mbhang

Hello,

I have a 99 GXE with 77 K (I have used drain and fill method to replace coolant every year using the expensive Nissan OEM coolant - never convinced that alternatives were silicate free or ok for Nissan).

The hoses still look good, but I am a little wary.

How many hoses are there, and are autozone/napa/kragen parts durable enough ?

Also, I didn't find anything in the FAQ's regarding hoses, maybe we need something in the FAQ about the same.

Would appreciate all your responses.

Thanks.

Manish.

DragonMaxima

iTrader: (7)

How many miles do you drive in a year?

Seems like overkill to change every year.

goldmax

Change all your belts and hoses every 4 or 5 years. Get from the dealer and ask for a discount. You can't beat Nissan parts for these items. Also replace the heater hoses and any other bypass hoses, etc. Just did mine for the second time the other day on my '97. It's coming up on 9 years old and deserves it! The same goes for your battery...replace it every 3 to 4 years just as preventative maintenance.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Anybody have all the part numbers for replacing 4th gen coolant hoses?

That would save me a lot of time since I want to order online to spite the stealership and save money.

86maxima96

iTrader: (10)

...how?

Mishmosh

iTrader: (3)

my upper coolant hose sprung a leak at about 100k miles. Went to Autozone and got the upper and lower hoses--they are preformed and not that expensive. Would recommend doing that when you change your belts as mentioned above.

Bobo

This is nonsense! You don't need to replace a battery every 3 or 4 years. That is a waste of money.

Similarly, you don't need to replace belts and hoses every 4 or 5 years.

My 95SE is 11 year 4 months old and I haven't replaced a belt or a hose yet, albeit the car has less than 62,500 miles on it. The belts and hoses checked out just fine on inspection by a mechanic in the fall and I will look at them again in the spring. I'm sure to be flamed for this, but the spark plugs are original too!

I am a lot more **** about routine replacement of all fluids, however.

Dubbya

iTrader: (16)

A simple inspection of the hoses and belts will tell you if they need to be replaced. If you dont trust your judgement then take it to a trustworthy mechanic and have them do the inspection.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

So if the outside of the hoses look fine, that means they're fine? Is there any reason they could wear out from the inside? If you're using the correct coolant I would think not but I don't know.

Bobo, goldmax lives in Georgia and batteries don't last nearly as long in the South because of the hotter average temps, so 3 to 4 years is probably reasonable. Hot weather is the enemy of batteries.

TurTLe*

iTrader: (11)

you can normally squeeze the hose. Should be soft, if anything hard or crunchy, get a new one.

As for the belts, check to see if they are loose. and check to see if the are cracked at all. Everything is really easy to see. If something looks like its messed up, chances are they are messed up.

I don't know in terms of battery. But normally when i get the time i put a voltage meter to my battery. Anything in the area of 12v is good enough for me. Normally around 5 years the battery doesn't hold a good enough charge, therefore you change them in terms of preventative maintience. I mean chances are its still good. But if you don't want to worry about having your car not start up during the cold cold winters. I would just change the battery. Its like $50-75 every 5 years. Rather then 1 day after 6 years (estimate) you go out and start your car and no luck. Then you gotta find a way to get to work or jump start it there. Get to work, find someone to jump you after work to drive to the auto store and what not. So people want to do things like that and some people don't.

At work i've seen people buy brake pads and not rotors even tho they are badly grooved and i even show them the rotor. They just want the pads just so save a couple of bucks. Same with timing belts, i show them a good one in the bay next to me then i show them theirs. They say their car can still run right? and i say yes but the belts going to snap soon. They don't want to buy the belts at all.

edwardh1

buy a brand name coolant hose- goodyear or gates
and compare it b4 you buy it to the old one. some off brands are an inch too short

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

I've never replaced a coolant hose in any vehicle I've ever owned.
Inspect them, if they are damaged, cracking, or soft and mushy replace them. If they appear good and feel firm, leave them alone.

maxgxe97

I changed the belts on my Max about 75k, due to some obvious wear and cracks. I've never changed the belts however, and it now has almost 105k. My mechanic said the hoses still look and feel good. I also replace batteries every 3 years, due to the hot summers we have in Arkansas.

