How Often Do You Replace the Rubber Fuel Hose?
Jim Ed
At vw-resource.com he recommends replacing it every 5 years.
http://www.vw-resource.com/fuel_line.html
It's always a good precaution to replace all four sections of
rubber line about every five years.
John Connolly (Aircooled.Net) advises-
I strongly recommend cloth braided fuel hose. Every 6 months, you
should inspect it! Bend it over 180 degrees, and if it cracks or is
stiff, REPLACE IT. Leaking fuel hose is the #1 cause of those
smoldering VWs you see on the side of the road. Don't be a statistic!
Jan Andersson
could not agree more!!
Rubber products such as fuel line, have a limited shelf life too. You
can't tell how old the fuel hose was when you BOUGHT it.
I once bought cloth braided fuel hose for my 78 bus, and two years later
I started getting fuel smells. I did what John said, started bending the
fuel hose and I didn't get very far until it snapped! Nowhere near 90
degrees!
I don't know if the formulation or chemical additives they use in fuel
changed at that time, and I was sold "old batch" fuel hose that was no
longer compatible. But it was a shocker. "Brand new" fuel hose dried up
to a crisp in 2 years. Insane.
Jan
DogDiesel
"Jan Andersson" <bug...@rocketmail.com> wrote in message
news:8k6hgu...@mid.individual.net...
You might want to concider another type of fuel line.
Ive been using parker and other Aviation fuel / oil lines lines for a
long time. On oil coler and transmissin lines on my other cars.
On my other vehicles.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/ap/hose_fuel.html
There's plenty of suppliers. But theres not going to be any metric.
John
how many cars I looked at did not use clamps on the fuel line. Not even on
the fuel pump right next to distributor!. This was after having been hassled
by some Govt inspector for my beetle annual inspection for having a couple
of rust spots on the headlight reflector. Idiot had his priorities
right!!!. My reliable supplier of parts though will only supply OEM cloth
covered hose. He seems to recall VW never used clamps with OEM hose. Dunno
about that.
Keeping on topic though I have had the OEM hose he supplied me with
about 7-8 years ago and it is still supple, no evidence of seepage. For
things like fuel hoses, brake lines I try to go OEM or at least German.
Cost a bit more but lasts a darn sight longer.
John
DogDiesel
"John" <sus...@aapt.net.au> wrote in message
news:ibo54s$s0l$1...@news-01.bur.connect.com.au...
Some hose dont need clamps. Like the braided ones on my diesel injectors on
my Golf. No clamps no leaks, last a decade.
Jan Andersson
proper 5.5mm fuel lines. A diameter that is no longer available, and the
closest one being 6mm, fits too loose. So.... clamp them. And not with
those "garden hose" type clamps, but proper fuel line clamps that leave
no gaps.
John
pressure ergo must be clamps?. But if they,ve gone 10 years without a leak
it,s obviously kosher.
I seem to recall there always being clamps on my air cooled stuff dating
from the 60,s. Wonder if it was a VW Aust measure for the hotter
climate????. Or just evidence of more overly cautious old sods.
John
Joey Tribiani
> The factory did not use clamps in the fuel lines. They used the
>proper 5.5mm fuel lines.
an often repeated myth... vw did see fit to use bandclamps on fuel lines
after moving from hardlines to rubber hose...
Jim Ed
in the past 18 years is what I get from CB Performance.
http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=574
The hose I got from other vendors had a black braided cloth around
it.
Tuomas
Often seen also, not a myth at all.
I've had several original VWs from 60's and none of them have had clamps on
fuel lines until I installed them. Newer ones had partial clamping, not all
hoses.
You'd have to have factory advertisements showing clamps to convince me that
factory used them and they magically have vanished from all I've had/repaired.
--
Tuomas - VWs:'63 typ14, '65 typ34 & '61 typ2
Randall
I replace it every time there is an engine fire.
Just like when forestry experts found out that allowing lightning caused
fires to burn is healthier for the forest in the long run, so should VW
fires be allowed to run their course. Afterward, the rebuilt vehicle is
better than the old one. That is why I use genuine NOS fuel line without
clamps. I also have a see-through glass fuel filter that is suspended
between the fuel pump and the carb and allowed to swing free. I don't
have a fire extinguisher on board. Just by 2ข. Don't assume that I'm an
expert just because I'm posting here.
Joey Tribiani
>Often seen also, not a myth at all.
>I've had several original VWs from 60's and none of them have had clamps on
>fuel lines until I installed them. Newer ones had partial clamping, not all
>hoses.
>You'd have to have factory advertisements showing clamps to convince me
>that factory used them and they magically have vanished from all I've
>had/repaired.
pinched bandclamps came on the pressure side of the fuel pump, and they are
visible in shots from factory owner's manuals, if you wish to check it
out... some years have clearer shots than others... it is, indeed, a myth
that vw did not use hoseclamps on fuel lines...
John
Cheers
John
John
avoid all photos of a connected carby.
"Scientific Publications" published Service Manuals in Australia for
all car brands. Were a bit rudimentary. For the early T3 carbs ( centrally
located) there was definitely no clamps. For all twin carburetted T3,s there
is definitely clamps on all fuel connections. The crimp type that leaves a
small non crimped region!.
For Beetles was a bit indistinct but almost certainly not! You could argue
though that if that was the engine they stripped down to do the manual it
might be all just sitting together and not functional.
