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When to Replace Radiator and Coolant Hoses

16K views 26 replies 13 participants last post by  guyslp  
#1 ·
When (time, miles), and under what circumstances, have you replaced your radiator and coolant hoses? I'm especially interested if you replaced OE Toyota items. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Are you noticing pink coolant weeping, perhaps dried pink crusties Around seams?
 
#4 ·
No, and I'd not like to ever see that.

I'd say every 10 years, both, while also doing the thermostat. When they do start to go they may or may not give you plenty of warning, assuming it is noticed.

I cannot recall,
do these models have a water cooled transmission cooler at bottom of engine radiator? If so, even more reason to stick to a 10 yr schedule, don't want the 'pink milkshake' transmission issues.
I appreciate your conservative and proactive approach. I believe there's a water-cooled heat exchanger at the bottom fo the radiator.
 
#3 ·
I'd say every 10 years, both, while also doing the thermostat. When they do start to go they may or may not give you plenty of warning, assuming it is noticed.

I cannot recall, do these models have a water cooled transmission cooler at bottom of engine radiator? If so, even more reason to stick to a 10 yr schedule, don't want the 'pink milkshake' transmission issues.
 
#14 ·
Unfortunately, I had the "pink milkshake" happen at only 5500 miles on a new radiator---but that radiator was installed four years ago---so I have NO idea HOW that could've happened. The mechanic who installed the new radiator didn't give me a cheap Chinese knockoff, but he did ask a funny question ; "Was the car in an accident ? " I said YES, it was rear-ended SO hard that it also pushed my vehicle into the car in front of me ( damage at BOTH ends ). But the insurance company said " NO WAY " my radiator Trans cooler was damaged, thusly ruining my transmission with antifreeze ( when I filed a Supplemental 'hidden' damage claim ).
 
#6 ·
I change my radiators every 7 years whatever miles I have accumulate. This is due to stop and go traffic and hot climate. I buy Denso radiators same as Toyota OEM. New OEM water pump, OEM thermostat and gasket and new set of OEM upper and lower radiator hose and Toyota pink coolant. Also new OEM radiator cap.
 
#7 ·
My 2003 Camry 3.0L w/181,000 still has the original rad w/one set of new hoses.

One thing you can do to extend the life of the rad is to never put well water in it. At least if your live in an area with high iron content in the well water. Also, I'd change the coolant by Maint Sch in your manual. Periodic compressed air from the rear towards front to blow out debris is also a good idea.

As far as when to replace, my philosophy with hoses every 7-10yrs-100,000mi and radiator when it starts to leak/show signs of weeping. Hoses would be a good maintenance item to tie to timing belt change point.

Just my $0.02.
 
#8 ·
Both my Echo's at 22 years age still have the original radiators and coolant hoses. My brothers 81 truck was 38 years old when I replaced the radiator and coolant hoses, but then I rode a motorcycle with 40 year old tires for 200 miles (VERY CAREFULLY) before I could monitor the oil used (NOT A DROP) and and replace the original 1971 tires that still held air!!!!
The ten year standard was why I adhered to when I ran my shop, especially in cars that had no service of those systems.
Bought a totalled Honda Civic VX 1994 that had the seal in the master cylinder cap falling apart from the brake fluid, but never had to replace any brake system components other than the cap itself and I sold it 35k miles later still with the original front brake pads and rear shoes.
Old school maintenance schedules no longer apply, but there are a lot of conditions to any replacement recommendation.
Seen way to may circumstances where owners spent a lot of money bringing maintenance current only to have the car totalled out from under them and their investment was a huge loss.
Bought a BMW 2002 for $300 at a salvage auction and it had $1100 in reciepts for tires, radio, exhaust and other stuff I can not remember. since it was almost 50 years ago.
If you car is garaged, kept meticulously clean, and carefully driven, then I would not worry about it until you pass 15 years age, ASSuming you don not live in a high corrosion environment.
I just replaced the muffler in my 195K mile manual Echo, not because it was no good for inspection. It rattled when I kicked it, BADLY, internals were coming apart. Was told it was pieces of the catalytic converter, BUT there were no CELS so I did not worry too much about that.
 
