Congrats, Hope it is still holding up...

How many feet did you use to make them?

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1983 240d 5Sp SOLD
1986 300D(LUCO) SOLD
1983 300TD(dreamboat)SOLD
1984 240d (Executive)SOLD
1984 240d (Euripides) SOLD
1982 300sd SOLD
1982 300sd (Ambas)SOLD

Bumping the thread and time for a follow up...

How's everyone's hoses holding up?

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Anyone still running these hoses with the AC ferrules?

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Yes, I’ve been running mine since 2018. Not a drip. The goodyear galaxy is really holding up well.

I’m really happy with the hoses.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

After eyeing clearances during my latest drilling episode, it got me thinking about these hoses.

So, I called a local hose shop about rebuilding mine and they quoted me around $85 a hose. Not crazy, I guess, but I much prefer the idea of doing it myself.

I know that many have done the double hose clamp method with no issue, but I don't really vibe with that idea to be perfectly honest.
I also read Mach4's thread about converting to AN, which was beautiful, but I feel it's a bit excessive for my purposes. I also have the style
of oil cooler with both fittings on the bottom which may make things easier? In any event, seems like DIY hoses is the way forward.

What kind of crimper did you buy? And ferules? Seems fairly straight forward once you dremel the original crimps.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Hose crimper was Chinese clone of mastercool. eBay. Cost me $130 if I recall. The hose is #12 Goodyear Galaxy standard barrier hose 5/8” from the photos. I bought steel #12 standard barrier hose ferrules from a guy on eBay who sells hose and AC plumbing parts out of TX. I bought a lot of stuff from him as I built the AC systems for my classic truck and 300D. The #12 oil hoses may have been scraps leftover.

The crimper was one of the bigger sets with the hydraulic handle piece but I figured I’d do two AC systems in addition to the oil lines so I think it has paid off. There are cheaper non hydraulic solutions with fewer dies. I wanted the breadth to do barrier, non barrier, tranny cooler hose, EFI hoses, air lines, power steering hoses etc.

There are some details I’ve forgotten. Like how I got them off without trashing the fittings on my aluminum cooler. It’s easy to destroy the nipple. I must have either gotten it off or maybe I had to replace the torn up nipple? Ugh my aging mind. I have this memory of pulling a nipple off the filter side of a car at a JY.

Also you can see from my crimps that they sometimes got bunched up on one side. Sometimes the crimper wouldn’t crush the crimp down symmetrically all the way around the metal. It’s mostly a cosmetic issue. I notice Billgrissom and Rollguy have prettier crimps. I never figured it out. Maybe the die binds on the ferrule and bunches it up. I may have used a little oil on some while crimping. There probably is some technique that I’m missing. Regardless my crimps hold even though they are factory perfect looking.

$85 sounds really good. The hydraulic hoses have a much higher burst pressure and the ferrules are made of a thicker metal.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles

They sure look good to me. But... are those oeticker(sp) clamps in addition to the ferrules?

As the 240 is my sole vehicle, the ability to fabricate lines at home was of course very appealing.

I am quite nervous about separating those hoses from the oil cooler. Maybe I'll have no issues... but if I do, it'll be a headache and a half retapping the oil cooler for those replacement nipples. In the meantime (should this happen) I figure I can loop the lines on the filter side of things and drive that way for at least a week while I sort this mess out.

If something happens on the oil filter side, well, I'm not sure what I'll do.
Probably cry uncle and start a new thread.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

My oil cooler hoses are fine w/ no leaks since I posted my repair w/ AC barrier hose and crimp ferrules, maybe 5 years ago (search). Another approach is Oeticker stepless ear clamps, which are nice if you must work w/ part on the car where you can't work the crimper in. I have replaced AC parts that way. But to cut the thick ferrules off the OE M-B cooler tubes, you almost certainly must remove them from the car, which requires jacking up the engine to remove the L motor mount.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

