Eliminate an inconvenience: A coolant hose on the verge to failure may not burst or break in the driveway or in our repair shop. Most often hoses fail on the road, whether on a busy street or interstate. The cost of a tow, the damage that may occur, and the inconvenience usually exceeds the cost of hose replacement. An overheated engine can quickly warp or crack aluminum cylinder heads which are considerable more expensive to replace that than the coolant hoses.
The average vehicle today has about 20 feet of hose under the hood. Hose manufacturing engineers have identified the primary cause of coolant hose failure as an electrochemical (electrolysis) attack on the tube compound of the hose. Electrolysis produces cracks that extend from the inside to the outside of the hose usually near one of the ends of the tube. Coolant seeps through these cracks and then attacks the reinforcement of the hose eventually resulting in a pinhole leak or a burst hose.
Any hose that's made from natural or synthetic rubber will also oxidize and harden with age and the exposure to high operating temperatures. The lifespan of a hose depends on the hose's location and the intended function in the engine compartment.
Most hose manufacturers along with B Squared Automotive recommend replacing coolant hoses every 4 years or 60,000 miles a preventative maintenance.