I'm ready for new coolant hoses (and thermostat) and I remember reading a few posts of people replacing the 2 'hard' coolant lines with 5/16" fuel lines (or some other kind of flexible hose). Is it advisable to replace the hard coolant lines in this manner for a "long term solution" and if so, could someone provide me with a link to the exact hose/fuel line to use. Definitely don't want to get this wrong!

Also, I was planning on going Genuine for the two main hoses (PCH000460G, PEH000080G) and possibly the other smaller hoses too if I can't find a good aftermarket brand (not Uro brand from what I've read). The Genuine hoses have been good to me, but they're expensive for sure. Can anyone recommend a good aftermarket brand?

Any feedback about this would be greatly appreciated; I'm ready to order.

 

no link, but that is the beauty of it. go to home depot/local parts house/lowes/maybe walmart/found mine laying in a tub of plumbing parts, in my garage, get it anywhere.
just 5/16 line
for the long run.....I have had mine on for a couple of years. I will contact you and let you know if it fails. that should give you a little lead time.

 

Yeah please let me know if yours ever fails... plenty of lead time for me! ha! Thanks for the reply as I was concerned that when I went out to purchase that there may be different "grades" of the 5/16" hose and I wanted to make sure that I ended up with the right stuff. Sounds like I can't go wrong... 5/16" hose... period.

 

i did, originally, try thicker 5/16 heater hose, but it was hard to stuff it under the shroud. so i got a roll of black fuel line from lowes

 

Good to know. Thanks again dusty.

 

I went ahead and replaced all my hard hoses as stated above, been over 4 years with no prob. Nice thing is if they break its easy to repair/replace on the trail.

 

Just use caution when you are pushing the new rubber hoses on to any plastic fittings like the one on the radiator and the ones at the water bottle tank. Occasionally they get brittle and if you snap off one like at the radiator you are looking at adding to the cost and radiators aren't cheap. I used a dab of KY jelly. Don't laugh, it is a water based lubricant so it won't damage rubber and might come in handy for other things.

Also it you are doing hoses, etc. you might check the throttle body heater plate that has the 2 hose fittings just under the throttle body. The gasket between the metal faces is prone to leaking and now would be a good time to remove the plate, clean the surface and apply gasket sealer and a new gasket when you assemble it. I used a good sticky copper based gasket sealant and mine has not leaked anymore. Some owners bypass the fitting and just connect the hoses with a bit of copper tubing but if you expect to be driving in cold conditions in the winter it could effect your performance on start up.

 

All Makes has the coolant lines much cheaper in price than oem. The fit and construction was almost exact just thought I would throw that out there.