Don't forget about those heater hoses!

[garlicbreadman]

These hoses are always overlooked! Dont neglect changing them when you change your radiator hoses! Oh and another important hose is the bypass hose. All these lines carry coolant and a small little burst in the hose can create a huge huge headache and if you're not aware and keep driving with low coolant, you can destroy your engine.

The heater hoses are very inexpensive and often times, you can buy them by the foot instead of buying specially molded ones from the dealership. In the past 2 months, my friends car broke down twice due to a bursted bypass hose and heater hose. I replaced those yesterday and also the lower radiator hose and another heater hose as preventative maintenance(replaced upper radiator hose 2 years back when it bursted on the freeway)

car is a neglected 94 civic with 300k miles on original drivetrain

 

[Chris142]

Many cars have water hoses in inacessable places.

 

[Lead Shoes]

The weird bends in the coolant hoses on that era of civics in the back by the water neck cause a lot of headaches because everyone forgets them.

And replacing them with the motor still in should be a job for gumby depending on the D series motor you have.... some of them it is easier to take off the intake manifold.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I put a set in my Cherokee last year along with the metal pipe that goes to the heater core hose.

Mechanic said that the heater hoses weren't bad at all and that I could have easily got a few more years out of them, but the bypass metal tube was going to burst.

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: Brenden
The weird bends in the coolant hoses on that era of civics in the back by the water neck cause a lot of headaches because everyone forgets them.

And replacing them with the motor still in should be a job for gumby depending on the D series motor you have.... some of them it is easier to take off the intake manifold.


the two heater hoses that goes into the firewall were a pain but definitely manageable.

 

[babyivan]

Interesting thread, I'm about to change mine in a few minutes.
My car is an '87 with the original hoses

I was at a walmart parking lot checking my oil when a guy asked me if had car trouble. He then told me that one of his heater hoses burst on him the other day.
Hearing this, I quickly went on rockauto and ordered just about every heater hose, including the little coolant hoses going in and out of the throttle body.

Yes, this is an often neglected area on most cars.
I had a heater hose go on me on the highway in the early 90's, I NEVER want to go through that again!

The only thing that makes me nervous about changing heater hoses is accidentally breaking the heater core. Those heater hoses are stubborn and if you're not careful pulling them off, it can be real easy to ruin the heater core.
I'm gonna cut them off with a razor length wise so they will come off with ease. And then I'm gonna apply soapy water to the heater core tubes so the new hoses slide on easily!

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: babyivan
Interesting thread, I'm about to change mine in a few minutes.
My car is an '87 with the original hoses

I was at a walmart parking lot checking my oil when a guy asked me if had car trouble. He then told me that one of his heater hoses burst on him the other day.
Hearing this, I quickly went on rockauto and ordered just about every heater hose, including the little coolant hoses going in and out of the throttle body.

Yes, this is an often neglected area on most cars.
I had a heater hose go on me on the highway in the early 90's, I NEVER want to go through that again!

The only thing that makes me nervous about changing heater hoses is accidentally breaking the heater core. Those heater hoses are stubborn and if you're not careful pulling them off, it can be real easy to ruin the heater core.
I'm gonna cut them off with a razor length wise so they will come off with ease. And then I'm gonna apply soapy water to the heater core tubes so the new hoses slide on easily!


i also used a razor blade too because they were stuck on good! I sprayed silicone spray on the hose for it to slip in easier

 

[DBMaster]

I replaced all of the heater and bypass hoses on my 89 Accord in 2009. By then, two of them sprung pinholes that I found, fortunately, when pulling into my garage. I ordered them all from Majestic Honda (nine hoses, as I recall) for about $55. Though the job took only about two hours, I invented some new expletives. Truly not a job you want to do too many times in your life.

 

[Barkleymut]

How many miles/years would ya'll recommend going on your hoses? I have an 04 Saturn with 155,000 and an 01 Town&Country with 110,000. Pretty sure neither one has ever had hoses replaced.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I put a set in my Cherokee last year along with the metal pipe that goes to the heater core hose.

Mechanic said that the heater hoses weren't bad at all and that I could have easily got a few more years out of them, but the bypass metal tube was going to burst.


I've got two '96 Cherokees. These have the plastic heater control valves that have four nipples on them. I replaced a leaking heater control valve last year and about a week ago, the other one was starting to leak. I grabbed it with my hand to inspect it and one of the nipples just simply broke off as I touched it. The factory plastic had just deteriorated so bad that I was lucky it didn't burst while I was driving during the winter. Anyway, both Jeeps now have new heater control valves that no longer leak. And I also put one of those metal tubes on it also that I had ordered from RockAuto.