Should I Replace my Radiator Hose?

The cooling system in your vehicle is one of the most vital systems in your car.  If your power steering system suddenly fails, your vehicle will become difficult to steer but no long term damage will be caused.  Similarly, if your alternator fails your battery light will come on and your vehicle will only run as long as your battery can sustain power for the electronics.  On the other hand, if your cooling system fails and you continue to drive, you can do significant and permanent damage to your engine requiring significant rebuilds or even a new motor.  We have seen everything for blown head gaskets to cracked blocks from driving with a malfunctioning cooling system so it is extremely important to make sure everything is working properly with your cooling system.

Your vehicle’s motor requires a cooling system to help keep temperatures in the range that the motor was designed to operate within.  Some smaller engines, like lawn equipment, motorcycles or even some older production cars use air cooled motors but these motors are usually relatively crude and inefficient.  To extract maximum power and efficiency from an internal combustion engine it has to operate at relatively high temperatures and those temperatures have to remain relatively consistent once it’s warmed up.  The cooling system in your vehicle helps expedite the warm up process, keeps the temperature constant during normal operation, and helps remove waste heat from high temperature combustion.  Since your engine is designed to operate with a properly functioning cooling system, temperatures can skyrocket quickly if it fails.

The cooling system in your vehicle is a relatively simple system.  The main components consist of the radiator, ther
mostat, heater core, water pump, water jacket in your motor, and the hoses that connect everything.  The water jacket is the space around your motor’s cylinders and in the cylinder head that allows that water to flow and cool the motor.  The radiator is at the front and transfers waste heat to the air as your vehicle drives.  The thermostat is a valve that controls the flow of coolant through the system.  As things heat up, the valve allows more coolant to flow through the radiator keeping things at a constant temperature.  The heater core allows warm coolant to flow into your ventilation system to heat the cabin air in your vehicle.

The hoses that connect all of these components are usually made of soft rubber so they can be flexible and allow movement of your engine while still transferring coolant to the other components that are rigidly mounted to your vehicle.  Due to the heating and cooling cycles of your engine, the exposure to the chemicals in your cooling system, and exposure to the elements in your engine bay, these hoses will deteriorate over time.  Most vehicle manufacturers do not specify how often these hoses should be replaced.  The best way to determine if your cooling system hoses need to be replaced is by a simple visual inspection.  With your vehicle off and cool, start by squeezing each of the hoses.  The rubber should feel firm and spring back to shape immediately.  If your hoses feel spongy or do not quickly return to round after you squeeze them, it is an indication that the rubber is getting old and may fail.  Also, check the ends of the hoses for fraying and cracks.  Also, every cooling hose should have a clamp holding it onto the component it is supplying.  Check around that clamp for cracks and for swelling.  If it looks like the hose is swollen over or around the clamp that can be an indication that your hose needs to be replaced.

Since your cooling system is so important to the safe operation of your vehicle we recommend replacing cooling hoses anytime you’re in doubt or question their integrity since a failure will leave you stranded and could damage your engine.  Anytime your replace a cooling hose in your system you should flush your cooling system.  To replace you cooling system hoses you’ll already have the coolant drained from your system.  Also, old hoses could leave rubber or corrosion deposits in your system that should be removed in order to keep your cooling system operating properly.  BlueDevil Radiator Flush will remove any corrosion or wear products from your vehicle’s cooling system will ensure your vehicle’s engine stays cool and safe.

For more information, or to purchase BlueDevil Radiator Flush visit our product information page here: Radiator Flush

You can purchase BlueDevil Radiator Flush at the link above or at any of our partnering local auto parts stores like:

• AutoZone
• Advance Auto Parts
• Bennett Auto Supply
• CarQuest Auto parts
• NAPA Auto Parts
• O’Reilly Auto Parts
• Pep Boys
• Fast Track
• Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts Specialists
• S&E Quick Lube Distributer
• DYK Automotive

Pictures provided by:

Radiator_hose_clamp.jpg By BushyTails – Licensed By Creative Commons Via Wikimedia Original Link

Radiator_hose.jpg – By BushyTails – Licesned By Creative Commons Via Wikimedia – Original Link