Belt, hose longevity question

[svtrit]

OMG, I don't even replace anymore the belts, hoses, spark plugs or ignition parts unless they fail early. And I only do repairs as needed. Even when approaching 150K-170K miles unless I plan on keep the vehicle past that point.

I used to do GOBS of maintenance on my vehicles because I planned on keeping them forever e.g., 300K miles. So, I did the maintenance base on that-starting from the time that the vehicle entered my possession whether it is new or used.

Now, I am getting rid of vehicles just past their warranty while doing a few repairs in the process as required. And as I get even older, I am ready to give them the BOOT while they're still under some warranty to at least get some money for them without having to shell out too much money just before they leave my ownership. They're just getting too expensive to keep around unless you do ALL OF YOUR OWN REPAIRS...in which I do!

I never thought I’d be this way until I sold the car I planned to keep forever. It didn’t hurt as bad as I thought, but, I realized all that money was spent for them now that the car wasn't mine. I’ve also seen the stupid drivers that hit well maintained cars. Not worth it anymore.
I drive it until I get bored, or it costs too much to keep rather than plan on 300,000 miles.

 

[MCompact]

On my 1995 Club Sport I have replaced the serpentine belt a couple of times but at 28 years and 150k miles all of the coolant hoses are original.

 

[someonesomewhere]

Hate to say this, but hose failures are old man stuff. Flame suit on.

Not to those of us who've had a radiator hose pop taking off at an intersection. Sounded like a gun went off. Lol. New hose, never another issue. 95 Camaro with a 3.4. No clue why it exploded when it did. Wasn't overheating or anything weird.

 

[eljefino]

Hoses go bad if you get oil on them, or in the coolant. Keep the rest of the car in good repair and the hoses will survive, too.

I had a saturn I got with a cracked head... I fixed the head and flushed the system. But the hoses "sweated" coolant, you could see little beads. And if you rubbed the hose with your hand, your skin would be black and greasy. Replacing the hoses fixed the problem.

 

[Kira]

No one will respond to a 'hose life estimate' question, except to say, "We never change 'em", in my experience.

Sis' Jeep hoses ('99 Cherokee) were 10-11 years old when I changed them due to the appearance of dryness. I had heard of EDPM but I went ahead anyway.
They looked really dry and crispy once out of the vehicle, compared to the new ones.
They seemed a tad crumbly inside.
Glad I did it even if I wasted some of their lifespan. I invoke the BITOG "sleep better at night" cop out.
...and RockAuto got the order right.

 

[DGXR]

It's not possible to make a good decision based on age alone. Inspect them carefully and get a better idea of their true condition.
If in doubt, change them out and be done with it.

 

[Cujet]

Data point of one.

My 2003 Jaguar X-Type has the original hoses except one. The new one is healthy, the old ones are very soft and mushy feeling. I am not sure I'm comfortable with them.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

My wife's Yukon is 13 years old with 180K and still original belts and hoses. I will probably change the belts when it hits 200K just because but based on other cars I've kept longer, the hoses are good for as long as I plan to keep it.

 

[OM605]

Hoses look like new on my 96 with 380,000km. Same on my 93.

 

[doublebase]

Regarding belts…visual inspection usually offers nothing nowadays, you’d have to put a gauge on it between the ribs and measure the wear. These things don’t crack like they use to. However I think you can easily get 100,000 out of them. I’ve gotten more - but to be safe I’d change them out at 100,000 because you don’t want to launch a belt while driving and chance something like that.

The hoses? Different animal now - I’ve seen cars go over 300,000 with the hoses looking fine - usually I don’t change them unless I’m doing a radiator or something, even then maybe not if the mileage is low enough.