Silicone hoses

[csaxon]

I've noticed several vehicles using silicone vacuum, heater, and radiator hoses. How durable are they?
Do they hold up to the vacuum draw or do they tend to collapse?

How do these water hoses hold up to chemicals in the antifreeze and heat? Are they expensive?

[YESCA]

I personally would not get them. I bought a set for my Gen 4 Camry and after a couple hours the silicone hoses collapsed on me. Silicone holds up well but when the heat hits it they suck. I thing the ones you are seeing are for show purpose. However they do make some pricey ones and I'm sure they will work, but don't go the cheap route like I did.

[Toysrme]

Depending on how good they are, they're awsome.
I just replaced all my vacuum and coolant lines with high-temp silicone. Replaced all my fuel, hydraulic, and brake lines with new rubber also. 1992.5 - 2004 and a lot of them were starting to split around the edges.

The trick to silicone tubing is not using thin walled silicone when you shouldn't... Always use the thicker walled. The simple fact is that silicone bends 500 times better, but because of that, it will collapse if there is too much vacuum in the line.



A during shot of the new hoses.

[csaxon]

Thanks for the info. Where would I look to find these hoses? Any web site or car part chain?