You all changing your radiator/heater hoses?

my truck is a 2006 with 165k miles.

I went truck shopping yesterday, and it’s clear I’m keeping mine . (Sticker shock)

I’m thinking of some routine preventative maintenance. My hoses are original. They feel okay. No soft spots or crunchy areas.

The radiator hoses look like “low hanging fruit”. Up front and center. Easy. Heater hoses look more complicated. It was too hot(the motor) to look closely, but it can’t be that hard.

I have issues with the coolant. It goes everywhere, despite my best efforts to contain the spill.

Anyone doing this? There is no clear direction on longevity of the rubber bits.

Tips? Advice? Hate to kill my cat with the impending spill.

 

Oh. For kicks I called a local shop. $500. Haha. (Sticker shock #2)

 

If you think they need replaced, the radiator hoses are a pretty easy job. I'm not sure what access you have for heater hoses though on these engines. Definitely do the radiator hoses yourself if you have time.

 

$500 to replace the hoses?! Dang, that is insane. At 100K, I replaced the coolant, hoses, hose clamps, thermostat, and belt for less than $100. That being said, the hoses looked in good shape; they could have gone 150K, but they are relatively inexpensive and provided good peace of mind to replace them.

Edit: to be transparent, my notes indicate I did all this at 1392020 miles. Then, not too long after, at 152K, I replaced all the idler pulley bearings. Note - the belt gets in the way; thus, if replacing the belt, check the pulleys and replace them for they will be much easier to access and torque down with the belt out of the way.

 

HPS silicone radiator hoses.

Look them up.

 

I'm at 171k miles on my 06 with stock hoses...I'll likely keep the original hoses till they fail.

 

This why you sometimes see cars stranded on the side of the road with white steam shooting up into the sky. The don't-fix-it-if-it-aint-broke philosophy contradicts preventive maintenance.

 

Most of that is shop labor rates. You can DIY much cheaper.

 

Inspect/check every oil change and you should be fine.

 

@Accipiter13 It's a no-brainer for you and me; @kidthatsirish said he will wait until the hoses fail.

 

If your going to do a full coolant change to protect from corrosion.
Seems like you mise well do the hoses. Rubber degrades.
And knowing my luck if I didn't I'd have to replace a hose rite after the new coolant. And coolant isn't cheap.

 

I've always been amazed by the don't-worry-about-it attitude you see on this forum when it comes to belts/hoses.

OP - your truck is 13 yrs. old. It's not just about mileage. Age also plays a factor with belts and hoses.

If it were my truck I would get busy and start replacing rubbery stuff under the hood..

 

It did not occur to me to change the heater hoses, I’ll look into that.

I did change the radiator hoses, coolant, radiator cap, overflow hose and thermostat at 130k just as preventative maintenance. Was cheap, easy and fun.

 

Your idea of fail and my idea of fail might not be the same thing...nor might our ideas of preventative maintenance.

 

My belts are done. My wife’s serpentine belt was hanging on by a thread. Still surprisingly robust.

I changed both our cars that same day.

I want to dump my coolant anyways. Seems a short line to draw to the point the hoses are right there.

I take my truck hunting in the boonies.

 

million miles .


I know typo.

 

Can’t believe nobody thought or mentioned this:

Change your coolant lines when you change your water pump.

I just did the following at 175k. Water pump, tensioner, belt, thermostat, coolant hoses, needle bearing replacement, full suspension replacement including oem upper and lower control arms, all tranny and engine oil/filter changed, new spark plugs, new air and cabin filter.... oh and new front rotors and pads.

 

this is actually what my shop (friend) in my old hometown told me. inspect hoses and do the drain and flush only. (and change the cap)

 

roger that!

i do most of my own maintenance. and i decided to to this myself as well. of your list..i think my PS fluid is delinquent. the rest i got up to date.

thanks for the kick in the ass.

 

Real nice stuff