Quick help on a road trip - Updated: Coolant System & Belt

[jdwood1111]

Morning all. I have a ongoing thread but just took my 2011 Yukon xl Denali with 93k on it down from pa to fl and stopped by tire kingdom for wheel balance and alignment before leaving and they said I should do a serpentine belt and upper and lower radiator hoses with a flush before heading back. Oh and the total was $753!! Lol Upon my inspection the top hose is totally fine and the lower hose is definitely a little old and soft but looks ok(see below) to me. Stopped by a small local guy and he laughed and said they have quotas to meet and looked at it as well. Said the belt is definitely worn but shouldn’t break anytime soon and the hoses looked fine and wouldn’t touch it until I got home. My thoughts are to buy a lower hose and 6 gals of antifreeze to have with me if I really need it? Planning on leaving Saturday morning. Thoughts?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Change out all of your hoses. Mine looked fine too, until one blew itself apart. This is something that you can do yourself.

 

[89Suburban]

Your fine don't sweat it.

 

[jdwood1111]

Yea I’ll change them out at some point when I get home but just looking to get a couple opinions on if I should do something before leaving. If it was only me there would zero sweat but I have wife, 4 kids and a dog! Thanks for the quick responses!

I have to go back to the darn place anyway, the steering wheel is not straight after the alignment!!

How much coolant would I loose if it blew so I know what but? One gal of dexcool concentrate and 2-3 bottles of distilled water for the road?

 

[Geotrash]

I wouldn't sweat it at all on this trip, but you're due for belts and hoses for sure, if they've never been changed. When you get home, and since you have to drain the cooling system to change the hoses, I would also change the heater hoses and the plastic tees they attach to at the firewall because they are known for failing. Also change the plastic tee in the heater hose that you can see in your photo by the water pump. Dorman makes one that uses an aluminum tee instead of the plastic one in that spot. For the firewall tees, order OEM only. Order before you leave and it will all be there when you get back

 

[89Suburban]

I have to go back to the darn place anyway, the steering wheel is not straight after the alignment!!

Raise some hell!!!!

 

[jdwood1111]

Raise some hell!!!!

Turns out when I called back they said I was the fourth person to state this and have a technician coming tomorrow morning to realign the machine! So hopefully they get it fixed otherwise I have to another location, come on!!

At all others, I’ll start working on a parts list based on the above recommendations and post up to make sure I have everything I need. I appreciate the reassurance all!

 

[jdwood1111]

Got the realignment today and all good now! Also bought the lower hose and 3 gals of coolant and a pair of angled pliers if I need them from advance to return all the above if I don’t need them!

Leaving early tomorrow hope all goes well! Thanks everyone!

 

[swathdiver]

Got the realignment today and all good now! Also bought the lower hose and 3 gals of coolant and a pair of angled pliers if I need them from advance to return all the above if I don’t need them!

Leaving early tomorrow hope all goes well! Thanks everyone!

Welcome to the Sunshine State! What part are you going to?

My belts and hoses at almost 13 years old and 176K are all original.

 

[jdwood1111]

Just spent the last week in Ormond Beach! We grew up coming down here since my grandparents had timeshare and it was a birthday gift for him since he turned 90 this year.

Thanks good to know too!! Thanks!