Very soon I am going to stop looking for problems on my newly acquired 87 Westy because damned if I don't keep finding them...

Long plastic coolant pipes this time. While doing the "stick a garden hose in the pipe" flush procedure I noticed that the end of one of the pipes jutted out 3/4 inch, and the end of the other didn't. Checked the other two and they too all jutted out 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Now I don't suppose this is exactly how they are supposed to look, right? Of course not.

On the plus side I have averted a major separation of pipe and hose while traveling in the middle of God knows where this summer. On the minus side I now have to replace these things. The usual questions:

1) How difficult is this?
2) Is there a really cheap, fantastically reliable alternative that absolutely anyone who is everyone with a Vanagon has already done?

Soaked,
Bob W.
87 Westy