5 yrs old now - change hoses, belts?

[billpritjr]

My 2004 Pilot, which rolled off the factory in Oct 2003, is coming up on 5 years old.

Due to small town local driving, it only has 43,000 miles. All on Mobil-1 Synthetic.

With that said, I am thinking about what parts I should go ahead and swap out for fresh ones, as preventative measures to problems down the road.

The only thing I have done so far is install a new SAMS Club battery and put new Mich Cross Terrains on it last year.

Due to being 5 years old, I am considering replacing for new, the:

Timing Belt
Radiator, AC Hoses
Fuel Filter
Tranny Fluid
Thermostat
Radiator Fluid

Anyone agree, disagree on this? I recognize this is not a 1985 Ford LTD, and the above replacements might have been appropriate "in the day" but not maybe now.

Thoughts ?

[N_Jay]

Timing Belt
Go by the severe schedule at worst
Even the normal schedule or 110,000, assuming 12k-15k a year is 7 to 9 years.

Radiator, AC Hoses
Radiator, only if they have soft spots or bulges.

Fuel Filter
Don't both unless you know you have got bad gas somewhere.
It is in the tank and usually never needs replacing.

Tranny Fluid
Anywhere between normal and sever schedule is OK< unless it is dark, cloudy, or smells burnt.

Thermostat
I wouldn't until you do the timing belt/water pump.

Radiator Fluid
It is good for 10 years unless you have contaminated it.
It will get changed with the timing belt/water pump change at about 10 years or 110,000 miles.

[xGS]

Has the brake fluid ever been changed?

[Sportymonk]

I used to never hear about brake fluid being changed (maybe because old Fords and Chevys never made it that long) but now I hear all the time about chaning the brake fluid every 3 years.

Is this just a money maker for the dealer living on our fear of a brake failure or is it needed?

I remember getting a state inspection years ago and the station "kindly" added some brake fluid by using a rubber bulb thingy laying around and using some brake fluid in an open container. The master cylinder failed about a week or two later. Their defense, "You got 48,000 miles on it !"

[humanoid]

Sporty, I've heard that brake fluid needs to be changed out every 2 years regardless of mileage, not sure what it is for the Pilot, haven't had the chance to browse through the manual yet.

The brake fluid tends to gather moisture therefore it should be changed out... IIRC.

[N_Jay]

Fluid every three years, or ABS parts every 6.

Take your choice.

[ctobio]

Originally posted by N_Jay

Fuel Filter
Don't both unless you know you have got bad gas somewhere.
It is in the tank and usually never needs replacing.

I disagree. I've cut open plenty of fuel filters before. You would be amazed how much crud ends up in them.

If the fuel filter is outside the tank, it should be changed every 40-50k.

As for brake fluid, every 2-3 years (book calls for 3). It's very hygroscopic, which lowers the boiling point significantly. If you live somewhere hilly or are aggressive on your brakes, this matters a great deal.

[billpritjr]

You guys recommend the local Kwik-Lube guys or a dealer ($$$) or Honda/Japanese shop to do fluid changes ?

Don't want to sound anal, but this car has given me ZERO problems and I don't want to mess up a good thing with letting some dummies do maintenance on the car.

[humanoid]

Can you turn a wrench? If the answer is yes then you can do all the fluids yourself. There are plenty of DIYs in the Maintenance section to help guide you. DIY and save a butt load of $$$!

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by ctobio
I disagree. I've cut open plenty of fuel filters before. You would be amazed how much crud ends up in them.

When was the last time you cut open a fuel filter and how old was the car?

Originally posted by ctobio
If the fuel filter is outside the tank, it should be changed every 40-50k.

And if it is in the tank, like almost all recent cars?

Question for the group: Has anyone here had to change their fuel filter?

I know I have 120,000 miles on mine with no problem.

[krygny]

Originally posted by billpritjr
You guys recommend the local Kwik-Lube guys or a dealer ($$$) or Honda/Japanese shop to do fluid changes ?
...

Don't ever take your car to a Jiffy|Kwik Lube. My local Honda dealer charges about the same, does it in about 30 min., and actually uses the correct oil. The brain stems who work at those other places will wreck your car. They don't hire mechanics. They hire ... well ...

[ctobio]

Originally posted by N_Jay

When was the last time you cut open a fuel filter and how old was the car?

'03 VW Passat. Plastic tank, no chance of it developing its own rust. I cut all my cans because I use them to make small funnels. I'm a notorious cheapskate that way. I've even been inside the fuel tank on this car- and yes, I've found little gritty particles at the bottom of the tank.

On dissection, the inside of the can tends to contain a blackish sediment, and the filtration media itself is impregnated with the stuff. I've never had one clogged so bad that it was affecting performance, but I've never let it get that bad. I have however, seen FI fuel injection filters clogged so badly that it was causing hesitation- including on modern Passats.

There are several levels of filtration coming into play. The gas station pumps (usually) have a spin-on filter inside. If you've ever caught a slow pump, its probably clogged as hell. This filter filters the larger particles from the gas station tanks.

Inside your tank, there's a sock on the fuel pump inlet whose job is to block out particles large enough to damage the pump. Upstream from the pump is the normal fuel filter. My guess is that this one has the smallest micron filtration of any of the filters on the chain. This is what keeps your injectors from getting particles big enough to damage the injectors. The sediment I've seen in these filters on my VW are pretty much in suspension inside the filter. Some of this could even be wear products from the carbon motor brushes in the pump motor (yes, the pump electricals are usually awash in gasoline).

So yes, I believe fuel filters are a maintenance item on any car. It's probably not the most critical maintenance item, but it certainly is not a "lifetime" component.

And if it is in the tank, like almost all recent cars?

I rarely have heard of a car that had a fuel filter only inside the tank. Is the Pilot like this? My '98 Stratus had a filter that was on top of the tank, which required dropping the tank to change. But I don't know of a car what exclusively has a filter inside the tank.

[Flyimports]

Wow... I'm interested in finding the location of the fuel filter after reading through this post. Factory service manual is at home, so I'll look soon. Every Honda I've ever owned has had an easily replaceable fuel filter mounted on the firewall, and I've changed them every few years. Super simple, cheap insurance.

[ctobio]

After consulting the factory repair manual for my '06, it turns out that the only filter in the fuel system is the inlet screen at the fuel pump, inside the tank.

Well I'll be damned. I've never seen this before.

This is not something you would want to service, unless you were planning on taking out the fuel pump for some reason.

[Flyimports]

HA HA!! I saw that too, but couldn't find this thread to respond after I researched it!