Ebay Radiator + Coolant Hose Experiences

[tripsteady]

Hey Guys

So Im doing my 100k service soon , decided on all the parts , read all threads pertaining tot he subject and got alot of advice from the more knowledgeable members on here.

All I basically want to know is , has anyone used these eBay silicon hoses that apparently offer a 12 month warranty?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250919410377?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

My Radiator and coolant hoses are starting to show their age and I wanted to do it while Im doing my 100k service, but the genuine nissan ones are so damn expensive.

Over $100 for 2 hoses on kudo Motorsports website...are you serious!!!??

Il pay the bucks if I have to as I'm not going to skimp on quality , but if i can get the same hoses of similar quality that will do the job for much cheaper then I want to.

If anyone has had experiences when purchasing these hoses , be it good or bad , please post.

Cheers

[Plattsy]

i bought some red silicone hoses and an alloy rad for my old mini i rebuilt, the hoses where great quality just needed a trim here and there, and the radiator was fantastic quality, however i had to drill the radiator surround, because the attachment holes where bigger on the rad. now i know its a mini (73) not a turbo but, it ran fantastically, hardly got hot enough to work the demister!!!

[tripsteady]

i bought some red silicone hoses and an alloy rad for my old mini i rebuilt, the hoses where great quality just needed a trim here and there, and the radiator was fantastic quality, however i had to drill the radiator surround, because the attachment holes where bigger on the rad. now i know its a mini (73) not a turbo but, it ran fantastically, hardly got hot enough to work the demister!!!

cheers , people have said i should stay away from "cheap silicon". Would this item be regarded as that? anyone else have any experiences regarding this?

Edited July 25, 2012 by tripsteady

[gotRICE?]

As far as i can tell from using the odd silicone hose here and there is that they are fine. The only ones i didnt like was the vac hoses. They seemed to go all wierd and powdery on the outside so just went back to good old black hose.

[MrStabby]

Cheap silicon hoses leak, and i had an ebay one fail after about 12 months. Back to Nissan OEM now and no problems.

[Pal]

got a fendix radiator for the gtr on ebay. still going well and no heating issues after 6 months

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nissan-Skyline-R33-GTS-GTS25-GTS25T-GTR-Fenix-Radiator-/170707648334?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bef7ff4e

[Carbon 34]

Ebay hoses just fine except they forgot to cut them on the ones under plenum so they looked wonky till ya figured that out, but I bought the 5-7 ply ones not flimsy ones

And kudos 100k kit

Gates belt noisy as hell but after speaking to gates racing it just needs to be tensioned with a warm engine not cold kelvar doesnt stretch well and it just takes a little expansion and noise pops up

Radiator had issues with but its a SAU seller who wasnt the most helpful and now it leaks on the bottom hose dooh , its made in china as well anyhow so why bother

The other hoses i had fail were name branded au brand vacuum hoses - too thin walled

[tripsteady]

Ebay hoses just fine except they forgot to cut them on the ones under plenum so they looked wonky till ya figured that out, but I bought the 5-7 ply ones not flimsy ones

And kudos 100k kit

Gates belt noisy as hell but after speaking to gates racing it just needs to be tensioned with a warm engine not cold kelvar doesnt stretch well and it just takes a little expansion and noise pops up

Radiator had issues with but its a SAU seller who wasnt the most helpful and now it leaks on the bottom hose dooh , its made in china as well anyhow so why bother

The other hoses i had fail were name branded au brand vacuum hoses - too thin walled

really want to get this timing belt changed...will never forgive myself if it snaps....

As far as i can tell from using the odd silicone hose here and there is that they are fine. The only ones i didnt like was the vac hoses. They seemed to go all wierd and powdery on the outside so just went back to good old black hose.

Cheap silicon hoses leak, and i had an ebay one fail after about 12 months. Back to Nissan OEM now and no problems.

got a fendix radiator for the gtr on ebay. still going well and no heating issues after 6 months

http://www.ebay.com....=item27bef7ff4e

Ebay hoses just fine except they forgot to cut them on the ones under plenum so they looked wonky till ya figured that out, but I bought the 5-7 ply ones not flimsy ones

And kudos 100k kit

Gates belt noisy as hell but after speaking to gates racing it just needs to be tensioned with a warm engine not cold kelvar doesnt stretch well and it just takes a little expansion and noise pops up

Radiator had issues with but its a SAU seller who wasnt the most helpful and now it leaks on the bottom hose dooh , its made in china as well anyhow so why bother

The other hoses i had fail were name branded au brand vacuum hoses - too thin walled

thanks for all the replies guys ,meant radiator hoses and coolant hoses not radiators alone, but I guess my thread title was a bit misleading ...id never buy a radiator or any of the other cheap Chinese crap from ebay..went down that route with the supra before before ...lets just say do it once and do it right.....and u save money time and frustration. Trying to save a few bucks usually ends up in disaster....

Hmm Gates belts are noisey....was going with that with my 100k kit from kudo....dont want it to be noisy though , im sure Paden knows about tensioning them when engine is warm

thanks for the advice guys , im thinking il just go oem - First do my 100k service and accessory belts brake fluid,coolant flush and oil change

and just do all my hoses , diff , transmission , o2 sensor later down the track when ive got a bit more cash...

Edited July 30, 2012 by tripsteady

[Carbon 34]

I did all my hoses , water , air etc so they could match my colour scheme

The expensive ones from prob one of the best in oz arent any better then good ones made in china ? My failure hose is the name brand stuff , same hose twice now

gates makes oem hoses and racing hoses , that withstand time but can be hard to find

Supercheap sells some ?

Gates makes the GReddy belts as well and a few other branded japanese belts

My radiator is from a local popular SAU seller but it had made in china right on the box , so unless its made onsite its made overseas prob!!

but you know its still better then factory lol crimped alloy and plastic tanks suck

[gotRICE?]

Ahh, nah i dont agree with that. You only think plastic tanks suck because after 10-20 years one of them sprung a leak.

In saying that, i didnt replace my OEM with another OEM. The full alloy chinese ones these days are pretty dam good quality compared to what they used to be.

[Carbon 34]

Ahh, nah i dont agree with that. You only think plastic tanks suck because after 10-20 years one of them sprung a leak.

Actually they're easy to fix with tube of silicone and pliers

But fail from vibration easier , but compared to old radiators made out of brass or copper they leak less

Alloy one now works fine just had fitment issues , that were know years before , and some other issues due to quality looks not how it works

In saying that, i didnt replace my OEM with another OEM. The full alloy chinese ones these days are pretty dam good quality compared to what they used to be.

Even japan imports from china ,indonesia , Philippines lol

Could be worse mexico ??

[gotRICE?]

LOL! Too true.

When my dad was my age he said that the rubbish car parts actually came from Japan. They had an absolutely shithouse name for automotive parts.... things can change So i dont see why China cant have stepped up their game too.

Im all for giving them a chance. Hey, if it fails, its my problem. And so far i have done just fine .

But im picky as to what i actually buy chinese, so i guess i sit on the fence hahah

Edited July 31, 2012 by gotRICE?