issues I've decided it's faster to just do it myself....

Both my in and out bound heater hoses have sprung leaks. I want to replace them entirely instead of just cut/piece in new sections since they must be bad hoses... I don't even have 4500 miles on it yet.

I'm just looking for info from experience so when I get the dog house open and start the job I know if I should expect any surprises or if anyone has any tricks to speed up the job. Thanks in advance...

klspahr · 08-12-2018, 10:23 PM

Mine leaked and I know of others that have had that problem.

The hardest thing about removing the doghouse is finding the screws. Once removed I made sure the screws are visible outside the carpet so removing it again is simple. A search here should get you some tips on finding the screws.

There is lots of room underneath there, you might be able to do it without removing the doghouse. (After you have the antifreeze drained.) Ford uses those stupid spring clips on the hoses.

cfisher523 · 08-13-2018, 05:11 AM

So you think I might be able to get to the hoses without removing the dog house? I haven't done anything more than change the oil on this rig yet and haven't had a chance to take a look from the bottom up on this issue.

I'll take a look after work. If this can be done without removing the dog house I will be a happier camper...

cfisher523 · 08-14-2018, 05:47 AM

After the rain let up yesterday I had a chance to take a look under the motorhome and I learned two things.... (1) The heater hoses can be changed out from under the coach, eliminating the need to open up the dog house, when you work from within the passengers wheel well. (2) I found out why the heater hoses failed.

I'll take some pics when I actually fix the problem, but no stores near me have heater hose in stock so I am waiting on Amazon to deliver two 6' sections of Gates hose. However, I would advise everyone to check their coach to ensure they don't have the same problem waiting to happen....

The heater hoses are routed through the same "hole" in the rubber flap that separates the engine compartment from the radiator/battery area. The spring clamp that secures the oil fill neck to the hose that runs to the engine block is positioned such that the sharp edges are aimed directly at the heater hoses. In my case the hose rubbed that edge enough that it eventually got snagged on it and once it was stuck to the clamp the next time the coach twisted/rolled and put some pressure on the hose the clamp punctured it.

This could be easily fixed at the factory if Jayco spent 3 seconds to spin the clamp around so the sharp edges face away from the heater hoses, which I plan to do and will take pics. I would recommend everyone take a look at their setup though to ensure they don't have a heater hose hole waiting to happen.

cfisher523 · 08-17-2018, 07:49 AM

So I was able to replace my heater hoses yesterday. I won't have a chance to road test until next week, but at least sitting in the driveway everything seems to be fine. Here is what I found, and why you should check your heater hoses tdoay....

First finding is just a result of sloppy assembly, it looks like the hose was sliced. This is the return hose from the heater core (bottom pipe) and it was probably sliced during a rushed install of the top hose clap.

Second finding was the "major" issue and its a clear cut/scoop out of the sending heater hose. This was caused by the oil neck filler clamp, which I will show as my third finding. This could have easily been prevented.

The third finding is the root cause of the second finding. The hose clamp that on the oil fill neck was spun 1/4 turn clockwise from where it is position in the picture. In that position the straight, sharp, barbs of the clamp rub against the heater hose and over time (10 months in my case) they carve a hole in the heater hose. If someone at the factory would have looked at the position of the clamp when they installed the hoses it would've taken 5 seconds to spin it away from them.

So.... check your hoses and make sure you aren't sitting on a cooling system time bomb. The hoses were cheap, the 8 gallons of prediluted antifreeze were not.

**EDIT: pic links wouldn't load, so they are attachments now.

in the wind · 08-17-2018, 07:57 AM

Cant see the pics. Good find.!!

cfisher523 · 08-17-2018, 08:26 AM

Pics should be visible now. Also, for anyone interested in the reinstall.... it was probably overkill, but I sleeved the new hoses in Spectre stainless mesh heater hose sleeving and used spare pieces of heater hose to sleeve the trans dip stick tube. The new hoses have no direct contact with metal anywhere.

TWP723 · 08-17-2018, 08:47 AM

That's all Jayco.

JesseS · 08-22-2018, 06:31 PM

And it is the stupid spring clamps that are the issue, they routed my heater hose too close to the oil filler tube clamp, and it wore a hole in the heater hose causing an emergency repair on the Grapevine! I have since replaced them with worm gear clamps. Mine were replaced without removing the doghouse as there is quite a bit of room under there.

cfisher523 · 08-23-2018, 04:58 AM

Turns out not only were my heater hoses bad, but my heater core is leaking too. I must say though, my experience with Jayco Motorized Service has been phenomenal. Given the difficulty I was having getting someone (Dealer or Ford) to fix the hoses JMS authorized me to fix the issue and agreed to reimburse for actual expenses. Then when the heater core issue was identified they provided good contact information to work with Evans Tempcon to locate an authorized service center.

The service center is performing the warranty work on the heater core without any additional Jayco involvement. The one caveat was that if the Evans folks find that the core is leaking because Jayco ran a screw through it or something then someone (Jayco or me, I would say Jayco) must pay for the repair because obviously a screw through the core is not a defect. Can't really argue about that.

All in all, JMS has been timely in their responses and provided good/correct points of contact for service. Based on some of the stories on here about poor customer service I think either I got lucky or they are making improvements.

Eclipse · 12-14-2022, 10:04 PM

Hi, I just ran into the same problem and I thank you for posting as it gives me insight as to what the cause was. I lost 2 gallons of coolant and had the whole rad hose replaced as a result to try and fund the source of the leak. I finally removed one of those firewall covers and saw the coolant streaming out of the heater hose. It was exactly where you described the clamp was on yours but mine has a weird angle iron clamp that the two hoses were resting against. Anyway I’m in the middle of a six month journey and was feeling pretty down about not being able to locate the source of the lost coolant. Happier now but not happy with choice by builders of rig to put hoses through angle iron.

JesseS · 12-15-2022, 11:25 AM

Glad you found the issue, I finally replaced both hoses and re-routed and secured them. The way they were routed from the factory was flat bad, rubbing on hose clamps and brackets, causing leaks under pressure. I haven't had any issues since then except for the AC dryer gasket blowing, which was repaired under warranty.

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