Original hoses and belt??

[NC02Z3]

Anyone out there still with original hoses and fan belt? Even though I have had no warning signs, and the mechanics have not said anything, I wonder a bit. 8 years old but only 36,000 miles and garage kept. Changing for 'change' sake sounds smart as a preventative measure but is it really necessary or a waste of money? I called the dealer just for grins in Atlanta and they said to change every 4 years despite the mileage. Give me a break!

[gverntz3]

I'm the original owner of my 96 and last year I replaced the belt last year. My hoses still feel fine, but I already purchased another set. I'm waiting out my 4 year antifreeze cycle which will happen for next year. I have 53,000 miles on mine and I only 6 months of the year. GaryNJ

[jtp]

JTP
'00 Bright Red II, Black, Black 2.3

PERFORMANCE: Dinan Stage II suspension, Dinan strut tower brace, Porterfield R4S brake pads, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, UNGO MS8300 alarm, Doug Whalen Seat Bushings, Sylvania Silverstar headlights and fog lights. MAINTENANCE: Peake Research R5/fcx-II and SRS Reset Tools, Mity-Vac oil evacuator w/ brake bleeder, BMW Battery Tender. COSMETICS: Dinan Badge, OEM chrome exhaust tips, Magnetic stone guards, Roundel valve stem caps, Trunk-mounted Dragon sticker, WI plates: RES IPSA. COMFORT: Premium Package, Heated sport seats, “Z3 Roadster” heated vest (for wife), In-dash CD, LeatherZ MarkII armrest, OEM mesh windscreen. CAR CARE: Porter Cable random orbit buffer, Meguiars car care products, NOAH car cover, Plexus, Raggtop. EXTRAS: Z3Solutions warning triangle.

My Home Page

[jtp]

JTP
'00 Bright Red II, Black, Black 2.3

PERFORMANCE: Dinan Stage II suspension, Dinan strut tower brace, Porterfield R4S brake pads, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, UNGO MS8300 alarm, Doug Whalen Seat Bushings, Sylvania Silverstar headlights and fog lights. MAINTENANCE: Peake Research R5/fcx-II and SRS Reset Tools, Mity-Vac oil evacuator w/ brake bleeder, BMW Battery Tender. COSMETICS: Dinan Badge, OEM chrome exhaust tips, Magnetic stone guards, Roundel valve stem caps, Trunk-mounted Dragon sticker, WI plates: RES IPSA. COMFORT: Premium Package, Heated sport seats, “Z3 Roadster” heated vest (for wife), In-dash CD, LeatherZ MarkII armrest, OEM mesh windscreen. CAR CARE: Porter Cable random orbit buffer, Meguiars car care products, NOAH car cover, Plexus, Raggtop. EXTRAS: Z3Solutions warning triangle.

My Home Page

[CTHawk]

98 M44 4 cyl.58,000mi. All Original w/ exception of serpentine belt. Am I pushing it on the hoses . . maybe, but they look and feel fine.
considering complete hose replacement this winter.

[bwmoffit]

100k on a 2.8 cost $134 worth the tow from no place.

[TexZan]

...and about 65k, so right about where you are now. I saved the serpentine belt and put it in the spare tire carrier. It was in decent shape, but not great. Like bmwoffit said, it's easy enough and cheap enough to replace the belts, so to me it's better than getting a tow truck from BFE, paying a huge fee, messing up the car on the tow truck because Joe doesn't know how to hook it up right, and then waiting for them to get a belt because there's no BMW dealer nearby/open. Peace of mind, anyway.

I haven't done the hoses yet, but probably should soon. I change the coolant at least every two years and last spring when I did it, they still seemed fine. I'll likely do them on my next change.

97 2.8 Arctic Silver - Tanin Red interior with wood console - black top
Whalen Shift Machine, polished - Type II windscreen (non roll-hoops) - Bilstein HD shocks/struts
Axxis Metal Master pads - Brembo rotors - Doug Whalen seat bushings
Passenger Eject (unfortunately non-functional) - OEM Passenger Airbag Disable switch
Polk Audio all around - Blaupunkt PA amps - LeatherZ Mark II armrest - Strong Strut Trio - AUX input via tapedeck

[DaneKane]

the OE hoses are superior in quality to new OEM replacements..They are simply a tad better(thicker covering, seem more dense)..The replacement oe belts look/spec identical(this is in re: Genuine BMW OE/OEM parts purchased at dealer)..After 12 years,53k miles the OE hoses looked good with no cracks or flaws.. return hose from coolant resevoir is slightly expanded but with no other noticeable differences..Still REPLACED ALL OF THEM..as po had used generic NON-BMW coolant and it left some..interesting..deposits..and discolored the res-tank as well(replaced)...Clearly BMW required some pretty high spec'd oe materials(a-r-a-m-i-d!) and quality control for these components..That said, it's still probably prudent to keep appropriate spares on hand, if you're going the distance(or even just a distance)....

