Look at my water hose

[sweet88]

I bought this car (87 325iS) about a year ago and haven't drove it much because I was worried about the timing belt. The lady I bought it off of said it was changed but you know how that goes.

Anyway, I'm just now getting around to it. The belt looks like new and the water pump looks fine also. Also, the water hoses don't look bad either. They have a number stamped on them. I used chalk to highlight them.

Could it be that these are original? I plan to change them all but I'm curious about the age of the hoses. I find it hard to believe that they could look this good and be 25 years old.

[paperplane94]

It might possibly be the original, things were made better in the days of old.

What is the production month of your car?

[jlevie]

Yes they could be original. As could the radiator, expansion tank, etc. The condition all depends of where the lived and what the mileage on it was. Personally, I'd replace every part of the cooling system unless you have proof of recent replacement.

[paperplane94]

You know, when I replaced my cooling system hoses a couple years ago I noticed how much better made the old hoses were compared to the new ones. It seemed that whoever made the new ones didn't spare me any rubber. Probably made in the PRC.

So what I did was I kept the old hoses in the trunk just in case one of the newer hoses fails. Cheap cooling system insurance :)

[sweet88]

Build date was 3/87. All but one hose has similar numbers. Rotor and cap also are dated 86.

[paperplane94]

Build date was 3/87. All but one hose has similar numbers. Rotor and cap also are dated 86.

cool.

Definitely keep it with you in case of a roadside emergency.