At 11:26 PM 3/23/2009, John Bange wrote:
>The inserts are corrugated and the plastic is molded onto it. My

Mine (the one I've actually seen so far) is smooth, about two and a
half or so inches long, with a ridge around the outboard end that
coincides with the high (and thin) spot of the over-molded plastic
end.  The end and the insert were both swimming around in the hose
leading to the coolant distributor, and the clamped hose was
beginning to weep because it had worked back to within a half-inch of
the end of the pipe.  The original clamp-mark was clearly visible on
the pipe where the hose had slipped.

Aside from the corrugated bit I like your theory.

  --
David Beierl - Providence RI USA -- http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'89 Po' White Star "Scamp"