Not to beat a well read thread to death, nor do I wish anyone to spend
hundreds of dollars un-necessarily, but.................How much is a towing
fee, and the chance of engine damage, etc!

The question was, "I'm opening the cooling system, what else should I look
out for!

The answer:
http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1023

 Troubleshooting Cooling System Hoses

Today's smaller engines work a lot harder than the large V-8 engines that
were standard 10 years ago. Under similar conditions, today's four-cylinder
engine must run approximately 25% faster than a V-8 engine, creating
proportionately more heat to be dissipated. The following report provided by
Gates Corporation examines what these higher temperatures can mean to the
service life of cooling system hoses.

(****Accelerated by high-heat and flexing, the hose can develop a pinhole
leak or rupture under normal pressure. This possibility of hidden
reinforcement failure is one of the best reasons for replacing coolant hoses
every two to four years. **** )

Howard