How long do coolant hoses last?

[daugen]

Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has had a coolant hose fail over time.
I have a twelve year old used Jaguar XJR I just bought and am considering changing out the coolant hoses.
Mechanic said Euro hoses were better quality than American and that I could expect at least 20 years.
I am NOT a wait until it fails guy. Definitely into preventive maintenance and do not want to be yet another car on the side of the road
with steam coming out.

So how long do auto/truck coolant hoses last? Clearly external conditions have some effect, but does 20 years make sense?
I would have thought less.
And which goes first, the upper or the lower coolant hose? Which is first to go, that should be the one first to replace...

Am changing the coolant on a 12 year old car with 72k miles. My instincts are to change out the upper and lower radiator hoses
but am I just wasting money? There is value to me in not worrying about things though.

How many years in did a coolant hose fail on you?
thanks

 

[JerryK]

I replaced my 1981 John Deere's hoses a couple years ago, and the old ones were still serviceable. But, I remember in my youth, that radiator hoses failed with less years on them. So, the quality of the hose probably means something. Back then, it was common for radiator/heater cores/and hoses to go south on you at the worst of times... But if you are going to flush your system, why not throw a new set of hoses... Then you know you should be good to go for X amount of years in the future. Hoses are not that expensive in the long scheme of things.

 

[RalphVa]

Our 1983 240D Benz was sold at 26 years of age with the original heater and radiator hoses. They were still very pliable.

Only radiator hose I've ever had go was on the wife's 1961 Studebaker Lark when it was only about 4 years old. Kept it years longer and never replaced another hose.

On the 240D, I changed the antifreeze every other year (regimen then) and had to remove the lower hose to empty the radiator. Hose was still good after 26 years, but the radiator blew out its plastic bottom in about 1995.

Ralph

 

[Gem99ultra]

My advice is to not worry about the 'life' of the hoses that you have on your Jag... go ahead and replace the hoses (AND BELTS) when you flush your cooling system.

Compared to the inconvenience, and possibly expense related to a failed hose or belt, as well as the value of your car, good maintenance makes good sense. They always fail at the most opportune time. There is no such thing as 'over maintenance'.

You can mark me down as one that is overly conscientious about maintenance. I'm the same way about oil, grease, filter changes, and tires.

 

[houstonscott]

Want to really be safe, every five years....HS

 

[murphy1244]

If you change your hoses you might want to think about heater hoses and thermostat.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has had a coolant hose fail over time.
I have a twelve year old used Jaguar XJR I just bought and am considering changing out the coolant hoses.
Mechanic said Euro hoses were better quality than American and that I could expect at least 20 years.
I am NOT a wait until it fails guy. Definitely into preventive maintenance and do not want to be yet another car on the side of the road
with steam coming out.

So how long do auto/truck coolant hoses last? Clearly external conditions have some effect, but does 20 years make sense?
I would have thought less.
And which goes first, the upper or the lower coolant hose? Which is first to go, that should be the one first to replace...

Am changing the coolant on a 12 year old car with 72k miles. My instincts are to change out the upper and lower radiator hoses
but am I just wasting money? There is value to me in not worrying about things though.

How many years in did a coolant hose fail on you?
thanks

A few months back I had my wife's 2003 SUV in for its 100,000 mile service and it still had all original hoses and belts(brake pads also) on it. The fan belt was showing some wear so I had that replaced but all the hoses were still good and the mechanic suggested not to change them.
Most radiator hoses will start to show a bulge before they blow so a visual inspection will turn up a weak hose before it blows.

Changing the hoses would be cheap insurance against a failure though and since you are pulling the lower hose anyway to flush the old anti-freeze out, it might be a good time to change that one out. The top is much easier to get to for replacement than the bottom one and can be changed without a lot of coolant loss if you elect to leave it as is for now.

If you decide to change the hoses, don't forget to change the heater hoses also and any other hoses that circulate water from the radiator. I have had heater hoses blow when the radiator hoses were still good.

 

[IslandTractor]

We all love to complain about declining quality in modern manufacturing compared to the good ole days but there are some elements in engines and cars that are clearly better and more reliable today than yesteryear. I'd put hoses, along with belts, spark plugs, oils, tires, electric gauges and batteries into the "newer is better" pile. We used to see cars pulled over with broken belts and hoses routinely. It's relatively uncommon today. Hose materials are better today and last longer. Engines generally last longer and not because folks are more conscientious about preventive maintenance. Older notions of when items like hoses or oil need changing need to be reassessed in light of the overall improvement in engine reliability.

