8700 rad hose ?

Sorry for the long explanation. My 8700 at some time in the past lost its original engine to cavitation. The original owner swapped in an engine from another tractor, but couldn’t remember if it was an 8000/8600/9000/9600. I’m pretty sure it was one of these as the cab was still in the weeds. Anyway, the 8700 has run good for the past 10 years with no issues other than one small thing. The bottom radiator hose is sandwiched in very tight between the oil fill plug, and the alternator belt……so tight that I have to push the hose it to get the oil fill cap out, and on the other side the alt belt had cut a groove in the hose. This year I put a new alt belt on (it has 3 x belts). Not sure if the belt running so close to the bottom hose is an issue on all 8700’s or just mine? Maybe they used the bottom hose or the alt mounting/adjustment bracket from the earlier tractor.
Now my bottom hose is getting bad. I’ll probably get a new hose, and maybe look at a longer alt belt to try and get it away from the hose. I also seem to remember maybe some Fords having a metal pipe section in the middle of the lower rad hose???
Any suggestions? Could try putting a metal pipe section in?
Thanks,
Chris

I was working on an OC-3 crawler with a friend . After installing an alternator , he had the same issue of the belt rubbing . We got a piece of tubing matching the hose size and cut off about 6-8 inches of it . Next we stuffed a socket in each end to prevent it from deforming , and squeezed it in the vise . When installed , we gained about 1/2 inch or more, providing plenty of room for the belt !