Roger,

Thanks for all the info.

I don't have an overflow reservoir for the radiator, so if it off-gassed it would of just went onto the ground.

Guess I will try the spring and see where it gets me. Hopefully it was just some air bubbles that got caught up in the cooling system that caused the overheating. I will be sure and burp and cycle it a lot when I have to re-install the radiator hose.

Yeah the new hoses I bought were Gates brand, but no spring. Seems weird that they would just dump using the spring, but maybe it's a cost saving measure?

I did notice this little note on a website selling the Gates hose I bought.

"Re-engineered materials resist vacuum collapse. This reduces the need for internal springs in many applications."

I'm still going to use the spring for peace of mind. One less thing to worry about!