$85 for a finished pro-crimped hose isn't bad since AC hose stock alone runs perhaps $6/ft on ebay. I recommend cutting the upper hose 1" longer, to better clear that evil p.s. belt. Insure you use "barrier" hose which has an impermeable liner (Viton I think). About all there is today, though some old rubber-only hose stock might still be floating around. ykobayashi says #12 size, so I would have used hose from the roll for my 300D suction hoses. I bought "reduced barrier" size and I recall #10 ferrules fit perfectly, as my research suggested, indeed I needed a little oil to slide them over the hose. I have the manual Master Cool crimper. I paid maybe $120 for a used one on ebay, which looks new. I'll probably sell it for $120 when done. So far, I've used it for many AC, coolant, and oil hoses on many of my 7 vehicles. ykobayashi's crimped ferrules looking a bit uneven and wrinkled might be if they were too loose on the hose. I have found some that slide over the hose too easy. Better if you have to work a bit to slide the ferrule over the hose.

Cutting off the OE ferrules is the hard part since M-B used very thick ferrules (over-kill?). You would likely shatter some Dremel cutting wheels before getting thru one. I used an abrasive cutting blade on an electric die grinder (HF $14 grinder) the first time. It makes some smell as it cuts into the rubber past the ferrule. For later ones, I've mostly used a hacksaw, oriented at an angle so it doesn't cut into the tube. Once you cut a slit, you must pry the shell off with screwdrivers and pliers and cut where the shell is welded to the tubing on M-B ones (similar to Coll-O-Crimp brand?). Once I get a bit of the shell pried up, I clamp it in a bench vise to rotate it open more, kind of like shelling a shrimp. It takes much force w/ those thick ferrules.

I am sure that using 2 Oeticker stepless ear clamps at each connection would be fine. I would set the ears 180 deg apart to insure no gaps in the clamping force. You don't need the special pliers tool if you have nail-puller pliers. I have some w/ very long handles. Another idea is the PEX crimps at Home Depot (use similar plier crimpers), but you would need to research dimensions.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

I appreciate the insights Bill.

I've also been reading the myriad ways people have removed these lines without jacking the engine up all of which seem eminently achievable:

1.) loosening AC compressor and removing mount
2.) removing oil cooler and radiator and removing from the front
3.) removing engine shock and hose brackets
4.) pulling lines out from under the car (dieselkrauts method, only found a few oblique references to this method).

It'll be a little easier for me a.) having no upper oil cooler hose (this is the one you've suggested making an inch longer which is not relevant in my case. b.) having a 240D with a bit more space to swing a cat.

I might actually get these hoses professionally done as I have no intention of making any AC lines in the future. This would be a one and done kind of job for such an expensive tool... though I guess the cost, including the hose, ferrules and die grinder might be about the same as both professionally tooled rebuilds.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Done by Cline in G'ville for $125 for both a few years ago.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

Can you describe what's going on here?

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

IF your question was for me...I had the rubber replaced with screw-on aircraft hose which has a stainless steel mesh jacket on it. The guys who did it told me they could fabricate replacement using those fittings so the cost would be much less. They also told me those hoses would outlast five engines.

Of course I had to remove them to take the hard pipe to the shop for fittings.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

Indeed.

I'll look into this, thanks.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Shern, the additional Oeticker clamps do nothing. I was thinking of using them as a place to anchor a safety wire to prevent blowoff. They’re just squeezed over the rubber hose. I was going to tie a wire on to the loop and another wire somewhere on the cooler. I didn’t go through with it because I’m confident my hoses won’t blow off.

Bill, thanks for the tip on the ferrules. Before crimping, my ferrules were a loose fit. I used 12 ferrules for 12 standard barrier hose. They’re good crimps but they just don’t look as nice as yours or Rich’s. I saw Rich’s hoses on Nate’s 240d this weekend at an LA GTG and they looked really good. Another possibility is my Chinese knockoff crimper is just a bad copy and doesn’t make a perfect crimp. I got similar looking crimps on my AC lines too but nothing leaks.

But it could be the choice of ferrules too as you say. I’m not sure when I’ll be making hoses again so I may never find out.

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79 300TD “Old Smokey” AKA “The Mistake” (SOLD)
82 240D stick shift 335k miles (SOLD)
82 300SD 300k miles
85 300D Turbodiesel 170k miles
97 C280 147k miles