Where to buy a hose kit?

There are lots of water hoses -- is there anywhere that sells a kit -- all of the hoses?

All the hoses would consist of $2000 plus in parts and that is if you got them from one of the discount dealers (suncoast/sunset/sonnen Porsche). It's a big job that really isn't necessary if you car hasn't experienced some kind of "issue" with the cooling system. I replaced the few hoses that are easily accessible at the back of the car because they are exposed to the heat of the engine.

M... ok I may have to have a mindset change -- for 40 years I've had cars and trucks that give me good service by doing preventative maintenance, all belts every 5 years, water pump and all hoses every 10 years and so on. $2000 USD is a bit of a shock. What are we going to do when these cars hit 20 years? And for some early 996's that is not so far away -- rubber is not forever.

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I can't remember the miles but they were high when the coolant tank on my 02 Boxster failed. At this time I broached the subject of having the hoses replaced. The tech told me that his experience is the hoses are very long lived. Absent any signs of problems they do not have to be changed. He also said they are quite expensive to replace. I never pressed for a price but you have one. $2K is a shock is right. More recently my car was in for something else and I got a chance to grope the hoses. While the outside felt dry the hoses all felt quite firm, not soft like hoses feel when they are going bad. My training is to give the hoses a squeeze trying to push my finger nails into the hose. Try to grasp the hose close to where it connects and such that the fingers press against the bottom of the hose. When a hose starts to go bad it generally goes bad at the bottom and close to where the hose connects to something. When I gave my car's hoses this squeeze test they all passed and I left them alone. Now I have had changed the coolant several times, always having the engine refilled with Porsche anti-freeze/distilled water at a Porsche dealer. I like to believe this has helped to prolong the life of the hoses. Unless you have sign one or more hoses are showing their age I'd say leave well enough alone. But always keep an eye on the coolant level just in case. And whenever the car is in for service inspect, or ask the techs inspect, the hoses for any signs of possible problems. Sincerely, Macster.

I think the rubber/vinyl (or whatever they are now) are much better than the old days and last much longer.Maybe every 20 yrs.

A few of the hoses on my 1999 996 were in sorry shape after removing and reinstalling them twice during engine removal/re-installation. Primarily the exposed ones underneath the engine area. While the body of the hoses looked fine, the ends of the hoses were somewhat thin compared to new. Also the ends were beginning to fray. One had developed a slight leak. The car was made in 1998, and the hoses possibly early that year, it is now a few months shy of 2012. So the hoses are nearly 14 years old. The hard and soft lines tucked under the belly behind the panels showed very little sign of wear so I chose not to tackle those. While my engine was removed a second time I opted to replace many of the hoses that were exposed, and probably only paid around $200. I also replaced the hose clamps at the same time. If you replace the long hard lines and other hoses up near the radiators as well as the ones near the heater core that is a major job with a ton of dismantling. You are looking probably at 15-20 shop hours to replace ALL of the hoses. The 996 car hold 6 gallons of coolant and has miles of hoses.

Did an enquiry on Vertex Auto -- 25 different hoses for $497.50

Yep, $497.50 parts + 15 hours shop time @ $100/hr to replace = $2000. You can find the hoses cheaper elsewhere as well. In fact Pelican is starting to sell aftermarket hoses, I bought one to check it out and it seems to be fair quality, but not as good as OEM.

The car is my hobby, I am planning to put it up for a while and have started collecting parts, have most of the following -- clutch kit, IMS upgrade, water pump, thermostat, brake rotors n pads n indicators, belts, wiper blades, filters, plugs, expansion tank, AOS, RMS, clean radiators, get injectors serviced, new globes, change all oils, gear detent thing (have not got that yet) and maybe a few hoses, fix a rear water leak in the Targa roof, get the roof working smoothly, fix a noisy electric seat, new tyres, and a really good clean -- everywhere 15 hours -- it will be more like 200 to 300 for me. The only jobs I will not do are replacing the tyres and the wheel alignment. And may replace the shocks, will take them of and get them tested. Car has 150k. Last time I did "a big job" it was on my 964, it took 10 months but it was wotrth it -- car ran really good for another 5 years and was good when I sold it on. I'm nearly 60 years old and although I would like a 997 reality is that I ptobably will not be able to affoard one -- and the Targa is a brilliant road trip car, can really cover some distance and being able to load direct into the back seat is "the best".

Thanks for sharing. Feels good to work on a car, big sense of accomplishment. On the H20 hoses, just a word of caution - you need to properly bleed the system after you've replaced them. Also don't use incompatible coolant otherwise it will gel and cause a nightmare. If you are investing all of that money in restoration and preventative maint, you should look into uview airlift 55000 to properly fill the cooling system using vacuum.

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Tell us more about the uview airlift 5500.

Sure, it's a vacuum fill system for about $100. Basically it fills a drained cooling system on any car without any air pockets. This is what dealers and shops use. Especially important on our cars because there are tons of small hoses, cavities, and high points where air can get trapped. You need a 5 gallon or larger air compressor to operate. Without this system, even with the proper bleeding procedure, you risk localized hot spots in the engine and the potential for cracks or other problems.

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Thanks. Sounds like a smart move if any if us change the water pump.

Definately!