Radiator/Heater Hose Question For Experts
06-16-2018, 07:29 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Radiator/Heater Hose Question For Experts
Why, with age, do heater hoses get hard and radiator hoses get soft. Those are the reasons why we replace these items. 
06-16-2018, 08:07 PM
#2
Safety Car
They are like bread and croutons.
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06-16-2018, 09:52 PM
#4
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06-16-2018, 10:12 PM
#5
Safety Car
I'm thinking I just might be an old radiator hose. Not by choice mind you. But 6 weeks of radiation has its consequences.
06-16-2018, 10:16 PM
#6
Le Mans Master
06-17-2018, 09:20 AM
#7
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Both are subject to the same environment and made of basically the same material so why the difference?
Just another of the strange things that happen to cars and their components.
06-17-2018, 10:13 AM
#8
Safety Car
Being forewarned that this is an issue i took a proactive stance. Afraid the radiator hoses might get soft like me in the future I put 2 little blue pills in the radiator last night. Now this has become an emergency. The hoses have become hard and stayed that way all night certainly more than 4 hours. I removed the radiator cap to no avail. I am now wondering if i should change out the coolant and see if i can reverse this before it becomes permanent damage. It's so bad the belts are even starting to get stiff. It's not all bad though apparently, when I got in the car the temp gage was smiling!
06-17-2018, 10:28 AM
#9
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Being forewarned that this is an issue i took a proactive stance. Afraid the radiator hoses might get soft like me in the future I put 2 little blue pills in the radiator last night. Now this has become an emergency. The hoses have become hard and stayed that way all night certainly more than 4 hours. I removed the radiator cap to no avail. I am now wondering if i should change out the coolant and see if i can reverse this before it becomes permanent damage. It's so bad the belts are even starting to get stiff. It's not all bad though apparently, when I got in the car the temp gage was smiling!
06-17-2018, 08:54 PM
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06-18-2018, 01:32 AM
#13
Race Director
Being forewarned that this is an issue i took a proactive stance. Afraid the radiator hoses might get soft like me in the future I put 2 little blue pills in the radiator last night. Now this has become an emergency. The hoses have become hard and stayed that way all night certainly more than 4 hours. I removed the radiator cap to no avail. I am now wondering if i should change out the coolant and see if i can reverse this before it becomes permanent damage. It's so bad the belts are even starting to get stiff. It's not all bad though apparently, when I got in the car the temp gage was smiling!
06-18-2018, 02:49 PM
#14
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Heater hoses may get hard because they share close real estate with the exhaust manifold? And........... On some vehicles, when the heater is off, there is no coolant flowing through them to control temperature.
Last edited by MikeM; 06-18-2018 at 02:52 PM.