1987 603 molded lower radiator hose problem 124 501 35 82 or 1245013582

[Chris_87_300D]

Does anyone have a solution for the 124 501 35 82 hose? Mine last between 2 and 5 years, always blowing at the "T" at the most inopportune time (up a steep mountain in the middle of nowhere, etc.). They rarely "blow", they just pop a leak and so I'm usually able to McGuyver it and limp home but it ruins the day.

My 300d runs at 80-85 degrees C probably 98 percent of the time. It's really rare that I push it up over 100. The combo of a hot day, a/c on, and a mountain pass will do it though. When that happens, pop. I should be able to remember to turn off the AC but I forget.

See the pic below for this part. I envision a stainless steel or aluminum "t" replacing the formed part. Has anyone ever contemplated such a fix? I'd take my current hose which blew at the formed seam (2 yrs old), cut out the formed "T" and give it a whack but I thought if this thing existed somewhere it'd save me finding a fabricator to weld one up for me.

Seems to me a one-time solution for this age-old problem but perhaps I'm the only one with the problem...

If no ideas, does anyone with a reasonable amount of welding experience want to give me a hand with producing such an item? I'll pull the hose and measure the IDs with a caliper and figure out how long the tubes would need to be to reuse the existing cut hose. Just let me know the expected damage once I get you the measurements. I think that either SS or Alum would be fine. Welding a half bead around the circumference of each of the 3 ends would give the hose and clamps some security.

If it works out, perhaps a few others would be interested in purchasing one. If for nothing else, along with the appropriate clamps it'd be a great on-the-fly repair kit to keep in the toolkit or with the spare.