#9 ·
would a perhaps simple drain/fill of old coolant and then fine-particle-filter what comes out to see if any internals from radiator are chinking out into the coolant and circulating through the system help to determine if a radiator showing no weeping sign is due for replacement

i've read of fine crusty aged particles acting as sandpaper on aluminum/metal heads by gaskets and wear 'em down causing other headaches in the very-long-term
 
#10 ·
I had a 1986 Corolla with 225,000 miles on it and we dumped it for a 2010 in summer of 2009. In all those years we never had a hose problem on the 1986. I have a 1998 Corolla that has never needed a coolant hose changed, thought at 125,000 miles the waterpump developed a small leak and I changed it. You can change parts in your car as often as you like and maybe you should just for your peace of mind. So far though, I've seen Toyota coolant hoses to be much more robust than other manufacturers.
 
#12 ·
the only hose 'failure' i have experienced was on the truck a few years back when the constant tension clamp had made such a large indent into the rubber after 20+ years that it would no longer keep a good tight seal on the upper, allowing pressurized coolant to weep out precipitously into a big pink puddle! so bot a new Toyota-grade upper hose and re-used original clamp and no more leaking




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#11 · (Edited)
Here is my issue with replacement parts.

Are they as good quality as the part I am replacing?

I have a bag of light bulbs taken off my parts car, never needed one in 5 years, from the age of 17 to the age of 21 years AND 50k miles. I never replaced a light bulb in a 1971 Honda CB 350 that I got when it was 40 years old. Once I gave a customer a used light bulb, no charge, and the SOB comes back the next day to complain about what went bad on his car when I changed a single light bulb, told him to go pound sand.

That's a 1971 production Honda CB350 light bulb still working perfectly at age 40 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone here actually believe that a newly manufactured light bulb will last until I am 111 years old. I for one will never find out, but there has to be a level of quality that simply costs too much to maintain today and make a profit. In my opinion those days are long gone.

The Japanese car manufacturers basically cleaned Americas clock with their imports 50 years ago. I remember starting a 1972 Chevrolet, brand new on the lot. If you tried to put it in gear it stalled. The only solution was to leave it running for a few minutes. At the same dealership they were replacing 40 engines a month in the then new VEGAS. GMs response was customers were using a different antifreeze. This is the same GM that told customers to pour BON AMI down the carb on their NEW 55 small block V8s due to major oil consumption.

Will we ever go back to that state of affairs, probably not, but you can bet yer arse that "the rubbish coming out of China" will never come close to that longevity. These days if I am looking at anything to buy I try my hardest to not buy from China. Recently I bought a cheap Wal Mart cell phone charger (not that cheap at 8 bucks).

The POS blew out two 15 amp fuses on both my Echos. I replaced one radio due to its poor performance and the $60 replacement is light years better than the 12 year old piece of China crap that came out of the car, but GUESS WHAT !!!! THE DAMN ORIGINAL JAPANESE SPEAKERS STILL WORK GREAT AT 22 YEARS OLD.

My Echo oxygen sensor seems to be getting lazy, fuel economy id dropping somewhat. No codes or anything that would confirm my suspicion, but the other side of my brain is screaming YOU ARE HEADED INTO AN UNKNOWN SITUATION WITH A PART THAT POTENTIALLY IS JUNK, SO BE VERY CAREFUL, YOU MAY HAVE TO PUT BACK IN THE ONE YOU JUST TOOK OUT.

If it ain't broke don't FIX it wins again, or I'll get a Denso from Rock Auto, the remanufactured starter sounds like a brand new one and the old one was making some noises I don't like, but then I can push start the car myself so I'm not dead on the side of the road.
 
