Cooling Hoses Service?
 

I have my 2004 4.4i in for a power steering service, and the dealer is saying that I need to have all the cooling hoses replaced. He says it's "about that time" based on my mileage (63,500). Apparently there are about 12 hoses that they would replace for the low low fee of $1700..:( which I would like to avoid having to pay right now. Has anyone done this (for less $$$)? Or know anything about the urgency in getting it done?

Maybe it's something I could do myself?

thanks, erick

replace hoses without replacing the water pump and thermostat? that's not a good reccommendation.

i have almost 100,000 miles on my hoses and they are still good. So good thatwhen I changed my water pump (for failure) and thermostat but still reused my hoses. all except for 1 which I broke.

and absolutely this is something you can do yourself. i'm working on the water pump diy right now and the hoses are covered in it.

BMWCCA's technical editor suggests coolant hoses should be replaced every 150,000.

He gives the water pump and thermostat a 60,000 mile interval and the radiator, expansion tank and fan/clutch a 90,000 mile interval. Apparently he feels the hoses will last longer than the plastic components.

hayaku - good info, i thought it was probably something i could do, just didn't know for sure.

FSETH - 150k! well i'm glad i only ok'd the work covered by CPO!

I have 112k on my original hoses. Funny thing is that I am on my second water pump, thermostat, radiator and expansion tank. All of those components failed between about 60k and 100k. Maybe he knows what he is talking about. :D

he might.. but he didn't mention any other components than the hoses.. the rest should be covered by the CPO (says "cooling system" is covered except for hoses). perhaps i will wait out my warranty period to see if anything blows, then replace everything i need to

What's "the rest" that you are having done under CPO?

"the rest" i was referring to there was any other components of the cooling system; if they were to break, the CPO warranty should cover those parts. but today it was at the dealer because two power steering hoses were leaking on the passenger side, resulting in a horrible sound when making right turns.

He does mention the rest of the cooling system components. I included the radiator, thermostat, water pump, expansion tank, etc. in post 3. A warranty would take care of those items as you didn't run out of years/time or mileage of coverage. Keep in mind that when he says 60,000, 90,000 and 150,000 recomendations, that is EVERY 60,000, 90,000 and 150,000 miles.

Having said that, I would personally wait out my warranty as well on these items. I had to partially pay for two tows with my particular warranty, but with the high cost of work at the dealer it was worth it to me. Just be careful to shut down the car as soon as you see smoke, smell coolant or notice the temp rising.

Power steering hoses and cooling system hoses are two different animals.