Coolant hose replacement.

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Do you replace coolant hoses by age, miles or as needed?

Is there a big difference in quality on such a common part?

I had an interesting conversation last week with my Indy about trying to have some work done one of which was replacing a thermoplastic coolant flange with a metal variant. My Indy said that I needed to also replace the hose because it was 9 years old. It made sense to me so I returned the metal flange.
 
Do you replace coolant hoses by age, miles or as needed?

Is there a big difference in quality on such a common part?

I had an interesting conversation last week with my Indy about trying to have some work done one of which was replacing a thermoplastic coolant flange with a metal variant. My Indy said that I needed to also replace the hose because it was 9 years old. It made sense to me so I returned the metal flange.
Depends like anything else. If you feel you can source some quality replacement parts and want to keep this vehicle till its proverbial wheels fall of prevention is key. However most people only will change with inferior quality cheap replacements or just let it ride till it inevitably fails.

Theres really no right answer in this regard, unless of course the automaker themselves cheaped out from the factory.
 
I agree with your mechanic. Once upon a time hoses were good for 3 or 4 years max. With the newer grades 9 is a good time for a change. My rule of thumb is tires 7 years max, hoses and belts 8-10 years or 100,000 miles.
 
BMW mechanics like to replace hoses at 10yr 100k miles. They run a much higher pressure than other vehicles for whatever reason. I've left heater hoses on BMWs and haven't had one fail with over 20 years on them. Usually if you need to remove it, replace it if it is old. Or if it looks bloated or something obvious.
 
This discussion came up last June:

 
Do you replace coolant hoses by age, miles or as needed?

Is there a big difference in quality on such a common part?

I had an interesting conversation last week with my Indy about trying to have some work done one of which was replacing a thermoplastic coolant flange with a metal variant. My Indy said that I needed to also replace the hose because it was 9 years old. It made sense to me so I returned the metal flange.
There was a time when one could, by squeezing it, tell if the hose needed changing, but that's not the case anymore.
So for me it's a combo of Time & Mileage and I play it safe!!
 
I use silicone hoses wherever I can. Heater hose material is easy to source but molded hoses for light duty is much harder and sometimes not available. Most of the hoses on OTR trucks are straight stick hose and I always go with silicone there. It's pretty common to see a million mile + truck come in with original hoses.
 
This discussion came up last June:

Well that's annoying. I wouldn't have posted if I had seen this thread.
 
^^Good link to a previous discussion^^

When I became frustrated with the repeated answer. "We don't replace 'em", I asked here.
The thread Shel_B linked to included some numbers. Nobody offered any numbers when I asked because nobody knew.

I can tell you I replaced my sister's 1999 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) hoses at 12 years of age when I refreshed/flushed her cooling system.
The oldies didn't look bad but I was fed up with thinking about it.
I bought Gates 'Green Stripe' hoses exclusively.
As I worked, I placed the old ones on the ground. When I was done, the new ones looked great under the hood-as they should.
The old ones had time to dry and looked grey and crispy. It was downright educational.

Also, the oldies were crumbly inside. That can't be good.

Also, the new hoses and all the other stuff I did to that XJ, with 171K, helped it sell fast.
 
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Euro cars are in their own world. Cooling system components tend to be fragile, some brands more so than others.
 
I have a 2008 Xterra and a 2011 Frontier. Pretty much interchangeable drivetrains. I decided to replace all the coolant hoses on them a couple years ago - there are like 12 or so - heater core, degas bottle, bypass, oil cooler itself has like 4. Overengineeiring at its finest.

The Xterra was at that point about 12 years old and had about 300K miles. The rad hoses had been changed (goodyear) at 80K miles 7 years earlier.

The Fronty was at that point 9 years old and had about 100K miles on it and all hoses were Original.

I couldnt' tell any real difference between any of the old hoses. They were all old and stiff compared to the new ones, but none showed any impending doom.

I replaced all with OEM hoses except the rad hoses, which I used I believe continental as they were Much cheaper. If I had to do it again I would use OEM for the rad hoses also.

I am glad I did, but I doubt I would have issues if I hadn't
 
I couldnt' tell any real difference between any of the old hoses. They were all old and stiff compared to the new ones, but none showed any impending doom.

If I had to do it again I would use OEM for the rad hoses also.

I am glad I did, but I doubt I would have issues if I hadn't
Had I found my hoses to be old and stiff, I'd be concerned about their longevity. Would you please clarify what you mean by impending: something that is going to happen at some point in the near future or it's about to happen right now?

Do you feel that the Continental hose is in some way inferior to the OEM hose?
 
Had I found my hoses to be old and stiff, I'd be concerned about their longevity. Would you please clarify what you mean by impending: something that is going to happen at some point in the near future or it's about to happen right now?

Do you feel that the Continental hose is in some way inferior to the OEM hose?
The hoses were stiff compared to the more "supple" new ones, but they were still flexible, and they had no swelling or bubbles or cracking or anything that would make me think they were going to fail. Having said that - visible and feel inspection is all I can do for whatever that was worth.

The Continental hoses didn't fit very well (biggest issue) and seemed to weigh much less than the old one. Whether weight is an indicator of quality? If it fit better I likely wouldn't have noticed. They were curved not quite right so when on they didn't seem to be lining up with the outlets as well. Also they didn't seem very snug, but have never leaked - I used new constant tension OEM clamps.
 
The hoses were stiff compared to the more "supple" new ones, but they were still flexible, and they had no swelling or bubbles or cracking or anything that would make me think they were going to fail. Having said that - visible and feel inspection is all I can do for whatever that was worth.

The Continental hoses didn't fit very well (biggest issue) and seemed to weigh much less than the old one. Whether weight is an indicator of quality? If it fit better I likely wouldn't have noticed. They were curved not quite right so when on they didn't seem to be lining up with the outlets as well. Also they didn't seem very snug, but have never leaked - I used new constant tension OEM clamps.
Thanks for the response. It was very useful.
 
Thanks for the response. It was very useful.
My thoughts - 2 almost the same vehicles, 3 years apart, one with 300K and one with 100K

-- mileage doesn't seem to matter

-- If you have a 10 year old car and want to keep it another 10, you might as well replace all the hoses because you likely will have a leak at some point. While flexible - it was obvious they had aged a lot. The exterior was hard. You could leave a finger nail impression on the new ones that you couldn't with the old one. If you have a 10 year old beater you want to keep 3 more years - I would just leave it.
 
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My thoughts - 2 almost the same vehicles, 3 years apart, one with 300K and one with 100K

-- mileage doesn't seem to matter

-- If you have a 10 year old car and want to keep it another 10, you might as well replace all the hoses because you likely will have a leak at some point. While flexible - it was obvious they had aged a lot. The exterior was hard. You could leave a finger nail impression on the new ones that you couldn't with the old one. If you have a 10 year old beater you want to keep 3 more years - I would just leave it.
That's about where I am now. The next time I take the car to the shop, I'll replace the hoses along with the other maintenance that'll be done. Thanks again for your input.
 
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