How long do your hoses last?

[Ace]

My Tercel is a 1983 model with about 136K miles and still has all the original coolant hoses, which seem supple. I bought the car when it was less than a year old. Occasionally I've replaced some vacuum hoses that split or developed holes. I've replaced the valve cover gasket sometimes after adjusting valve clearances. Replaced the timing belt at 75K miles. Replaced the fan belt once, as a precaution. Over 33 years I haven't had to do much else on this car besides replace tires, battery, mufflers, fuel pump, oil and filter etc.

Wondering what experiences others have had with longevity of hoses. I worked on a lot of different cars in the 1970's and back then it seems the hoses didn't last nearly as long. I guess the newer rubber formulations must be a lot better. I live in a relatively mild climate (summers are not real hot) if that makes a difference.

[Petros]

I have wondered the same thing, all of the import cars I have owned with orginal japanese hoses last a very long time. though there is a very large risk of having one blow out when it is very old, and it has nothing to do with how supple it is. I serviced my daughter's CRX, which had a fresh engine I had rebuilt several years before. I squished all the radiator hoses, replaced one of them, and replaced all fluids and did general tuneup work. the next day in the Texas heat the upper hose disintegrated and she so badly overheated the engine it has to be scrapped (head partially melted and badly warped). I also has a similar experience with a Nissan that had 370k miles on it, original hose just blew one hot day.

The problem is the internal cords break down, and even if the rubber is supple, if the cords are gone it has no strength for high pressure cooling system. It is always the upper hose that goes, it is the hottest and the one with the most pressure (the lower hose is the suction hose). I have also had 30 year old heater hoses develop leaks suddenly.

It is not worth the risk, stuck on a hot day without any coolant means severe engine damage. In both cases I ended up replacing the whole engine which was cheaper than trying to repair the overheat damage to the head.

I would say no more than ten years max, or if they start to swell, or show any signs of cracking. Only buy quality hoses, which can cost a lot more than cheap ones (two radiator hoses, and three heater hoses, can cost over $100), and replace the thermostat every three years again only with quality t-stats, or Toyota original equipment.

[Jonymoto]

I replaced my radiator hoses about two years ago after 30 years of service. There were nothing wrong with them. I just decided to replace all the rubber hoses, seals, bushes, timing belt, rhs engine mount and under carriage rubber parts as preventative maintenance. I haven't done the heater hoses yet. They are still original. Also just done all the emission hoses. I carry the original radiator hoses underneath the spare tyre in case of an emergency.

[dlb]

I carry the original radiator hoses underneath the spare tyre in case of an emergency.

i like this idea. i think it's good preventative maintenance to replace old hoses even if they are not a problem yet, and it's win-win if you then have a spare hose in your emergency kit.

[Jonymoto]

Thanks, dlb. I will tackle that lhs engine mount soon. It's just hard getting to it with the AC compressor above it. I can't get the transmission mount here I ordered one from rock auto but they sent me the wrong one. Must've been one from the 2wd version.

[Petros]

when you replace the heater hoses (I would not wait too long), also put on some decent stainless hose clamps. those horrid wire clamps are almost impossible to get off in one piece, do not even try: take a wire cutter to them, cut and unwind them, and than cut the hose with a sharp knife to get it off the heater outlets. Toss all of it in the trash. The stainless screw type band clamps will serve you many years and can be reused.

[Jonymoto]

Thanks for the invaluable advice, Petros. I will tackle this in a couple of weekends from now.

[Petros]

I just had to replace my water pump, the seal on it was leaking like a sieve. It was a "lifetime warranty" water pump, my third one in fact. I have noticed that they get about 80k to 100k miles per water pump (I am coming up on 400k miles on my Tercel). I guess they figure they can give you a life time warranty on a 30 year old car with lots of miles on it becasue chances are you will never get another 100k out of it, so they will never have to give you a replacment water pump. Not me...heh, heh. I replaced the engine 3 1/2 years ago and swapped over the warranted water pump, so it was still installed in the same car.

I decided to also replace my thermostat and upper and lower radiator hoses (though the lower one is only about 3 1/2 years old, it is now my spare), to bring the hoses in sync with replacing the water pump. the t-stat was about the same age, and it was acting kind of odd (sudden small temp swings up and down), so it was time for it to be replaced (2 to 3 years is their life limit). Now the temp holds stead abut 40 percent of the way up the gauge, just below the thermometer graphic.

It occurred to me that the 100,000 mile water pump life is good milestone to also replace the radiator hoses, for most people that would be about 7 to 10 years. so it would be safe to use that as the replacement interval. both my timing belt and fan belt looked great, so they stayed, though normally those too would be a good milestone to replace the timing belt (these too were also new 3 1/2 years ago with the engine replacement).

So I would suggest that at the time you need to replace the water pump, also replace the upper and lower radiator hoses, the timing belt and front seal, along with new coolant.

Also, only buy new water pumps, they will last about 100k miles. rebuilt ones are junk and I have found they last only about a year or 15k miles. Not worth it.