Hi all. I mainly used braided fuel line & dash fittings on my LH however I used rubber EFI hose from the metal hard line to fuel rail & fuel return to the tank which was "T" pieced into the over flow from the filler neck on the fuel tank. The hose was fairly expensive at $20 a meter so I was fairly pissed to discover that in less than nine months the hose had cracks all along & even worse was leaking from the fuel return while the car was running. Not good! The supplier told me the cracking was due to heat generated in the engine compartment as the temperature gets pretty high there but as the return line was at the very rear of the car & no where near any heat source I find this a little hard to believe. Has anyone else had this problem? The hose brand is Grommet & has a date "2006" embossed into it though the car has only been running since last July & hasn't done much driving.
RUBBER FUEL LINE CRACKING/PERISHING
Started by
_LH SLR 3300_
, Mar 30 2009 06:02 PM
15 replies to this topic
#2
View GaragePosted 30 March 2009 - 07:01 PM
Have never had that problem with fuel line, normally that happens to people who think that any old rubber hose will do. Must be something wrong with it.
#3
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 30 March 2009 - 07:33 PM
Yeah you're right, some people will try & get by with what ever but I knew as my car is EFI & runs up to 60+ psi of fuel pressure that I needed the right hose.Which is also the reason why the bulk of the fuel system in my car is braided line with dash fittings. I only used rubber for the supply line as I couldn't fine dash fittings for the VN fuel rail. I've since modified this but thought it strange that supposed good quality rubber hose would perish so quickly.
#4
FastEHHolden
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Posted 30 March 2009 - 07:54 PM
what fuel are you using?
I reckon E10 will do it...but have noticed that just about every chainsaw or whipper snipper owned by my extended family needs new fuel lines in the last year...i think they are either adding something they shouldn't be (tolulene??) or some other cheap solvent.
I reckon E10 will do it...but have noticed that just about every chainsaw or whipper snipper owned by my extended family needs new fuel lines in the last year...i think they are either adding something they shouldn't be (tolulene??) or some other cheap solvent.
#5
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 30 March 2009 - 08:05 PM
I have only used either BP 98 octane or Shell 95 octane, have not used any additives or race fuel such as C16.
#6
Posted 30 March 2009 - 10:06 PM
That'll do iti think they are either adding something they shouldn't be (tolulene??) or some other cheap solvent.
#7
_Terrible One_
_Terrible One_
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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:07 PM
Silly question but did they actually give you EFI line and not normal shit?
It should last years and years before it does that.
I've seen a couple times when people have put normal low pressure hose on an EFI car and it's turned into a balloon and cracked within weeks.
My car is full of 8mm grommet EFI hose and it runs 55psi fuel pressure, no problems there.
It should last years and years before it does that.
I've seen a couple times when people have put normal low pressure hose on an EFI car and it's turned into a balloon and cracked within weeks.
My car is full of 8mm grommet EFI hose and it runs 55psi fuel pressure, no problems there.
#8
TerrA LX
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Posted 31 March 2009 - 06:34 PM
How long was the piece you bought?
It will be printed along the side of the hose what it's intended use is.
Sometimes the manufacture has their name on it also.
It will be printed along the side of the hose what it's intended use is.
Sometimes the manufacture has their name on it also.
#9
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 01 April 2009 - 03:46 PM
The hose is around 40cm long & ran from between the steering column & chassis rail up over the heater hose pipes (not functioning) across the fire wall to the fuel fail. I set it up this way to keep it as far away as possible from any heat source. I also fitted small lengths of foam insulating to stop it rubbing on the firewall etc. The brand is Grommet 7.5mm ID EFI hose & has this printed on the hose. A few people have suggested poor quality fuel as being the cause of it perishing so quick but then I have used GMH EFI hose for the fuel rail to fuel pressure reg line & from the reg to the metal return line & this hasn't cracked or perished.
#10
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 01 April 2009 - 04:19 PM
Here are some pics of the affected hose so everyone can get a better idea of what I'm talking about. The hose with the large split was running from the filler neck overflow on the fuel tank which is where I "T" pieced for the EFI return to the fuel tank.
#11
TerrA LX
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Posted 02 April 2009 - 01:49 PM
Yeah just could be dodgy fuel hose, try googling them maybe?
Could I suggest running fuel pipe and just fuel hose to join it in?
Could I suggest running fuel pipe and just fuel hose to join it in?
#12
_LH SLR 3300_
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 02 April 2009 - 05:43 PM
Yeah that's a good idea, i'm replacing all the rubber hose with braided line & dash fittings. Expensive but more reliable & the engineer highly approves.
#13
_bathurst-racer_
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Posted 02 April 2009 - 08:47 PM
There is a lot of mechanics and other people saying that E10 damages fuel lines and their experience may confirm that. I'm also a mechanic and I have covered over 200,000 km in my XR6 Falcon and have almost exclusively used ethanol fuel and never encountered a fuel hose problem. I have also run E10 in my recently re registered HQ and even put it in my XU-1 on their orginal fuel hoses. No issues with them either. As ethanol is only methylated spirits and is rarely in Australian petrol at any more than about 4 to 6% I'd be looking at the hoses themselves as everyone seems to be suggesting.
#14
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 02 April 2009 - 08:58 PM
Yes i think you are right along with a few other people I talked to. The supplier tried to tell me it was due to heat build up, another suggestion was poor quality fuel. The fact that the GMH rubber fuel hose I used from the fuel rail to the pressure reg is still Ok confirms in my mind that I was unlucky in purchasing a bad batch of hose.
#15
TerrA LX
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Posted 06 April 2009 - 10:47 PM
I have it on good authority that Ethanol is a very dry fuel.
Not good for a needle and seat or fuel pumps not suitable for alcohol applications.
Not good for a needle and seat or fuel pumps not suitable for alcohol applications.
#16
_LH SLR 3300_
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Posted 07 April 2009 - 10:01 PM
My mate runs E10 ethanol blend fuel in his worked VY LS1 but I never run it in any of my cars. His reasoning is that as he doesn't drive it often enough & paying for premium is a waste of money. I've been told E10 has a higher octane rating than regular unleaded but for my Torana the engine builder told me to run premium unleaded & stick with that. I ended up replacing the rubber fuel line with braided, though where the dash fitting joins onto the metal hard line it's weeping fuel. I used a proper pipe cutter & flaring tool to adapt the dash fittings but it is still giving me dramas. Supplier told me that it may be because my flaring tool is tapered at 45 degrees where as the dash barb is 70 degrees tapered. Hopefully will sort it out. I enjoy working on my Torana but I enjoy actually being able to drive it more. The joy of owning modified cars I guess.
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