LAracer

...that is the question

I have 21k miles on my 93 R1, and I'm trying to do all the reliability mods while it's down for the winter (I'm planning on a dp, AST, and y-pipe right now).

I was also going to do the hose-job, but on another thread someone suggested I wait until I see boost leaks. That makes sense since I don't know of any catastrophic failures that have resulted from a busted vacuum hose (and that's what I'm trying to protect against). But am I convincing myself just because I am lazy and don't want to get my knuckles all torn up over thanksgiving?

What would you do? Hose-job now or wait?

Vintage Red Touring

Normally I'd say wait until you have a boost problem, but if you are going to do the other mods you mentioned, I'd take my time and do the hose job as well. Search, read, and study as much as you can, and review the vacuum hose diagram before you start.

I did mine while I had my UIM and TB being polished, and it is not a hard job, just very labor intensive and meticulous.

Good luck!

LAracer

Yeah, I was thinking about getting my uim and tb polished too...

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

I had mine done almost 4 years ago (when I was much less mechanically inclined) when the R1 only had 30k miles on it by KD Rotary. Never had a boost problem related to the silicone hoses. I recommend doing it, but alot at least a 4 day weekend. As long as it's not your daily driver you'll be ok.

You shouldn't have this problem b/c of your low mileage, but....one trick that helps immensely taking off the hoses is to use a small hand torch to heat up the ends before you try and take the hoses off. Use a twisting motion and they should pop right off--this will save you from broken solenoid and check valve nipples.

Hope this helps,

Want2race

Mazcare says its not needed and WILL NOT DO IT unless you get a new motor @ which point its just easier then rubber hoses...

If its not broken dont **** with it!

DOing mine was probably the thing i regret most on my car. Nothing was wrong before and I gained nothing from doing it... If I bought anopther FD i would LEAVE It ALONE!!

Rex-VII-FD3S

any plans on goin non seq? if so then you should if not leave it till it leaks. and maby try viton hose i hear its way better.

LAracer

Thanks for the advice. I think I might just do it. I'll have to do it eventually anyway, so maybe it'll be easier now when the hoses aren't so brittle (i.e. maybe I'll break less stuff). Maybe?

(and I was planning on going with viton, but I didn't want to start up that whole debate again )

bajaman

Man.....don't go looking for trouble! I can see NO rational reason to **** with something that ain't broke.
You'll curse yourself repeatedly if you end up breaking a bunch of solenoids or have a new hose keep popping off in an area where it is hard to get to.

Your car really doesn't have very many miles. Mine has over 80K now and runs fine and I am NOT going to chance mucking it up. But I admit that when I first got the car and was reading the Forum posts I had a near phobia about getting the hose job done.
Now.....pah! I'll do that unpleasant task when it is absolutely necessary, and only then!

apneablue

Dude, do it only if something breaks...I am in the middle of mine and I have so many unidentified parts I am wondering if I am going to be able to put it back together...if it ain't broke don't fix it...plus there are a bunch of hidden costs...

I thought.."ok, the cost of the hose kit $120, no biggie" then you have to think about buying the tools if you don't already have them...then people will recommend that you replace your fuel pulsation dampner ($100 mazdaperformance) , then it seems inevitable that you will break a solenoid or two, which go for about $70 from the dealer (each!...probably can pick them up from forum members though)...then you think, "since I have the UIM & TB off I'll just polish them...you go out and buy close to $100 in dremel tool accessories and spend 6+ hours on it and inhale so much metal dust that you start to have respiratory problems...then you think "**** this man! I'll just have TTT do it!" TTT is nowhere to be found so you start to look around town for locals who can polish them...they look at your 6+ hours, laugh and tell you "You're a stong boy, put some elbow greece into it son!"

So coming from someone who is in the middle of the hose job and has his engine all over the garrage floor, "Don't freakin do it unless you have to!"

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

I'll go against the grain and disagree. Your car has 21k, but its still 10 years old.. long enough for rubber to get brittle. Personally, i'd rather be proactive and prevent problems before they happen, especially if the cars gonna be apart anyway. Sometimes the leaks are minor, and have subtle effects over time.

If your car doesn't work right after a hose job and it did before, you did something wrong... its not the hose jobs fault, and doesn't bode well for being able to fix it when it is "broke".

Jim Calandrella

I'm all for preventative maintenance. Unless you plan on going non-sequencial or single, I think it's a no brainer. It's one less thing you have to consider when you do eventually have a problem.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

That's provided that it's done right and it doesn't create problems that weren't there before the job (which is what usually happens).

cover8

As low miles as your car has I would leave it alone.

My car has 70k miles on it. Burst a turbo coolant hose--the top one and spilled coolant all over I-29. Luckily, I was very close to a gas station and that was close to my home.

But this incident was a wake up call...I could have been in the middle of nowhere or coming home from the clubs late at night and been in hella trouble.

Now I am doing the turbo simplification...and discovered a bunch of other problems just ready to spring up during the most inconvenient times.

VERY brittle hoses some already beginning to split...paper gaskets that now will be metal....electrical clips barely hanging on...brittle insulation and some wire not insulated at all.