Z3 Cheers! dk '97 2.8 bg R

[DaneKane]

have you been using the BMW oe(Blue)coolant or have you used anything else?..Thanks! dk '97 2.8 bg R

[z3bigdaddy]

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Signature to be included in the footer of all your posts. (HTML is ok)
Note: to include a picture in your signature, use HTML that looks like

You may place a link to your own site in your signature if you have a
reciprocal link to us on that page and follow the guidelines in our Link FAQ.
Links in violation of the Link FAQ may be removed without warning. Please also
do not include any pornographic or non-work-safe images in your signature.

[mechanicsc]

10 years is way too long on rubber parts - they age regardless of mileage or usage. Given the inexpensive nature of the parts and the criticality of failure of those parts, I'd swap them out ASAP if I were you... I'd hate to hear that you overheated because you didn't change a $20 hose.

I did the hoses on my 2002 last year, because I had to change the thermostat anyway (it had stuck) and I had them loose. Did the belts as well at the same time. Even if the thermo hadn't failed, I would have replaced them by now anyway.

mechanicsc
2002 Z3 3.0i

[rwilli]

Yep....I heeded all the advice several years ago when I had about 60K on my 2000M. --Changed everything I could think of--water pump(Stewart), hoses, radiator(Ireland aluminum), belts. Then, about 2 weeks before Zfest, the thermostat flange busted--. Best laid plans--guess I was lucky it wasn't on the way to LA. I would change them all again, though--including the plastic flange.

[NC02Z3]

Thank you for all the responses. Just original BMW coolant has been used in the car. Everything is very clean in the fluid and the hoses seem to be fine. It really should be with the low miles I have. It is just the 'age factor' but perhaps I'm living in the past when American cars of the 70's and 80's had hose replacements almost mandatory at the 5 year, 50,000 mile mark. Radiators and coolants have jumped 'light years' since then.

[JTP (WI)]

[JTP (WI)]

Keep in mind that there are MILLIONS of BMWs driving around out there. And keep in mind that there are only thousands of BMW enthusiasts who hang around on message boards forecasting the doom and gloom of failing to do preventive maintenance. Sure, some of the millions have catastrophic failure. But it's not an epidemic like the enthusiasts would have one believe. If it was, people would be ranting about BMW unreliability. For most people, the go along driving their cars without a worry and without problems. I like to align myself more with them than the Chicken Littles.

Now keep in mind - I am NOT calling you a Chicken Little for saying that rubber parts deteriorate. I am talking more globally about water pump issues and the like. If I followed the doom and gloom set's advice, I would be on my third water pump by now!

That being said, I have been planning a major overhaul of the cooling system in the near future. Just haven't gotten to it yet. And lately I haven't been driving the Z as much (just had our first little one and no room for a child seat!) so it hasn't been as pressing of a concern.

[Robert Platt Bell]

Serpentine belts rarely break, without warning. If the belt appears cracked on the inside ribbed part, then replace it. Keep the old one as a spare - if one does break on a dark windy night, the local gas station surely won't have one.

Long before they break, these belts CHIRP, either on startup, or after a while, all the time. Usually this means replacing the belt and/or the tensioner.

I have 28,000 miles on my 1999 and no, I'm not replacing the belts and hoses anytime soon. It is possible to over-maintain these cars and ratchet up your expenses.

On the X5 (2002) which just hit 100,000 miles, I replaced the water pump and the belt and tensioner (cracked and chirping). The hoses (a new quick-release type used on the 3.0 engine) seemed OK, so I am leaving those alone for now. It has a newer radiator (2005) so I left that alone as well.

On my E36's, I replaced the entire cooling systems at about 70K miles as a preventative measure. Did it help? It didn't hurt. But my neighbor went 160,000 miles before his broke the upper neck (typical). He listed to my warning on this and PULLED OVER right away and had the car flat-bedded. Otherwise, it would have been the end of that E36 right there.

Hose technology has improved a lot in recent years. Back in the 1960's you'd be lucky to have a hose last 30-50K miles. But today? The silicone rubber they use is far better.

I've only had one hose break, on an E36, at about 70K miles, in Miami. It was a relatively new hose, too! A quick trip to the dealer for a new hose and BMW coolant fixed that.

You should be flushing your coolant about every 2-3 years with BMW coolant and distilled water.

Good Luck.

[Z3BigDaddy]

I'm just sayin....

[ZZZING]

My original water pump went south at 18,000 miles, started wobbling and shooting steam, luckily I was 2 minutes away from the dealer, who fixed it under warranty. Since then I have had the expansion tank crack (65,000 miles) replaced myself, then I did the radiator and water pump and hoses and belts, and the fan clutch which was weak at 80,000 as a preventive. Don't push your luck too far....

[NC02Z3]

Excellent post! Thanks!

[gverntz3]

It scares me having these old hoses on my car, but they seem to work. In addition, what has also improved over the years are gaskets. Always had leaks from valve covers, theormstat covers..etc. Now they use other materials besides cork and the engine stays dry.