Hoses and Belts

[triadguy]

I have a 2004 Corolla LE (automatic) with just over 75,000 miles. Just had it serviced recently, mechanic said I should consider replacing the radiator hose. When I asked if anything was wrong with it, he said No.
I went online and did a little research about the radiator hose and most of the answers I found said that it's a good idea to get it replaced at around 40 to 60k miles, even if it shows no wear or tear cause it can suddenly fail without warning. But then someone mentioned that the newer vehicles have hoses that are made to last the lifetime of the the vehicle.
My question, is it necessary to get it replaced? Also, are there any other hoses and belts that should be replaced at certain intervals. Thanks in Advance and Happy New Year!

[hardtopte72]

The radiator hoses on these cars seem to last a pretty long time. If the hoses are hard, dry rotted, or cracking internally replace them.

For the belt unless it is squealing, cracked, glazed, or damaged It doesn't need to be replaced.

[jmazz77]

I would do it just for piece of mind. I just hit 40k on my '06 yesterday. Come spring I plan on replacing all the hoses (incl. heater-most commonly overlooked), & the serp. belt. Serp. Belt has a lot of little cracks on the ribs.. Which is normal. As long as it is not cracked on the backside, fraying on the edges, or cracked in between the ribs it should be OK. But, I don't mind changing it for piece of mind. Just my .02

[z27ls3]

I'd let it go 10 years, and do genuine toyota when you do them. If your doing 1 logically you would want to do all cooling system rubber hoses at the same time, right?
I have never seen any toyota towed in in last 6 years for a blown hose. I have however seen several cooked motors where the belt driven water pump stopped turning due to broken belt.

serp belt - yes
hoses - not yet.
water pump - check it, replace if leaking.

I know of and have seen a 08 prius with 450,000 +++ miles (correct miles)
more than four hundred fifty thousand. and its mostly original and runs well. (factory hoses still going strong)

new toyotas need water pumps every 50-75k miles (not cooling system hoses)

[MasterTecInSTL]

I wouldn't bother with the hoses. I've had customers come to me and insist they need their hoses replaced and the brand new aftermarket hoses are often in no better shape than their 7+ year old original ones!

Hose technology has come a long way in the last 15 years or so and unless the cooling system is contaminated with oil or some other mechanical damage occurs to the hoses there is really rarely any reason to need to replace them.

The only times I've ever seen a hose (that wasn't contaminated with oil) blow on a 2000+ car, even those with very high miles was due to mechanical damage - such as the hose rubbing against a bracket or due to someone replacing a spring clamp with a worm gear clamp and cranking it down way too tight... those types of things.

Corrosion build up is the most common cause of hose replacements.. in other words the thermostat housing (or some other hose connection) corrodes and causes the hose to leak at the fitting. Usually the fix here is to remove the hose and clean the corrosion (and if too bad replace the housing) and then install a new hose but unless there's a lot of pitting in the hose itself I can tell you that replacing it is almost always not necessary.. it's usually more of a "while it's off" or a "way to pad the repair invoice" kind of deal.

The hoses in these 9GENS last virtually forever. If you can find no problems with your hoses then save your money.

As far as belts go if it's making noise then replace the belt and the tensioner. Also make sure the water pump isn't leaking allowing coolant/antifreeze to get on the belt. If the belt is severely cracked (cracks all the way across all of the ribs in places) then it should be replaced. If it's frayed then replace it. If it only has mild cracking and isn't making noise then replacement is not yet necessary but these are inexpensive enough and easy enough to replace you may choose to do so just for piece of mind.

[dorman68]

Originally Posted by MasterTecInSTL

I wouldn't bother with the hoses. I've had customers come to me and insist they need their hoses replaced and the brand new aftermarket hoses are often in no better shape than their 7+ year old original ones!

Hose technology has come a long way in the last 15 years or so and unless the cooling system is contaminated with oil or some other mechanical damage occurs to the hoses there is really rarely any reason to need to replace them.

The only times I've ever seen a hose (that wasn't contaminated with oil) blow on a 2000+ car, even those with very high miles was due to mechanical damage - such as the hose rubbing against a bracket or due to someone replacing a spring clamp with a worm gear clamp and cranking it down way too tight... those types of things.

Corrosion build up is the most common cause of hose replacements.. in other words the thermostat housing (or some other hose connection) corrodes and causes the hose to leak at the fitting. Usually the fix here is to remove the hose and clean the corrosion (and if too bad replace the housing) and then install a new hose but unless there's a lot of pitting in the hose itself I can tell you that replacing it is almost always not necessary.. it's usually more of a "while it's off" or a "way to pad the repair invoice" kind of deal.

The hoses in these 9GENS last virtually forever. If you can find no problems with your hoses then save your money.

As far as belts go if it's making noise then replace the belt and the tensioner. Also make sure the water pump isn't leaking allowing coolant/antifreeze to get on the belt. If the belt is severely cracked (cracks all the way across all of the ribs in places) then it should be replaced. If it's frayed then replace it. If it only has mild cracking and isn't making noise then replacement is not yet necessary but these are inexpensive enough and easy enough to replace you may choose to do so just for piece of mind.

Couldn't of said it any better myself - all of my vehicles have their original hoses and show no signs of pending failure. I replaced the original upper rad hose on my 93 Ranger just for the hell of it as I was replacing the thermostat anyway, the aftermarket junk hose only lasted a year, it started to swell up, I put the original one back on and all is well. Hope this helps.