darklegend06

iTrader: (11)

I mean when you go under the hood, check the hose. feel the hose and squeeze it, and see if it is hard or soft. If it is hard the hose is probably old and need replacement. If it is soft it is still in usable condition. If you see a soft spongy hose( identifiable by the swollen section) will eventually burst and should be replaced. That is just how I go by with my hose.

crazy97

iTrader: (1)

You don't drive your damn car like most people! Batteries don't give much warning when they go out so what's better, replaceing it every 4 years or going out and finding out your car doesn't start when you least expect it? i would go 5 years on a battery at the most and hoses will tend to start leaking at 5 years old.

SMX95

iTrader: (8)

when the coolant system builds pressure, lightly squeeze the coolant lines, if they are almost rock solid leave them alone, if you can squeeze them and they feel spongy replace them. Fill and drain method is horrid. go to a trusty mechanic and have them do a full system flush. Plus they will burp the system with the correct adaptor sets right after the flush.

every 2 years or 20k flush coolant and trans fluid.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (10)

Some cars need hoses replaced more often because the unusually high engine bay temperatures (turbocharged cars). This is not one of them.

My Maxima has original hoses at 141k, and still no sign of leaks. I would simply inspect them when you're under the hood as the others have suggested and replace as required. If you feel that you'd rather be safe than sorry, replacing the radiator hoses makes the most sense (larger diameter hoses see more stress than small ones), or even replace them all.

The parts are as follows (97 5 spd - as far as I could tell the automatics and manuals were the same, but be sure these are correct for your car if you order them)
Coolant Hose, Throttle Body 14055 $3.60 14055-31U00
Coolant Hose, Throttle Body 14056N $3.34 14056-31U01
Coolant Hose, Throttle Body 14056NC $3.34 14056-31U04
Coolant Hose, Throttle Body 14056NA $3.34 14056-31U05
Coolant Hose, Throttle Body 14056NB $3.34 14056-31U03
Radiator Hose, Upper 21501 $11.59 21501-31U10
Radiator Hose, Lower 21503 $11.59 21503-31U10
Coolant Hose, Reserve Tank 21515 $8.02 21741-71L00 *this one is just rubber tubing, cut to length - and would probably never go bad anyway.
So even if you buy them all, that's $40.19 if you don't include the reserve hose - hardly a wallet-busting way to "waste" money.

As for the guy who is asking dealers for a parts discount, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Some of the local dealers are charging 30-40% ABOVE MSRP!! And they usually don't have the part in stock anyway! Discounts from them are a complete joke. F**k them. Check out www.worldpartsexpress.com or www.pinnaclenissan.com and note their price and the list price. The parts I listed are priced from worldpartsexpress.

Dave

crazy97

iTrader: (1)

OMG YES! Before I was familliar with this site, I bought a KS for $190 from a local dealer. I still hurt from that one.

I have noticed our maxes tend to run cool in the engine bay. On the other hand you could fry a steak in an older jeep v8 engine bay.

VQuick

iTrader: (17)

Thanks a heap for the parts numbers! Saves me some time.


on worldpartsexpress.com. They seem to have prices at about 72% list (last I checked which was 6 months ago) which is the best I've found. Pinnacle and most other online OEM sites (e.g. Jim Rome with Org discount) only come to about 75% of list at best.

Bobo

More nonsense! I have been driving for over 37 years and have only had one problem with a leaky hose during that time. My belts and hoses are original and are just fine. I will replace them in due course.

My OEM battery lasted just over 7.5 years. I replaced it with a Motomaster battery from Canadian Tire that lasted 16 months. I got a pro-rated refund and told them to shove the battery. I went elsewhere and bought an AC Delco battery that is coming up to 1.5 years old. I believe it is a decent battery and it should last longer than 5 years.

