On Sun, 12 Oct 2003 05:20:21 GMT, "redeyedevil"
<redeyedevilREMOVE@hotmail.com> wrote:

>
>"George Macdonald"
>
>>
>> I replaced every single coolant hose on my '92 Integra at ~115000 miles
>> about a year ago and it was a PITA to get at many of the small ones - took
>> hours. When I examined the small used ones I figured I'd wasted my time
>on
>> them - they don't degrade much. I think at that kind of mileage it's a
>> good idea to replace the main ones: top/bottom radiator hoses, heater and
>> bypass - those are the ones with the fiber reinforcement which tends to go
>> brittle with age.
>>
>> BTW when you "check" them it's better not to squeeze them too hard - that
>> can break the fibers inside which have become brittle with age/heat.
>
>
>Thanks George,
>
>Looks like am I due to replace at least the main hoses. Though they are
>only 5 1/2 years old, they have 140k miles on them. Knowing what you now
>know, what mileage or age would you change the remaining hoses?

Well your age/mileage profile is a little different from mine and I'm not
sure which degrades them more - at a guess, the heat cycling is probably
what does in the internal fiber reinforcement more than age. When I took
the old main hoses out, I had to bend them to get around obstructions and I
could feel the fibers breaking as I did it. If the hoses look sound
externally, you could always replace the top radiator hose - an easy one -
first and bend it to see if it feels like the fibers are brittle. Then you
know what the others are like.

For all the little hoses around the intake manifold plenum, based on what I
saw, unless they are obviously damaged physically due to abuse or by oil
rot of the rubber, they are probably good for the life of the car. The
rubber gets a little harder than new but they are quite thick walled and
tough.

BTW the reason I did all of them was that my daughter was taking the car to
college and I wanted to be sure she would not have a breakdown - at quite
some distance from home - due to old hoses.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??