My "hose of death" or "hose from hell" wasn't leaking yet, but I decided to go ahead and replace it while I had the intake and exhaust manifold off my van. Since I had everything on the left side of the engine removed, I figured I could do the job without cutting an access hole, but even then it was a bit hard to access. It looked manageable if I were to take the valve cover off, but I decided to bite the bullet and just cut the hole already. I mapped it out to fit the bend in my brake vacuum line that hugs the firewall there (I didn't want to move it nor did I want to damage it). The hole came out nice and it gave me plenty of access. I actually ordered the replacement hose from Toyota (Toyota Part # 15261-73030) but compared to Gates #28408 5/16" ID heater hose, it looked wimpy . I decided to use the Gates hose. Surprisingly enough, the old hose wasn't leaking and actually was in pretty good shape. Taking into consideration it was 20 years old, I decided replacement was best. Here are some pics of the project.

1st step is getting the carpet and heater duct out of the way.



Next I laid out hole location and marked it with a sharpie. Ideally, I would have liked the hole to be another couple inches higher and to the left, but there's a steel vacuum line for the brake booster that is mounted there. Rather than mess with that, I compromised and decided here was the best.



Here is a Matco Air Saw. This thing is like a saws-all, but offers much better control for projects like this.



Here is the view through my newly cut access hole.



Here is how it looks from the engine side (note the steel vacuum line with the 90 deg bend).



Ample access for changing hose has now been granted. The upper end was a little more challenging, but still not bad. I used a 1/4" drive ratchet with a 1/4" socket to tighten the upper clamp. It was very manageable.



I used some .050 painted aluminum plate I had laying around and some 3/16" aluminum pop rivets to make provisions for re-installing the piece I cut.



I used some double back tape to stick the piece of insulation back on.



I used some 1/2" #6 self tapping sheet metal screws to secure the new access panel into place.



Okay, so you think that's the end of the tough little hoses to change? well guess what? There's another hose of death

The next hardest hose to conquer is another 8mm (5/16") hose that goes from the 19mm (3/4") steel heater hose return pipe up to an 8mm (5/16") pipe that attaches to the intake manifold. Although this one can also be a pain, it is not nearly as tough as the one I cut the access hole for. It can be done from underneath without too much trouble (at least on a 2wd, not sure about the 4wd). Here are some pics of it's location for your viewing pleasure . Tim









Fully assembled view from under van:



Gates hose is available by the foot at most auto parts stores. My local Napa usually carries it, but was out, so I went to Carquest and got some there.