Carry jumper cables and don't sweat the smell stuff. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

crazy97

iTrader: (1)

But for you at 6000 miles a year the normal rules for wear and tear do not apply to you. But hoses don't appear to be a high wear item on this type of car.

mikeg75

Fixed a small fuel leak today and then found a coolant leak under the throttle body. Decided to order a bunch of these little hoses and knock out the coolant hoses and the vacuum lines all at once, next time I go in there.

Thanks for listing these out. Made it simple to order them.

JvG

Do you realize that you replied to an 11 year old thread?

mikeg75

Responding again to an ancient thread but happy to say that I replaced all small coolant hoses and as many vacuum hoses as I could, when I took off the upper air intake manifold, which was a bear of a job for a first timer. I did 13 hoses in all, 4 coolant, 7 vacuum lines and 2 fuel lines, including the 1st two after the fuel filter. Replaced the fuel filter as well.

I have one small 90 degree coolant hose that is for the bottom front but I didn't wan't to drain coolant so did all the small ones this time around.

On a 23 year old car, it feels like I've extended her life a bit. Need to get to a couple more seals underneath to stop small oil and transmission drips but otherwise it still runs like a champ.

JvG

I want my old car to be as reliable as possibe, so that it will not leave me stranded somewhere when the car is far from home on a hot day. Such as on a mountain pass while on family vacation in August.

A leaking coolant hose is most likely to do that exact thing.

So I replace all hoses when I get a new to me car.

I go to the Gates hose website. I look up the Gates hose part numbers for all the hoses. Tgen I buy them through ebay or amazon.

I paid about 80 dollars for all of them a few years ago. This costs less than even one car tow.

I'd rather replace my hoses at my convience rather than paying much more some miserable day.

Some members might disagree with my point of view. That's your call.

Bobo

I am the original owner of a 95SE with less than 112,000 miles on it and haven't replaced a hose yet. I get the rad flushed every 5 years and use long-life coolant.

Both belts were replaced years ago.

I still have the original alternator.

The front brakes and rotors were replaced for the first time 2.5 years ago at 103,700 miles. The car is a 5-speed and I don't use the brakes much.

JvG

Our advice is generally based on the climate found in the States, including the hotter regions.

What part of BC do you live in? If you live in the coastal region your hoses will not be under much stress.

I understand that portions of BC do experience hot summers. If you live there, think things over.

uttadms31

Original hoses here at 271k. And they pass the feel test so I'm leaving them alone.

JvG

I'm 64.

I know that hoses last longer than they did 45 years ago.

It's clearly your call about whether to change them or not. The risk of hose failure increases as time passes.

I've driven past many cars on the side of the road on mountain passes.One time I had a thermostat fail whie climbing Siskiyou Summit . It's on I-5 on the Oregon/ California border. My Porsche 924 overheated. The head warped. It was 95 degrees that day. I had replaced the hoses, but not the thermostat.

What I'm saying is that everything is fine, then suddenly not fine at all.

Bobo

The car has spent all of its life on the coast of British Columbia, mostly in Greater Vancouver and the last 5..5 years on Vancouver Island outside Victoria. Mild winters, occasional heat waves in the summer. High 80s this past week, which is just about as hot as it gets.

sb001

395,000 miles and going on my 99 Maxima. Yes you read that right.
Hoses look fine, so I'll leave them be.

Frank Fontaine

My Maxima did get upper and lower, new hoses (they're easy DIY as is the radiator), but it seems that technology or something has changed over the last 20 years. I have a V8 Lexus which I elected to not DIY the timing belt, so I asked the indie garage, wouldn't it be good at this time to replace the hoses and thermostat? He told me probably not, if they are bad we will tell you, but there's no need to replace them just because. And our experience is that at your age (car was 10 at the time) they're generally not needed. And that was coming from a shop who obviously makes more money if they replace parts...(p.s. that was my first and only car ever that has a timing belt, odd, huh?)

JvG

Ok.

So most of you feel that replacing hoses is no longer needed.

I've been maintaining cars since 1971.

It appears that materials such as hoses are far better than they once were. That would be a good thing.

I experienced cooling system failure in the past.
I also know that overheating is one of the most common reasons for a car to die.

We have our biases and fears, based on past experience. Obviously this is one of mine.

I've been out voted.