Friday, March 16, 2007 - 08:17 am, by: Juan Landauro(Enigma)
Neil G has said some time ago:
“If the coolant is kept in good condition, the hoses will last a very long time. Most cases the life of the car”
Before reading this comment I have already bought brand new upper radiator and lower radiator hoses including their respective clamps. I did this because of those horrendous reports of broken coolant hoses and all the inconvenience that brings when the coolant hoses become inoperative. My car is close to 120K miles and I decided to replace the old ones for new ones. I have maintained my car (myself) since 4 years ago and I have changed the coolant every 2 years by using Red Toyota coolant. Before these 4 years my car was serviced by an authorized Lexus garage whose service was very costly and I was never happy with it for a number of reasons.
Perhaps if I would come across the comment of Neil before buying the hoses I would not bother to change them, however, because I already have the hoses I would like to make the change.
I would like someone who has changed these hoses to provide clear tips of how to do it, for example sequences of activities, difficulties, short cuts and tools. What about the thermostat? Can I change the hoses without touching the thermostat? Can I change the thermostat for a new one while changing the hoses?
There are two openings to drain the coolant out. There is a drain plug in the engine box and the drain cock in the bottom of the radiator. Is it straight forward to take the engine drain plug out? Do I need special coating to put over this plug in order to screw it again onto the engine box? Can I re-use the old coolant again or do I need to buy 8.4 litres of Red Toyota coolant?
Friday, March 16, 2007 - 11:11 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Yup, get concentrate, that way you don't have to worry about any water left in the system after flushing diluting the mix, you can just put a bit more concentrate in to even it up.