#13 ·
Who knows, Denso was once Japanese made, now in other countries. Despite this, I bought one for my 01 4Runner about 8 years ago from amazon, arrived nicely, installed perfectly and still cools today. \

Have some faith, many good things are still made, many not, its a crxp shoot yet what are your choices?
 
#15 ·
The radiator and engine/trans are not connected to the same main parts of the vehicle.

Radiator is on body while the engine/trans are on the frame. So in a rear end, the two don't get hit/moved the same way. This would cause enough movement of the transmission in/out lines from the radiator to break their seals.
 
#16 ·
The radiator and engine/trans are not connected to the same main parts of the vehicle.

Radiator is on body while the engine/trans are on the frame. So in a rear end, the two don't get hit/moved the same way. This would cause enough movement of the transmission in/out lines from the radiator to break their seals.
So you're saying the (horrific) rear-ender in 2019 COULD have caused a gradual leak in the Trans cooler ? ( radiator was put in NEW in 2018 ). Because of COVID, the vehicle wasn't driven much, starting March 2020 ; transmission problems started in Fall of 2021---slipping gears, clunking sounds---but got SO bad in Spring 2022 that the trans would give OUT in DRIVE at the worst possible times ( like trying to turn left thru cross traffic ; vehicle would rev Only, & wouldn't move out of the way of oncoming cars ! ). I argued that the 2019 accident caused HIDDEN damage, that didn't fully surface until almost three years later ( because of COVID restrictions ). They said NO WAY.
 
#20 ·
Correct answer is...never. Unless they're very hard, or conversely very soft. The non OE you use will be very hard or very soft in about 2 years.
P.S. Get rid of the spring clamps when possible.
When the hoses get replaced I'll be using OE.

What do you suggest the spring clamps be replaced with, and why? Are the factory original clamps on the hoses spring clamps?
 
#23 ·
An original radiator will last a long time but it won't last forever.

Id personally not change it unless there is a failure. But I'm cheap... but I also inspect everything regularly looking for leaks or cracks and can change my radiator in like 15 minutes..... My old original radiator had tiny hairline cracks on the tank that would drip... .that's when i replaced mine........a year after I noticed the leaks and they got slightly worse.......... The tanks also discolored to a brownish color.... that's another way you can tell the plastic is getting old. It was about 16 years old but had less than 40K miles. I probably should have changed it earlier cause that was a disaster waiting to happen.


If you don't want to wait for a failure, Id say check everything once a week. Look for

1. cracks / leaks
2. coolant loss / puddling
3, Discolored radiator tanks
4. feel for mushy or excessively hard brittle hoses.

If you were to go by a time...Id go once every 25 years for the radiator, and change the hoses whenever you change the radiator. Don;t foerget to inspect / check heater hoses... those usually go bad before the actual radiator hoses...
 
#24 ·
An original radiator will last a long time but it won't last forever.

Id personally not change it unless there is a failure. But I'm cheap... but I also inspect everything regularly looking for leaks or cracks and can change my radiator in like 15 minutes..... My old original radiator had tiny hairline cracks on the tank that would drip... .that's when i replaced mine........a year after I noticed the leaks and they got slightly worse.......... The tanks also discolored to a brownish color.... that's another way you can tell the plastic is getting old. It was about 16 years old but had less than 40K miles. I probably should have changed it earlier cause that was a disaster waiting to happen.


If you don't want to wait for a failure, Id say check everything once a week. Look for

1. cracks / leaks
2. coolant loss / puddling
3, Discolored radiator tanks
4. feel for mushy or excessively hard brittle hoses.

If you were to go by a time...Id go once every 25 years for the radiator, and change the hoses whenever you change the radiator. Don;t foerget to inspect / check heater hoses... those usually go bad before the actual radiator hoses...

Oops, i meant 15 years... not 25

Granted the radiator in my S10 was over 25 years old and perfectly fine looking.. I ended up replacing it because the little nub where the overflow hose goes crumbled from age.... you can bet that if that was crumbling, the rest of the plastic tanks were about to crumble as well....