Spun by Checker and bought a foot of 5/8″ Good Year heater hose yesterday. The leaky section was inaccessible from the engine compartment, and blocked from below by the front axle, lateral link, and steering telegraph rod. I managed to squeeze my arm between the axle and lateral link to get a 10mm ratcheting box wrench on the Toyota hose clamps and undo them. I knew very well that whem I popped the old hose off, the remaining coolant would spill on me, and as predicted, it went in my eyes, nose, and mouth.
After rinsing out my eyes and spitting out the sweet ethylene glycol, I cut the new hose to length, and installed the clamps. The new hose was a slightly tight fit, but more importantly, it seemed a couple of centimeters too long. The front end was up against a bracket, but the oil cooler end was free to overlap the pipe just a little more – with the application of force. I tightened up the clamps and poured in a gallon of distilled water. There was no sign of leaking at the new hose, so I added a gallon of orange Prestone and topped everything off with distilled water. A test run up to temperature revealed no leaks, and the drive in to work this morning produced none either. Clyde at Toyota Parts got me the new thermostat and gaskets today, but I’ll put those in later.
The hose was deteriorated from power steering fluid (ATF) dripping on it from a leaky PS pump. The same leak did in my lower radiator hose. I didn’t notice this issue when I changed out the major coolant hoses, otherwise I’d have taken care of it over a year ago. If you look at the failed end, PS fluid literally melts coolant hose rubber.
5/8″ Good Year heater hose, 1-foot = $1.33
Prestone Orange = $15
Distilled water, 2-gallons = $5
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