I'd check hoses, belts Etc annually but only change if visible deterioration was evident.

 

[daugen]

thanks for info guys, I am reminded of the life ratings for shingle roofs.
I wouldn't routinely replace a 30 year roof if I were only at 12 years, unless it showed some
physical wear. My problem is I don't know how long the hoses now routinely last, what the "normal" is.
I agree, yes, modern chemistry/engineering can give us better hoses. I have replaced normal hoses with silicon hoses in my old boat
and I sure know what those cost, yikes. This car was built under Ford's ownership and QC, with some Ford Mondeo parts but still an all aluminum car
whose body at least isn't going anywhere for a long long time. I'm just trying to get it reliable. Salesman not helpful in getting service records. Bought out of state.
So I have only my eyes and ears and instincts to go on.

 

[orezok]

Want to really be safe, every five years....HS

Naaa... that's only on German cars :laughing:

 

[IslandTractor]

Naaa... that's only on German cars :laughing:

Especially the diesels!:thumbsup:

 

[Diamondpilot]

My advice is to not worry about the 'life' of the hoses that you have on your Jag... go ahead and replace the hoses (AND BELTS) when you flush your cooling system.

Compared to the inconvenience, and possibly expense related to a failed hose or belt, as well as the value of your car, good maintenance makes good sense. They always fail at the most opportune time. There is no such thing as 'over maintenance'.

You can mark me down as one that is overly conscientious about maintenance. I'm the same way about oil, grease, filter changes, and tires.

I agree. If you have any doubt just change them.

Chris

 

[houstonscott]

Coolant every two years, hoses every four years. You'll never be down when you need the tractor. HS

 

[murphy1244]

Coolant every two years, hoses every four years. You'll never be down when you need the tractor. HS

No but you will be broke and diesel poor.

 

[IslandTractor]

No but you will be broke and diesel poor.

And don't forget the opportunity to break something (other than your knuckles) when doing unnecessary maintenance. Murphy's Law comes into play.

 

[bdog]

My 2007 peterbilt with 850k miles blew three coolant hoses in one month earlier this year. I replaced them all. Took two days as their are miles of them for the heater in the cab, sleeper, tranny cooler, etc. Most of them seemed to be in pretty poor shape when I took them off. Don't know if it was the fact they were nine years old or the miles.

 

[4570Man]

I have never changed heater hoses. I have some that are potentially as old as 1994, but I don't know that. I have some that are at least 15 years old. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[houstonscott]

And don't forget the opportunity to break something (other than your knuckles) when doing unnecessary maintenance. Murphy's Law comes into play.

If you have aluminum radiators you need to change coolant every two years. Coolant has many additives to preserve the interior passages in the engine head and the radiator, they only are active for about two years. If you are a fumble bunny and can't get it right have it done for you... HS

 

[daugen]

To keep parts like new, I'm sure HS's approach is sound, and likely called for, in the manual. My new to me car has a requirement I change the brake fluid
every two years. That's an expensive job, flushing, test driving it afterwards, lot of time involved.
I'd never do it, but I am having it done once, now, to set a baseline. Many of the newer fluids are synthetic and seem to last longer.

If an aluminum radiator is subject to electrolysis, through chemical reactions, that's not good. Need to flush that corrosive stuff out, and yes, I can understand how additive "packs" can wear out. Why not dump some refresher chemicals in at two years, and then flush every third time or 100,000 miles, whichever is first.
The reality is folks don't do this level of maintenance normally. With cars, most folks don't maintain them very well and drive them until something breaks.
They don't understand they have an asset they need to maintain to not only ensure good operation but also financial value.

I don't know how well my car was maintained, so I have to assume nothing and start from scratch with baselines. And then do maintenance from there on out, guided by the owner's manual. Guided...I am not changing my brake fluid every two years. I'd frankly be surprised if it's been changed more than once in the last 12 years.
And water hoses, I have to assume no one did any preemptive work there.

are there any really good brands of water hose? Anyone know this market? I know what brands of oil filters and air filters I want to use because of research, but
there isn't much "knowledge" out there on water hoses. And we have all seen folks by the roadside with hoods up and steam coming out. My goal is for that to not be me.

 

[IslandTractor]

If you have aluminum radiators you need to change coolant every two years. Coolant has many additives to preserve the interior passages in the engine head and the radiator, they only are active for about two years. If you are a fumble bunny and can't get it right have it done for you... HS

Agree but most radiators don't require removal of hoses to flush and change coolant. Fluids can be changed and radiators flushed without replacing or even disturbing hoses.