GM 3.1L coolant and hoses

[FL-400S]

2002 Malibu 3.1L, about 80 k miles. It had the intake gaskets done about 2 years ago by a mechanic and I think they put in their bulk green antifreeze. Before that it had peak global lifetime after the dexcool factory fill.

I want to change the 12 year old radiator hoses. Are there any other pressurized rubber coolant hoses I should change at the same time to prevent getting stranded? Ill try to replace the hoses myself if it seems easy enough. If not ill take it back to above mechanic and have him do it along with the serpentine belt. Plugs should be good for a little while longer I think, or not cause me to be stranded.

Once I change the rubber, Ill have to flush/refill. Would like to use toyota red to stock only one type of coolant. It would be nice to keep them all the same just for ease of changes later, but it's not mandatory. I could go back to Peak global lifetime, or what else? Hopefully the IMG will be good for life.

 

[The_Jeff]

You at least also have heater hoses and I think there are some bypass ones as well.

If you mixed any oil into your coolant, hose replacement is a fantastic idea-- oil rots hoses. If not, maybe not: OE hose is pretty good: better than most from the aftermarket.

 

[outdoorsman310]

you could use the universal greenish stuff i believe. whatever you decide to do, changing those hoses and the coolant is a good idea. make sure you bleed it properly if you decide to do it yourself.

 

[FL-400S]

So there are the 2 big radiator hoses which look easy to change with simple clamps at each end. There are also 2-4 smaller hoses, 2 of which come off the water pump. These seem to have a metal flange with crimped ends, so I am not sure now these are disconnected and changed. Any ideas?

 

[901Memphis]

I had a similar situation as yours. My 3.1 got green stuff after the gaskets were replaced but seemed to be mixing with leftover dex cool. I just replaced the tank and flushed with lots of Distilled water and refilled with G05.

I wouldn't use the Toyota red, that only comes in 50/50 right? You don't get much out of the small radiator on the 3.1 you will need concentrate to get it up to 50/50.

My hoses need changed too, but I didn't get to it yet

 

[KenO]

You'll need to destroy those crimped clamps to get those hoses off. Just replace with normal worm clamps. Green is fine, just change it every 2 years.

 

[mikefxu]

Death-cool is horrible all I know is that I have experiences with Honda coolant that has gone 100k with the original coolant and looks spectacular. My current car and company car, for a reference, 04 Accord 171k and 07 Civic 116k. All of our company GM truck that we have tried to follow the maintenance schedule we have had to replace the thermostat. Maybe its the thermostat, maybe its the Death-cool. I think GM was a little to eager to meet the import maintenance intervals before they were ready. A modern vehicle requires very little maintenance.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Say what you want, the Dex thing is baloney. If the gaskets were updated then Dex is fine. If not it's a tossup.

Best of luck to the OP, our engines only last half a million miles on Dex....

 

[EricF]

i believe dexcool is fine as long as you follow a few simple rules..

no plastic gaskets
distilled water
no air pockets
and no additives.

it should go the distance.

 

[FL-400S]

Originally Posted By: KenO
You'll need to destroy those crimped clamps to get those hoses off. Just replace with normal worm clamps. Green is fine, just change it every 2 years.


If thats the case, ill just have my mechanic do it. It needs a serpentine belt anyway (original I think) which involves removing the engine mount and jacking the engine. A little more involved than I'm used to. The mechanic will fill it with his green coolant and ill be good for a couple more years. Maybe back to Peak Global Lifetime after that.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: EricF
i believe dexcool is fine as long as you follow a few simple rules..

no plastic gaskets
distilled water
no air pockets
and no additives.

it should go the distance.


Agreed, yet we use large heat exchangers in our cooling system that virtually guarantees air in the system at all times. Don't use distilled water either...

 

[FL-400S]

The crimped clamps I saw in there were for the AC. Guess that shows how much I know about cars. The mechanic changed all the hoses with Dayco except the short one on top of the engine by the bleeder screw. Said he couldnt find one. Anyone got a part number for that hose on the 3.1L?

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: FL-400S
The crimped clamps I saw in there were for the AC. Guess that shows how much I know about cars. The mechanic changed all the hoses with Dayco except the short one on top of the engine by the bleeder screw. Said he couldnt find one. Anyone got a part number for that hose on the 3.1L?

I don't know of a P/N.

There is a solution, however. You can take your old hose off, and ask a guy at the parts store to compare the shape of your hose to the shape of all the different hoses in the supply room. I have done this many times on many different cars, and I suceed at least 50% of the time.

Do you live near a GM dealer. I would be surprised if they didn't have that extra hose. I often have to replace that hose on GM 3.1 and 3.4 engines, so I would think they would keep enough of them in stock.

 

[benjamming]

On my 94 Grand Am with the 3.1L, it was Gates 11026 (bypass). I believe this is now Gates p/n 19026 as shown here at RockAuto 19/32" x 6".

 

[FL-400S]

I bought one yesterday at AutoZone. It is Dayco 71692 for a whopping $3.99. I haven't installed it yet but don't anticipate any issues. The Gates equivalent is 19026 and AC Delco is 14156S as far as I can tell.

I may have to change one clamp of a smaller hose a the upper part of the radiator...its leaking. They reused the spring clamp. I hope its just the clamp and not a cracked radiator bib.

 

[Boss302fan]

Make sure you also overfill the overflow tank to at least the Max level. I usually go a few inches above that...

 

[FL-400S]

I found there are two small coolant hoses under the air intake and above they exhaust. These are a real treat to change, with no room to get pliers in there to remove clamps. I did manage to change them today. I got a Dayco 87000 right angle hose and cut it to length for the two small hoses. I replaced the spring clamps with worm clamps so I can tighten them if needed. Need to get some more coolant (oreilly 50/50 on sale) and top it off again.