td5 eu3 egr cooler rad bypass hose

Hi have just completed fitting egr replacement kit and hoses. Tapped the small plastic coolant hose that carries coolant to/from egr gass cooler and it snapped . This has apparently happened before as there are small pieces of rubber hose joining it. Is it ok to just get a length of steel tubing made up to replace this as I don't want this failing in the outback. I guess that plastic was used for cheepness? Thanks Steve