Replace hoses?

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I'm going to roll the dice and leave them until 15 years. Less than 3 to go. The coolant has been only Honda blue and changed per the manual.
 
Most cars made after 1995 or so use epdm hoses. They dont fail often. Most cars get scrapped with their original hoses. The exception is nissan and Daewoo.

Those 2 use junk hoses.
 
As the service writer at my Chevy dealer once told me, "these ain't your daddy's hoses." They last a lot longer than they used to.

On my old Malibu, the water pump failed before the hoses did. In fact, the hoses didn't fail in the 11 years I owned the car.
 
If I have to do a major amount of work in the front of a vehicle that's 10 years old, changing the hoses, belt tensioner bearings and thermostat are on the list as getting back in is a pain and $40 or so is a piece of mind thing. My away from home trips are long
 
My 1999 has original hoses in perfect shape. My 2002 is probably getting to the point of replacement at 16 yrs old. I've owned some original Mopars from the late 1960's that had original hoses and drive belts when I bought them at 25+ yrs old. Condition matters much more than age.
 
I recently sold a 93 Lincoln with its original hoses (date stamped '93 Motorcraft) and when I changed the rad I looked inside of the upper and lower rad hoses and there was absolutely NO indication of deterioration, erosion, impending failure etc.

Most OEM hoses are going to be way better than any Gates or Dayco aftermarket replacement, so the originals, with the original constant tension clamps went right back on. No leaks afterwards either.

As long as the hose is EPDM (most, if not all modern cars are) and it isn't rubbing anything or getting oil spilled on it (oil will cause an EPDM hose to deteriorate).

Squeeze the hose about 2 inches from the end and compare the way it feels to the middle of the hose. Usually hoses will fail close to the end and become soft, but may look okay. I can't say I've seen an EPDM hose harden, but I suppose it's possible.
 
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A lot of things to consider . Obviously , is age of the vehicle . Heat and time are enemies of rubber & plastic .

We recently purchased a 2006 Buick Lacrosse CX 3.8i automatic with 37,000+ miles . Obviously low mileage , but 11 years old .

We may use this car as a road car , when visiting family . Last thing I want is it to pop a hose , out in the middle of no where .

Then there is my age . Every year that goes by , I am less able to work on a car . Especially , out in the middle of no where .

I replaced both radiator hoses , both heater hoses , thermostat and 2both heater elbows .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbrjMstW32U

The OEM elbows are plastic , I replaced them with metal elbows . From what I read , they are prone to leak / break ( very bad place to use plastic ! ) . Mine seemed to be in pretty good condition .

Now , I hope that the cooling system is in good shape , at least for quite a few years ahead .

Oh , almost forgot , most of the coolant drained when I removed the lower radiator hose . I replaced it with 1 gallon of Dexcool , from Walmart . Maybe I should have flushed the engine & installed a different type of coolant ? If it is good 11 years from now , I suppose it was OK ?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zerex-ZXEL1-DEX-COOL-Antifreeze-Coolant-Gallon/149192886#read-more

Best wishes to all , :)
 
Originally Posted By: opus1
As the service writer at my Chevy dealer once told me, "these ain't your daddy's hoses." They last a lot longer than they used to.


Isn't that the truth!!

I haven't replaced a "failed" coolant hose on anything for probably 15 years!!
 
Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
I just did the hoses on my 99 Jeep last year. They were ready.


How could you tell?

I was talked into replacing rad hoses on my '97 Legacy a while back, because they were a little soft. Went against what I thought, but I didn't know much, so I went with it. The new hoses felt/looked/worked identically to the old ones. I did the work myself and wanted to refresh the coolant, so it wasn't a total loss.
 
06 Accord and 01 F150 are still on original hoses. I also think location may have something to do with replacement times. Winters are probably the worse conditions for hoses and belts.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
I'm going to roll the dice and leave them until 15 years. Less than 3 to go. The coolant has been only Honda blue and changed per the manual.


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On a modern vehicle 15 years sounds like a good interval, conservative enough not to have to worry.
 
When they break, but if one breaks, change both upper and lower radiator hose at the same time if possible.
 
2004 Buick Rendezvous purchased new. First 6 years and 80000 miles in Dallas, Texas. Gave the car to our son in the Cleveland, Ohio area in 2010. These last 7 years and 140000 miles (car has 240000 miles total) spent outside with no garage.

Just last week I ordered new hoses for him and will replace the original ones now that we are also back in this area. I had changed the factory coolant at 80000 miles when we gave him the car and will be changing that also.

No leaks, no coolant smells, hoses look fine and the coolant has no discoloration.

Can't complain about DexCool at all or the Prestone replacement I put in at 80000 miles. I still have an extra unopened jug of it from 2010 when I changed it out and will be using it this time.
 
I replaced all the hoses on my Hyundai Accent this summer at 150k miles. They were in great shape though and didn't need it. I had to change the t-stat and had access to the heater hoses too. Some of the factory spring clamps were pretty rusty.
 
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