My hose also fouls the plug in the same way. There is another plug 180deg opposite on my Duratec which will not allow the hose to be moved inwards at all. It seems that the hose could be modified to avoid both by routing it back towards the bulkhead and then make an S bend to connect with the block. All of this is beyond my skills and so I'll keep an eye on it and make it a service check when it goes in for MOT/service.
Never heard of the tape and as we have a garden hose with multiple fox-teeth holes I will get some.
