I had the thermostat, water pump and timing belt changed. That was well over due.
The engine is not overheating. The car warms up quickly as normal. I haven't checked the hardness of the hoses. Are you assuming air is in the system?
The car runs fine. Just after 120 miles or so, I see more water in the expansion/overflow bottle. The water does not return to the rad. when cold. That's when I have to add a cupfull of fuild directly in to the rad. and drain the expansion/overflow bottle. Otherwise the next time, water leaks out of the expansion bottle. BTW. This happened before I had the thermostat, etc changed.