I'd like to replace all the "vacuum hoses" on my truck. It has 65k or so and I want to replace rubber components because they wear out. Where (I know in the engine) are the "vacuum hoses"? What are they? What is a good resource (Chilton's manual isn't clear on them) to use to find what they are?

 

What year is your truck? What motor is in it? Why would you want to replace components that have not failed at 65k miles???
My truck is a '98 with 215,000, and haven't had any problems with any rubber components. (Not including tires...seems they wear pretty quick when power breaking is applied in generous amounts. )

 

Rubber wears out. The Chilton's manual recommends replacing vacuum hoses every 15k miles The truck is a 2002 and has a 4.6L V8. It has roughly 65k miles on it. Still, though, we've had 30 views and no one knows where or what vacuum hoses actually are, or how I can find that out?

 

Still, that's never been a regular maintenance item of mine, nor anyone I've heard of. So that might explain why no one has responded, because they've never done it. It's always been an "as needed".

 

I seriously doubt the Chilton's would recommend replacing the underhood vacuum lines at 15K miles. Perhaps you misinterpreted the recommendation for something else or are taking something out of context.

A vacuum hose is just that- a hose that carries vacuum. If you're not sure yourself of what they are, perhaps you'd best leave them alone.

As has already been pointed out, the hoses are not a scheduled maintenance item. They can be expected to last most of the life of the truck (Exception - those crappy PVC elbows).

The only time I would consider replacing them all would be a full-scale restoration which your truck obviously doesn't need.

The rubber vacuum lines on all my vehicles are original, including my 89 SHO with 240K miles. Others around here will likely pipe in with cars or trucks that are far older with more miles that still have the original hoses.

FWIW, the rubber under the hood doesn't "wear out". It can degrade and become either hard or soft depending on the combination of heat and exposure to environmental factors such as fuel vapors.

Steve

 

i've replaced heater/bypass/radiator hoses on everything i owned at one time or another but vacuumn hoses...only if needed...and that is few and far between...


...zap!

 

Thanks, you guys.
I don't know much about trucks but just want to make sure this one lasts into the 150k range. If I don't need to mess with vacuum hoses I'll just leave them all alone.