Coolant hoses for oil cooler... change interval?

[Dborch41]

I have a 2014 Nissan Frontier with the 4.0L V6 pushing 100K miles. I replace the coolant, radiator hoses and serpentine belt about every 5 years mostly out of habit. Now I'm looking at replacing the small hoses that route coolant to the engine oil cooler located at the filter mount. They're over 10 years old and live in a fairly harsh environment at the bottom front of the engine which is why I'm more concerned about them than the heater hoses (but I haven't forgotten about those either).
What I'd like to know if I might be overthinking this and they'll last a lot longer or is this sort of proactive behavior common around here? See, I'm a retired aircraft mechanic and replacing wear items before they fail is basically in my blood, and this truck is my wife's daily so I want it to be that much more reliable.
I'd just like to hear the $.02 from the masses. I'll likely replace them regardless as it looks easy enough and a set of OEM hoses will only set me back about $40, but I like to get the input of others regardless, especially if they had an actual failure at some point. Thanks as always.

 

[JHZR2]

I have >30 year old cars that still have original oil cooler hoses. Just drove 140 miles in a 1991 tonight.

Is it a good idea? Sure, if it lets you sleep better or any one is weeping. Is it necessary? Probably not.

In some cases replacements may not be as good as oem..

 

[Dborch41]

I have >30 year old cars that still have original oil cooler hoses. Just drove 140 miles in a 1991 tonight.

Is it a good idea? Sure, if it lets you sleep better or any one is weeping. Is it necessary? Probably not.

In some cases replacements may not be as good as oem..

Oh I'm getting OEM hoses, I doubt these are even available aftermarket as they aren't high-demand items.
The main reason I'm even considering this is because of their location. They're right behind the radiator fan and get beat up pretty badly even with all the lower engine covers in place. They already look pretty crusty on the outside.

 

[dnewton3]

It's hard to know for sure when a coolant hose is going to fail. The obvious outwards signs (cracking; seeping) are easy to spot. It's the inside issues which catch you off guard. I'm generally comfortable with OE hoses going 10 years no problem, even 15 years perhaps. After that, it's kinda a crap shoot, IMO.

I'm of the opinion that at 15 years, I'll change them out concurrent with a coolant change or water pump change. I, too, don't like the idea of an unplanned downtime event.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I replaced all those hoses on both my Nissans (same VQ40, same hoses) a few years ago on both - so probably about the same age as yours now. While they were all very hard, none showed any signs of impending doom. I don't think its a bad idea, but I doubt its an issue. There a very thick, very high quality hose. I did put OEM back on, so I should be good for a while.

Everything I have read say Rubber hoses are sort of a 10-15 year lifespan, but as others have mentioned some last much, much longer.

The ones you want to worry about are the two connections at the heater core, which use come plastic angle fittings (there integral to the hose). Those can break unexpectedly. Dorman actually makes one that replaces the plastic piece with a rubber one, although its Dorman so who knows if its better?

 

[nascarnation]

On my S10 V6 the oil cooler hoses started weeping at the fitting to hose joints (crimped fittings) at 20 yrs old / 150,000 miles.
Not sure if they would have ever failed catastrophically but I changed them out.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I replaced all those hoses on both my Nissans (same VQ40, same hoses) a few years ago on both - so probably about the same age as yours now. While they were all very hard, none showed any signs of impending doom. I don't think its a bad idea, but I doubt its an issue. There a very thick, very high quality hose. I did put OEM back on, so I should be good for a while.

Everything I have read say Rubber hoses are sort of a 10-15 year lifespan, but as others have mentioned some last much, much longer.

The ones you want to worry about are the two connections at the heater core, which use come plastic angle fittings (there integral to the hose). Those can break unexpectedly. Dorman actually makes one that replaces the plastic piece with a rubber one, although its Dorman so who knows if its better?

Just had the plastic connector to the heater hose break on my 01 F150. It appeared to be leaking due to some corrosion, gave it a wiggle and snapped. Pretty lucky it was in the garage. It was probably stressed from the intake change a few years ago. Other side looked miserable to get to and no obvious issue so I left it alone. I replaced the heater hoses on my 72 landcruiser in about 2010 because they were seeping. 38 years, not a bad run. Hoses are better these days too. Its almost always the plastic that fails in my experience

 

[JHZR2]

On my S10 V6 the oil cooler hoses started weeping at the fitting to hose joints (crimped fittings) at 20 yrs old / 150,000 miles.
Not sure if they would have ever failed catastrophically but I changed them out.

That’s common in those. I changed mine when that started. On mine it was more like 10 years and 50k.

 

[FoxProTwisty]

They typically don't fail, they usually start leaking at the crimps.

If that happens you can either repair them by cutting the crimps off and using a hose clamp or just throwing them away entirely and install a block off plate on the oil pan.