Matt Holcomb

My 2002 radiator sprung a leak and I am replacing it. The upper and lower radiator hoses have quick connect fittings that I have not had any experience with before.

Are these one time use only? Can you put the hose back on and everything seals? Since I have a new radiator the coupling has changed and it doesn't appear to be the tight fit when I took it off.

My biggest reason for asking is that I will be replacing the timing belt in about 30k miles and will be removing the radiator again. If I have to get hoses everytime I do this some rubber company is going to be working a little extra.

Anybody run into this similar situation?

Matt

Vier Glühende Ringe

And you don't pull either hose when you do your timing belt. You only move the radiator support forward a few inches. You should never take the front end of the car off to do a timing belt, it is a waste of time.

Matt Holcomb

Thanks for the info. I tried to reuse the hoses but they leak even without the engine running. When I pulled them off the original radiator they were pretty snug. When I put them on the new radiator there was a little play. I ended up ordering new ones. My hoses were the originals, five years old with 85k miles.

Also, thank you for the timing belt info. I will attempt to do this without pulling the front end.