The wiring harness is right on the engine and susceptable to degradation.

Lastly, it is a HUGE pain in the *** to do this project and you will discover more problems but very rewarding. I am no longer afraid of my car and getting into it. I understand the major functions of my car and can practically re-assemble the car in my head. I practice this mentally everytime in look under the hood.

I have during the coolant hose replacement done/doing the following:

replace intake (M2)
polish intake pipes
polished y-pipe sec intake pipe
new metal gaskets on turbo pipes
blocked off...acv, egr, dt, aws, air lines form LIM, air to cat from LIM
replaced all pulleys
intalled greddy pulley
removed airpump
sent off injectors to RC engineering
replaced the FPD
touched up the inside of the engine bay
replace the radiator (PWR)
new intercooler w/ polished pipes
polish the manifold TB and alternator
reinsulated the wiring harness
simplified the cooling system hoses all replaced
simplified the fuel lines all replace
installing fuel fiter (K&N) under hood with guage
removed stock fuel filter
cleaned engine with cleaner
installed dave dawes manual boost controller
installed home depot pre-spool
polish/repainted gab strut bar to match couplings
replaced all OEM clamps with constant torque clamps

seems like a lot but easy to do when engine it apart. and now I know it is right!

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Sorry Jon, but I disagree. My father (who for those that don't know purchased want2race's R1) had to pull everything apart after the motor blew and (much like cover8) resolved to fix all the wrong stuff he found. On the hose job, he found numerous things: a check valve nipple broken and stuck in a hose, while the actual check valve only had a hose on one side. The nipple had traces of adhesive cement on it. He found pressurized hoses not ziptied. And he found many hoses with zip ties on them so loose that the ties weren't doing their job. He also found two hoses that were too long in length and kinked.

Sorry man, my intent is definitely not to bust your *****--just point out that it is a good thing to do if you (or your mechanic) have the experience and resources to do it 100% correct.

take it easy--

LAracer

Well, the poll is at 50/50, and there are many conflicting views. I think I better just listen to the person with the coolest avatar (that's GoodfellaFD3S of course). I'll order the hose this weekend, and do the job either over thanksgiving or Christmas.

Still, keep the comments coming...

2furious

What should a person expect to pay a shop to do all new hoses?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

It depends on the shop, but I would wager anywhere from $300-500. Make sure the mechanic knows what he is doing.


IMO, I would wait until you have a boost problem or need a rebuild to do the hose job. Everyone has their own opinions so I don't think anyone is right or wrong either way.

XSTransAm

take it from a person who just did it.... if its not broke... dont fix it.... cause i gaurentee it will be broke when your done

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Since you're replacing the hoses, there's nothing wrong with using a sharp knife to cut away the original hosing from the solenoids, etc. The hoses tend to stick to the fittings, so if you cut and peel it's much easier on the parts than trying the twist and pull. Keep that option in mind so you don't break stuff. Age and temperature kill hoses, and every FD has seen a lot of at least one of them.

If the car is a 2nd car and you don't mind a little effort and preventive maintenance, I say go ahead and try it yourself. I think your success will depend mostly on patience and thought, not experience and mechanical know-how. Take your time, double-check using the diagrams, and you should be good to go. You'll also get to know your way around the engine very quickly and diagnose any other funny stuff (missing screws causing rattles, etc).

Dave

Marshall

Holy resurrected thread!

Dougie_fresh_007

oh and hose job = soliniod elimination

LAracer

Well, since it's resurrected...

I didn't do the job. Probably won't for a while. I was having a boost problem, but I'm almost positive it was related to my altitude (7000ft), and I corrrected it with needle valves. The car's running well, so there doesn't seems to be any point in f-ing with it.

Thanks for all the advice. .

Cihuuy

well... like everybody have said... dont fix it if it aint brokent... but then again, u will have to do it someday so... good luck...

Sonny

-> If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

-> Preventive maintenance is usually far cheaper than corrective maintance.

I'm in boat #2.

Sonny

GoRacer

iTrader: (2)

Unless you have vacuum/boost problems I do not recomend this unless you can do it yourself. I paid $500 for this and ended up redoing it myself because of the **** Mcdonalds straw hose RR&R used. I'm still pissed years later but moreso over the $500 used air pump and well enough of that.

If you have the engine rebuild this is the perfect time for this project! With the entire rats nest removed it is very easy (with alot of patience). Slice the old hoses off with a sharp razor instead of pulling them. You can also try some wd-40 or similar to loosen them.

I did mine for $15 and 10' of 4mm Baker Precision silicone hose. This is only the rats nest and not all the hoses to make the engine pretty. $15 vs $500? ...yeah, that's a hard choice.

There are a few preformed hoses that are very hard and I recomend keeping them if they are not brittle or replacing them with stock ones. There 2 or 3 small 4mm ones and I think 1 6mm one. There is also two places where the size seems to change from 4mm on one end and 6mm on the other. You may also need some rubber caps if you do some block off plates and you can get those at the auto parts store for about $.50/ea.