Hello dodge forum. First time caller, long time listener here...I have a 2000 ram van 1500 5.2 that is giving me grief. The damn heater hose behind the alternator keeps popping off. Now, it has this T connection in between the 2 heater hoses which is where this keeps happening. I've searched the web, Haynes manual and pickaparts galore and have not found another 5.2 or any other van with this setup. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I'm thinking I could replace the hoses and eliminate the "T" but I'm just wondering why it would be there in the first place? Is this a stock setup? Maybe previous owner or some master mechanic fiddled with it? Any help is much appreciated!
[img]webkit-fake-url://c7d1a4a5-d9d2-47c3-86d0-9119a86e63bb/imagejpeg[/img]

 

Not clear here s to which heater hose has the tee? A picture of your setup would be more helpful.

My guess is that like on my 99 5.9 with no rear heater, standing in front, the closer one of your 2 heater hoses is the inlet to the heater core (coming from down next to the thermostat housing) and it has an inline (some type of plastic) vacuum heater control valve that over time gets brittle and breaks up. The other (closer to the firewall) heater hose goes down to the water pump inlet tube.

If yours has or had rear heat then might be set up a little differently with a tee...? Someone here may have a passenger van and can make the call better than me on that. Other than that, could the tee thing possibly be a flush kit adapter? Would have a twist on cap at the middle and the inlet to heater core hoses connected to each end...

 

thanks for the response! thought i added a pic already. hopefully that helps.

 

That does kinda look like a flush kit tee that's installed wrong way... the middle 90 leg being where a screw on cap should go (or a hose end for flushing) the 2 inline ends lead from the water valve on left and the other end down to the block.

Maybe the cap cracked/leaked on the PO and he finagled it to get by on a while instead of getting a new cap found at most any hardware store.
you can eliminate the tee and either get straight 5/8 brass hose coupler or get a length of heater hose to reach from the water valve to the nipple next to the thermostat, you'll have to swing the alternator left and out of the way or just pull it.
Just be careful pulling the hose off that black water valve (left and up of your circle).. mine crumbled when I did it and my boss has an 2000 passenger van that the valve busted apart on a hot day last summer while driving through town