Having received an e-mail from Marty alerting me to this thread, and having a coach identical to Marty's, I also removed the filter and lines as I changed to ELC on my last coolant change. (Being honest here, Marty did a lot of the work since he lives right across the street and I am an accomplished follower of the "Huck Finn" method of project management.)
I found, after removing the hoses, that areas of the hoses were brittle due to heat exposure - and that was in areas covered by the heat ablative covers. While the use of silicone tubing helps, remember that the temperatures the tube is rated for is internal temp, not external temp, and that it is the external temperatures that the tube is exposed to that causes the damage - hence the heat shield tubing.
Having spent many years working on both small and large airplanes I have seen the necessity of changing ANY type of flexable fluid line if it has in any way become even slightly stiff or brittle (if it's brittle you already waited WAY too long!)
If you are using standard coolant, I would suggest that you inspect the lines annually at a minimum - you don't need to remove them, just run your hand along them and flex them. If any stiffness is detected, change that line. If you have made the change to ELC, pull the lines and plug the ports as Gerald recommended since the system is no longer required.
The opinions expressed above are those of the author - your opinion may vary.
Jay
