DAS26miles
San Fernando Valley, California
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Joined: 10/11/2003
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In preparation for our upcoming 2K desert trip, I am debating whether to just take along spares of my drive belt and radiator hoses or to actually replace them. I have 39K on the 6 year old MH. The belt shows no cracking or fraying and the hoses look fine. I can easily change the belt because of the auto tensioner and have easy access to the upper hose. But when checking for the belt and hoses, I found the lower hose to be $59 and consisting of a combination of many hoses which includes the heater and upper reservoir hoses. Should I just buy them all and keep them as spares or actually change them out? Has anyone actually replaced their lower hose assembly? Looks hard!
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Arborist
Tacoma
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Joined: 03/08/2006
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You Kind of answered your own question.
I would have the hardest to replace hoses done before they became a problem on the desert.
Not a good scenario, being in the desert changing hoses that are hard to get to.
Don't forget extra antifreeze/water.
Good luck,
Arborist
"If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves." - Lane Kirkland
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DAS26miles
San Fernando Valley, California
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Has anyone changed their lower hose assembly themselves?
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carringb
Corvallis, OR
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After 9 years and almost 260,000 miles, my hoses are still in excellent shape.
The serpentine belt does not need changing until is shows cracking. Look for cracking in the ribs.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, 250,000+ miles
Had: Weekend Warrior 41' FSW
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dceggert
SE Michigan
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I have 107,000 miles on my 1999 F150 and it still has the original serpentine belt and radiator hoses (battery too). You know the history of your vehicle and what it has been through. Do you trust it otherwise? I just drove my F150 from Michigan to Maine and back and would not even hesitate to go again. Don't touch 'em. If really concerned, pack spares.
regards,
Dan
1992 Coachmen Leprechaun 265RF
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DAS26miles
San Fernando Valley, California
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Picked up a belt and upper hose as spares. If the lower hose goes, I have lots of duct tape. The lower hose assembly is special order and a huge mess. I have no where to store it, plus I wouldn't want to tackle the job. No one has replied how difficult it is to change them out.
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CloudDriver
New Jersey Shore
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Joined: 10/30/2005
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Since the serpentine belt runs all the accessories, including the water pump, a failure will have you at the side of the road in short order. A hose failure can be patched with duct tape long enough to get you someplace for repair, but not so for the belt.
I bought a spare belt a few years back and decided to see how hard it would be to install in the driveway. First thing I discovered was that the Ford dealer had sold me the wrong belt. Second thing was that I couldn't get my breaker bar onto the belt tensioner due to the cramped space. I went to PepBoys and bought a "serpentine belt tool" for about $10, which made the job a piece of cake. The used belt and the tool went into a storage compartment just in case.
This past June we were camping at Pebble Creek in Yellowstone. One morning when I started the engine there was a thump followed by whap, whap, whap. It turned out that a ground squirrel had decided to commit suicide by getting caught in the serpentine belt. While the belt had not been completely broken, two of the ribs had broken and had separated from the rest of the belt. Probably could have driven it for quite a while with the damaged belt, but it seemed wiser to put my spare on right there in the campground. Got a new spare when we got home as I'm really a believer now.
2003 Winnebago Minnie 24F - Ford E-450
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DAS26miles
San Fernando Valley, California
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Thanks CloudDriver. I tried using my 1/2 inch racket and was able to pop the belt off the alternator. I put it back on. But I will check out the tool at Pep Boys tomorrow. The right tools make a big difference.
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carringb
Corvallis, OR
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The V10 can run with complete coolant loss if that makes you feel any better. It will go into 5-cyl mode, and you will have reduced power. A breaker bar makes the belt change job pretty easy.
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DAS26miles
San Fernando Valley, California
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I was expecting more responses. There are so many Ford V10s out there and they all need their hoses and belts changed sooner or later.
Perhaps I should re-post the topic under Tech?
Yes, I read that in the manual about running it without coolant and the cylinder shut down. At least it will get you off the highway.
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