Upper & Lower hoses

[twinblown]

At what mileage should the upper and lower radiator hoses be replaced? I am going to be draining and refilling my coolant soon and just though of these hoses, ther is also one that runs in front of the engine. Any thoughts on these please post.

[08Datsun]

Back when my Maxima was newer, I asked my mechanics the same question. They said the hoses last a very long time as long as no oil gets on them. They advised replacing them when the car was 10 years old. I though it was crazy at the time, but those hoses were still in good shape when I finally replaced them. There are a lot more hoses than it looks. I haven't chased them all down on the PF, but the Maxima, which has an older VQ30, has about a half dozen hoses running to the heads here, to the heater there, etc. There were a couple small ones for the throttle body, too. A quick glance over the PF VQ40 shows much of the same arrangement.

[mar1]

i had an '81 Fiat with original hoses back in 2001.

[KEVSTER]

Hoses rott from the inside out.. that said you can feel the hoses when they are warm, NOT HOT.. feel for a soft spot.. work your hand along hose from one end to the other. I for one am a believer in preventive maintenance. if you have 45,000 miles on up, and you are doing a coolant flush, I would change the hoses along with a new thermostat.

[Tech]

I see 4.0l trucks all day everyday, with 100,000+ miles and the hoses are fine. I only just changed my first 4.0L rad hose the other day - due to head failure and oil contamination. Even the r50's seldom had any hoses go. the older ones with the VG's only ever have the upper rad hose go where the clamps are. On ours, just check for leaks where the heater hoses go thru the firewall, and the bleeder on the junction, if you have it (many don't).

[twinblown]

Thanks for the input. I am at 100K miles and will do my first coolant drain and fill. I will feel the hoses more carefully for soft spots and will consider replacing them in another 30K-50K miles with my second drain and fill.