Replace radiator and heater hoses ? Options

[Pyrotechnic]

I have a 1998 GT Convertible with 109K on it. It's due for a cooling system flush and fill, and I noticed that all the coolant hoses look original to the car. Now the radiator hoses are no big deal, but it appears that there are bunch of smaller molded hoses for the heater core, oil cooler, throttle body etc. Adding this all up gets quite expensive. This is a lot tougher than other cars where you can just buy a few feet of bulk hose for a few dollars and cut it to fit. The cooling system appears to be in great shape and the car has never had overheating issues.

How long are these hoses good for? The hoses look good on the outside and are soft to the touch like new hose. My instinct tells me that 16 years is way overdue for replacement, but with the cost involved I want to make sure I don't spend a bunch of cash replacing hoses that are perfectly fine.

This post has been edited by Pyrotechnic: Feb 27, 2014 - 12:40 PM

[richee3]

Use Toyota antifreeze, not Prestone or any other garbage. It up the price just a little but it's much higher quality and won't cause any gunk buildup.

[Pyrotechnic]

Use Toyota antifreeze, not Prestone or any other garbage. It up the price just a little but it's much higher quality and won't cause any gunk buildup.

I was actually going to use Zerex G-05 antifreeze. Ford, Chrysler, and Mercedes successfully used it for a long time and I converted my truck to use it as well. It's a long life formula good for 5 years or 150K miles. It's leaps and bound better than the "universal" coolants from Walmart which are just Dexcool clones dyed a different color. The big thing for me is that I can keep one type of coolant around to service all the vehicles I care for, rather than keep gallons of different formulas around for each vehicle. I've read good reports from others who used G-05 in place of "asian formula" antifreeze with great results in the long run. Has anyone else here done the same?