warning ,fuel lines

[Dibby]

Is this a car forum bandwaggon gathering pace? Salty popcorn this time please.

Shirley 99% of cars on the road have bog-standard cheap grade hoses and if new fuel additives are going to rot them through there would be some kind of testing/ sign off stage?

Maybe it was why the M5 crash caused a massive fireball and we're going to see one a week from now on? Maybe it' a non-issue that's rapidly gathering pace

[fatbaldbloke]

I contacted Samco ref their silicone fuel hose.  There are quite a lot of conditions associated with its use, and it's only recommended for naturally aspirated use as the pressure rating is 5 bar.  So, I won't be using that.

It would be nice to get some SAE J30R9, but I don't know where to get it from.  So I guess it's back to the original plan of making sure the flexible is visible, short, with as little bending strain as possible and not braided.

Edited to say I've found a supplier of R9, Advanced Fluid Solutions, so the 'busa will be getting some of that.

[SteveD]

Is this a car forum bandwaggon gathering pace? Salty popcorn this time please.

Shirley 99% of cars on the road have bog-standard cheap grade hoses and if new fuel additives are going to rot them through there would be some kind of testing/ sign off stage?

Maybe it was why the M5 crash caused a massive fireball and we're going to see one a week from now on? Maybe it' a non-issue that's rapidly gathering pace

there is allways one  muppet il stick your salty popcorn up your

mocking the m5 crash is hardly appropriate is it either

no modern cars ie last few years have plastic fuel lines for this very reason they do not use rubber these days they are pre formed plastic hoses , i am just letting people know my findings its up to you lot if you check your hoses ,im just trying to help you with my own findings and others that have used pucka grade rubber hoses that have failed very quickly , i have had a few fail on the conversions that are well under a year sinse they were converted

i posted about this a while ago aswell but with more showing signs of perrishing i thought it better to post about it again

adam regarding the smell of fuel ,if you run rubber or even braided fuel lines through the inside of a tin top you can allways smell fuel strongly inside the car

[pistonbroke]

Just popped out to the garden , bad leak about 3yds from the bussiness end  

question now is , do I put a bandage on or replace the whole length  

this could cost a fortune,  with the supply being metered  

[adamnreeves]

adam regarding the smell of fuel ,if you run rubber or even braided fuel lines through the inside of a tin top you can allways smell fuel strongly inside the car

Strange though. I had initially covered the rubber fuel hose with convoluted tubing but having discovered the smell I decided covering them was not the brightest idea. I give them a visual check every time the bonnet is removed.

[combatsapph]

for some reason I have always been able to smell a hint of fuel from my fuel hoses. However can see no leaks, damage or cracks. They are specific for fuel use as bought from Westfield. Strange.

Perfectly normal - fuel hoses are slighlty permeable to gaseous solutions.

[jeff oakley]

There is some anecdotal views that the new fuels are causing lines to perish prematurly. When you go for IVA they need to see markings or a letter from the manufacturer to say it is suitable for the job.

I too have Aeroquip front to rear on my car which so far is okay but as you say you cannot check it easily.

The though process it that Bio fuel is being mixed in with normal fuel and it is this that is causing the pipes to fail. Gates have a rubber compund that will do bio ethanol and all corrosive fules, but I am not sure if this is special order in the UK at present. As far as I am aware Gates normal hi pressure hose is fine for UK fuels at present but I will check and report back.

What you have to make sure is that the local factor gives you the correct hi pressure hose, as visually they look the same and if you ask for a length of hose you might find you get low pressure hose that will fail due to pressure rather than rubber perishing.

[windy]

You need to fit the PTFE braided fuel line using the olive type fittings. Goodridge and others have been making this stuff for years.

Anyone that runs hose inside the car will know that rubber sweats and smells of fuel. To avoid this fit the PTFE braided hose.

Ethanol is already present at around 5% in your regular 95RON ULG. Many companies increase this to more to boost octane, so your Tescos 99RON will have a lot of it in. The standard will soon be changing to allow 10% bio contect for 95ULG, so that means generally 10% ethanol.

It is not just rubber that ethanol (or alcohol) affects. Aluminium and any ferrous metal that corrodes will be susceptible. Make sure during winter storage you fill your tanks full with fuel and block off any breathers open to atmosphere. Alcohol absorbs water from the atmosphere like a dry sponge so to stop it you must seal things up.

[SteveD]

You need to fit the PTFE braided fuel line using the olive type fittings. Goodridge and others have been making this stuff for years.

Anyone that runs hose inside the car will know that rubber sweats and smells of fuel. To avoid this fit the PTFE braided hose.

Ethanol is already present at around 5% in your regular 95RON ULG. Many companies increase this to more to boost octane, so your Tescos 99RON will have a lot of it in. The standard will soon be changing to allow 10% bio contect for 95ULG, so that means generally 10% ethanol.

It is not just rubber that ethanol (or alcohol) affects. Aluminium and any ferrous metal that corrodes will be susceptible. Make sure during winter storage you fill your tanks full with fuel and block off any breathers open to atmosphere. Alcohol absorbs water from the atmosphere like a dry sponge so to stop it you must seal things up.

good point wendy

another example springs to mind is how the cheap gun wash we use at work is corroding and eating away the alloy mixing rulers   at an allarming rate

[Arm]

As Windy states its likely to be ethanol in the fuel. Many contain 5% and that attacks the hoses and seals.

Thank the tree huggers.

[robo1968]

Just checked my hoses (fuel tank end anyway) - 2 lengths of about 10cm from tank to pump and pump to fuel line and they're both braided so can't tell the condition. There's no smell of fuel though at this end. I can smell fuel in the garage but I'm pretty sure it's from the carbs as they evaporate whatever's left in them - I think...hope?! I'm guessing if either of these hoses was perishing I would still smell it when I put my nose close to them?

[Ian Podmore]

Sound advice Steve.

I have had to replace a leaky fuel line. Couldn't understand where the fuel smell was coming from until a spotted a drop on the floor one day one day.

A lucky escape.

[jeff oakley]

As promised I went away and did some digging regarding this subject.

Basically due to goverment fiddling all in the name of the enviroment, since January 2011 all fuels have to contain 10% of its content from renewable scources by 2020. As a result already the main companies are blending up to 10% Ethanol in the fule you buy.

Unfortunatley standard rubber cannot cope with these additives and will fail in due course as the fuel is very aggressive to rubber. MAny factors will not know this and will supply standard fule hose unless asked.

Gates have now brought out a new hose that is called Barricade which will deal with E15 fuel 15% ethanol 85% fuel and will not leak vapour and will withstand all known new formulas.

What it will not do is allow it to be used with aero quip fittings but at least you know what the problem is now and can discuss this with the braided supplier.

HTH

[smorse]

as im fed up of changing my BS AU 108 hoses every few years does anyone know where i can this Gates Barricade fuel hose over here, not from the USA

[sparky21]

this still is not going to help the problems with ali tanks etc....