Cheers
John
Randall
The filter is made of fine mesh and is reusable after cleaning it. The
ends unscrew with a wrench. O-rings provide the seal. This is the second
one I've had. While I was disassembling the first one in a kneeling
position the glass cylinder fell out of my hand onto the concrete and
broke quite easily in a drop of less than two feet.
I don't actually have it hanging above the case. I molded some hard
setting clay to fit around it as it rests on the case. And it's
positioned in the line leading into the fuel pump, not the line between
the pump and the carb.
By the way, I notice you always use a comma as an apostrophe. Is that
how Aussie's are taught to do it? In Europe they use a comma as a
decimal instead of a period.
Joey Tribiani
>Just for interest went and dragged out all my manuals. Clymer manages to
>avoid all photos of a connected carby.
> "Scientific Publications" published Service Manuals in Australia for
> all car brands. Were a bit rudimentary. For the early T3 carbs (
> centrally located) there was definitely no clamps. For all twin
> carburetted T3,s there is definitely clamps on all fuel connections. The
> crimp type that leaves a small non crimped region!.
crimp clamps(band clamps) were used...they are crimped on and a one time use
deal... which is likely why so many were not replaced... any tight fitting
line with low pressure will stay put as long as the lines are within their
serviceable lifespan, however, most folks do not replace lines as they
should, and don't know when those lines are beyond their serviceable
lifespan... therefor, vw saw fit to ensure they stayed put... but one time
use clamps can't be replaced, so they got left off *a lot* and a great urban
myth was formed!
> For Beetles was a bit indistinct but almost certainly not! You could
> argue though that if that was the engine they stripped down to do the
> manual it might be all just sitting together and not functional.
> Cheers
> John
take a look at actual vw owner's manuals... some of them have picture angles
toward the engine(usually when discussing the V-belt) and the clamps are
visible.... out of curiosity, I opened up my Bentley manual for 66-69 type
one sedan and coupe, and in the section for fuel pump replacement (Chapter
3, Page 8, section 2.1 under the "to install" section) step 5 says "connect
fuel hoses and secure with clips or clamps"... the next step is also widely
disregarded "6. check seating of fuel line rubber grommet in engine front
cover plate.".....
in the fuel system section, chapter 3 also, under the section on removal and
installation of the carburetor, on install they clearly dedicate step 3 to
"secure fuel hose with clamp"....
that said, the Bentley is touted as the "official service manual", but is
still a third party.... vw's own owner's manuals have some shots where the
clamps are visible...
here are a couple links to manuals available for viewing at www.thesamba.com
where the clamps are visible... I chose 1969 only because I have a 69
owner's manual here at my desk.
this picture(left picture) shows that there are clamps on both the input and
output side(tougher to see it on the output side) of the fuel pump(also
shows that vw never put those silly filters in to flop around and pull out
the tube nipples pressed into the carb and fuel pump)
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/8_69bug/40.jpg
this one shows a clamp clearly on the output side.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/8_69bug/6.jpg
I'm sure other year manuals show them too, as I've scanned pictures out of
manuals several times over the years for posting for folks to see... as I
said, I chose 1969 only because I have a manual sitting here, and that made
it easy...<G>
John
be prepackaged with two of the "spring" type clip with overlapping ends and
also two short lengths of hose. Not now a days.
John
John
humour!. I actually had one of those type on my 1300 Beetle back in 67 and
I,d buy another of that type of filter if I could get one..These days
though they are all those nasty little moulded plastic things. That was
beautiful little car. I commuted 160 miles a day for about 4 years (
nearly killed myself on the first day with its evil handling) , when I sold
her the compression was so low when ignition was turned off the engine spun
for 3-4 seconds. Apart from a seized front right slave cylinder it never
missed a beat.
Which is another thing. On all my VW,s the right front slave
cylinder/caliper has caused issues. Seizing mainly, purely coincidence? Cant
think of any other reason.
Cheers
John
Randall
> Apart from a seized front right slave cylinder it never
> missed a beat.
> Which is another thing. On all my VW,s the right front slave
> cylinder/caliper has caused issues. Seizing mainly, purely coincidence? Cant
> think of any other reason.
>
> Cheers
> John
>
>
It's a little known fact that in Australia, South Africa, Japan, India,
the British Isles, and just about everywhere that the British left their
stamp -- the right front wheel cylinder on every vehicle will seize
before the left one will. In the US, Canada, most of Europe, and Latin
America -- the left front wheel cylinder will be the first to seize. In
China both wheel cylinders seize at the same rate, probably due to poor
machining tolerances.
John
imponderables.
Jan Andersson
> And if you are right on the equator, all four or none? One of those
> imponderables.
>
>
the side of the vehicle that sees the curb or ditch side, gets less dirt
thrown around. The side that sees oncoming traffic gets sprayed more and
sees more dirt, water, salt(winter) and stuff that's thrown up by
oncoming traffic. Just a thought...
DogDiesel
I'm not going to agree. The left side gets tore up more in the US. As the
driver misses everything on the right side. Pot holes , mud , everything.
And if you go off there edge of the road. Its the right side. All my cars
get hammered on the right side first. Also the curb side gets sprayed more
as the slush is on the curb side , not in the middle . US roads at least.
drain to the curb well . They're high in the middle. But the puddles and
crap are at the curb.
