Braided cover on lower coolant hose - needed?

[AnotherOldJeepGuy]

My lower hose split.  Got it out today.  There's some braided stuff on the outside of part of it.  The hose doesn't really touch much and where the braid is I don't think it touched anything.  Do I even need this?

 

Another question, since this old hose does have it, should I assume it came with the hose, and then my new hose should already have come with it.

 

Thanks.

[89 MJ]

My new hose did not come with it. If it is easily salvageable, I would probably swap it onto the new hose for some nice protection from rubbing on things. 

[eaglescout526]

That lower hose cover screams mopar. I’ve only ever seen Mopar hoses come with that. No other brand. 

[GonzoTheGreat]

I think it's unnecessary and unsightly. It doesn't seem to protect anything, and collects residues and road grime. New hoses don't come with it. I've seen the upper hose come with a plastic loom as a chafe guard, but the lower hose should not be touching anything, and therefore shouldn't need protection. If it looks like it might contact something, you can probably twist it away from making contact.

 

Just my opinion, but I say say chuck it.

[AZJeff]

The need for chafe protection depends on exactly how the PS hydraulic lines are routed.  In some cases, the lower hose can rub on the metal lines near the steering gear.

 

A piece of anti-chafe can be made from the old hose, cut to length and slit to be placed over the new hose in the appropriate area.

[AnotherOldJeepGuy]

I was able to get the old braid off and with a can of break clean got it fairly clean and reinstalled.  I was not able to twist the hose to any position that doesn't rub on the PS lines, which would appear to be what it is there for.  It's a shame the thermal engineers didn't talk to the mechanical engineers, it would have been very easy to change the shape of the hose just a little and avoid rubbing against the PS Lines at all.  Anyway, I don't see any initial leaking and ran the engine a few minutes to allow the res level to go down and let me add more coolant until the level seemed to stabilize.  I did this before putting the electric fan back it just to make it easy to watch for leaks.  I measured the temps at the locations shown with IR thermometer and they topped out at about 200 - 300 after maybe 8 minutes, and the temp warning gauge did not come on.  So I think this was safe enough.  I'll let it set overnight and check the level again, repeat the 8 minutes, then put the eFan back it.

 

UPDATE: When running the manifold was closer to 400, the 300 was after the engine was off for a couple minutes.