98 V70 T5 Replacing the Coolant Hoses in Pics

[songzunhuang]

Yeah, those 2 lines (turbo and the lower heater hose) going into the metal line are a serious pain to get to. There is just no room in there. It's like you have to do everything with the tips of your fingers and then it's all nasty (oil, coolant, grime) in that area so it's impossible to keep your hands clean. Not only that, all that junk makes the hose slippery so it's hard to get a good grip. I changed all my hoses but it was done over the space of a few days. I had to take a "mental" break at times to maintain my sanity.

It looks like you took off the turbo air intake pieces. At least that give you a bit more room to maneuver. I didn't take those off - I am sure that made it worse for me. I'm just glad that this is something I only have to think about every 15 years or so. I kept telling myself it was worth the pain of getting the silicon IPD lines on there as I'll never have to worry about it again. I hope it proves to be true.

[songzunhuang]

Nice pics. Make sure you put a wire brush to the aluminum connection points; they look pretty corroded. Somone (you or P.O.) extended a coolant change for too long.

Considering your milage and the fact you live in a hot climate; and I assume they are original; those hoses did quite well. My turbo hoses were already showing signs of serious bulging at 130k miles.
My rad, and heater hoses look fine and are still original.

What kind of hoses did you buy?

Thanks for the tip. I am actually the original owner. We bought the car new in 1997. The coolant had been changed along with the radiator a long time ago (about 80K miles). I did wire brush all the connections. The coolant was pretty clean, but I put in all new coolant anyway.

If you read through the post, you'll see that I bought a mixture of OEM hoses, IPD silicon turbo lines and then some blue silicon hoses for the heater lines. It's been a few tanks of gas burned so far and everything is holding up just fine. My last hose is the lower expansion tank hose. I just got the hose in the mail. I got a German brand named Vollig.

[jreed]

Thanks again Song for writing this up and sharing. Your experience with the sudden upper heater hose rupture inspired me to replace the upper and lower heater hoses -- a job I've been putting off for a couple years. (I've already replaced all the other hoses including the turbo coolant hoses and expansion tank hose).
I got all the parts in last week (including a new heater core to replace the original 17 year old one) and am looking forward to a day off work soon to take time to do the job. Thanks again!

[cn90]

1+,

In my experience, we are worried about radiator hoses, radiator etc. but somehow overlook the heater hoses.
Most heater hoses go bad around 140K-180K time. I am overdue at 165K.
The car drinks 1 cup of coolant every 3-4 months, I suspect there is a tiny tiny heater core leak.
(Radfiator is new, rad hoses are new, turbo coolant hoses x2 are new, reservoir/cap are nbew etc.).
The HC is still stock at 165K, not bad at all.

In the Spring of 2015, I will do this whole enchilada:
- New ebay heater core (it is no longer $39, but $49, still a good price).
- Get rid of the firewall plastic coupler, but re-use the 2 metal elbows as @songzunhuang did.
- Use generic heater hoses + clamps.

Better to do this than having a burst hose on the highway. IIRC, @cmblackburn had the burst heater hoses at 220K or something like that.

[songzunhuang]

Funny, I was holding out for the blue silicon turbo line from IPD. Like you, I realized how silly that was since no once could see that line after it was installed. I ended up getting the black silicon version because they had them in stock and I needed the lines quickly. I also had trouble getting it all the way on the metal fitting, but I got it about 3/4 of the way and enough to get the clamp to bite around the fitting with a tiny sliver of silicon exposed above the clamp. So I called it a day. Two tanks of gas later and all appears well.

With the two turbo lines and the upcoming lower expansion, I have replaced 8 (eight) hoses in the cooling system. I hoping there are no more!

[Redneck]

Not every rubber heater hose is the same. If you buy a generic hose, you need to be sure it is correct for different application such as hot coolant under pressure, or hot transmission oil. Also the quality of generic hose is questionable. It may not be better than URO hose. How will you know?

It is nice to save $200, but If you install a hose that will fail, you will have a very bad time.

Unless someone here knows for sure and can recommend a great quality hose for a different application and where to buy it, it is unfortunately safer and faster to get Volvo OEM hose and be sure that the rubber won't disintegrate for the next 15 years.

I replaced all my coolant hoses with Volvo OEM. Yes, they were not cheap, but I'm not worried about them failing.

If I knew which hose type can exceed the quality for steering and transmission oil lines, I would gladly use a substitute and modify the end connections if needed. Can someone recommend a high quality generic hose for steering lines and transmission oil lines that will be better in quality than Volvo OEM hoses for these applications? Steering lines probably are under pressure but aren't hot. Transmission lines are very hot, but not under pressure. So there we have two different applications and not all rubber heater hoses may be durable here.

[cn90]

I have used THERMOID generic hose for coolant purposes for years.
They last more than 10y/120K, good enough for me. Nothing lasts forever.

The Volvo hoses probably cost some $10 to mfg, and yet they charge the customers some $100! What a ripoff.

On the issue of ATF hose for transmission, yes use hose made specifically for oil, just a different rubber compound.

[j-dawg]

Heater hose, of generic brand or otherwise, is designed for use in heater applications. I therefore feel comfortable using it in a heater application.

Your points about hose quality are well-considered, but you have to experience URO hoses to know why they're garbage. I replaced one the PO had installed only about six months before. It was floppy, thin, and soft compared to its OEM replacement. It would take serious effort to find hose as bad as the URO special.

[cn90]

What I mean "generic" is generic American-made heater hoses. Not URO brand.

[Redneck]

I have never seen URO hose. I read about them here and avoided them. Replacing just the rubber portion of the expensive hoses for transmission lines and power steering lines would be great. I have not replaced them yet, because the cost for the hoses was very high.