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Urgent help w/ Heater Core & Air box hoses: Track down parts, or make my own?
Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
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Urgent help w/ Heater Core & Air box hoses: Track down parts, or make my own?
Howdy! I have exhausted my connections, so I'm turning to the forum for help. I have quite the dilemma. I have three weeks to get my Jeep in good, running shape, or I might not get to keep her.
While searching for a Jeep Cherokee, I ended up buying a beautiful 1990 Jeep Comanche Eliminator (don't worry, this question is the exact same for a 1990 Cherokee!). It's had one faithful owner who put 415,000 miles on it. His maintenance was perfect, but his repairs were somewhat questionable. The truck runs and drives, and I've already done a good bit of work to make it run and drive better. However, I've hit a snag, and I'm desperate for some advice.
Basically, the heater core hoses are just thrown together and the intake hoses are dilapidated or non-existent. I need to find my best course of action. I wanted to keep it as original as possible, but due to my three week deadline I might have to compromise. I have hit every parts yard within 25 miles in search of parts, and I found everything but the hoses. From what I've read, the layout of the air box and heater core hoses changed in 1991, and I own a 1990. There's not a single pre-91 XJ anywhere around me (I'm in Fort Worth, TX). I need a solution for the following (pics included at the bottom):
-Heater core hoses that run between the heater core, coolant reservoir, and water pump
-Top air box hose that runs from the air box to the throttle body
-Bottom air box hose that runs from the front side of the air box to the engine block
The heater core hoses I'm not super worried about. Worst case, I can just cut a few lengths of hose and make my own (even though originals would be ideal). I'm really concerned about the air box hoses, since they are specifically shaped to fit. I pulled some hoses from a 93 XJ only to realize that the whole air box is designed differently. Could I just take the whole air box from a '93 and put it in my '90? Or is there some online source that sells the air box hoses that wouldn't take a month to ship? Does anyone happen to know a saintly pre-1991 XJ parts guru near Fort Worth? The original one is brittle and covered in tape, and still leaks a lot of air with the tape over it. I'm trapped between making this Jeep perfect and getting it functional enough to keep it. I've got three weeks to make her run and drive. Any help is greatly appreciated! Would also love to see the layout of the pre-1991 heater core hoses and air box hoses.
HOSE 1: This is the one that goes from the front side of the air box to the block.
HOSE 1: Here's a close-up of the inlet
HOSE 1: Here's where it connects to the engine block. It's on the drivers side of the block near the exhaust manifold
HOSE 1: This is the side of the block on the drivers side to show where the hose goes to
HOSE 2: This is the hose that goes from the top of the air box to the throttle body. The right is from my 1990, the left is from a 1993. As you can see, the 1990 is longer, bends at a different angle, and has bolt holes where it connects to the throttle body
HOSE 3: These are the hoses that run from the water pump, coolant reservoir, and heater core
HOSE 3: Up close at all of the junctions where the hoses run between the heater core and coolant reservoir