RED ALERT; fuel hose.

RED ALERT; fuel hose.

Author
Discussion

stevoj

Original Poster:

798 posts

161 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
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Got the car out of hibernation today and giving it the once over before going for a blast and blowing the cobwebs off.

Very fortunate, whilst warming up on the drive i was checking the tyre pressures and noticed a strong smell of fuel. When getting down on all fours to look at a wet patch front of the near side rear wheel, noticed fuel dripping from the return hose, quickly stopped the car and did further inspection to find the hose returning into the near side tank seems to have a deterioration split right at the point of where it connects to the tank.

I did replace all fuel lines front to back about 3 years back but did not change this as as was a couple of foot short on the hose. Just goes to show!!

Anyway thought i would post as yet another reminder on the importance of checking ALL your fuel pipes if you have have had yours in hibernation.

I class myself as fortunate that this happened on the drive and not on the road, could have ended up quite nastyyikes

Car put back in garage and new fuel hose ordered. Suppose i will just have to wait for the first blast of the year.

GET CHECKING FOLKS.

mrzigazaga

18,557 posts

165 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
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Well spotted Stevo....Glad it wasn't any worst..I have had fuel hose deteriorate from new after a couple of years...Always use up-to-date good quality hose...The large one in-between the tanks on mine needs doing...

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

255 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
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Also beware that there is an awful lot of fuel hose being sold that isnt suitable for ethanol, even though its stated to be. Numerous kit car builders have found hoses rotting after only a couple of years.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Sunday 1st April 23:21

stevoj

Original Poster:

798 posts

161 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
quotequote all
SAE J30 R9 is the one i used and the one i have just ordered for this return stretch.

jgmadkit

548 posts

249 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
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stevoj said:
SAE J30 R9 is the one i used and the one i have just ordered for this return stretch.
Was reading a thread the other day were someone was saying R9 is the correct spec but people are finding it cracking and weeping within a year, even stuff from reputable stockists (I've certainly experienced this). Recommendation from one chap was fuel hose by Barricade, never tried it so can't verify this. Was only reading about it yesterday or the day before so this thread rang some alarm bells.

mrzigazaga

18,557 posts

165 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
quotequote all
jgmadkit said:
stevoj said:
SAE J30 R9 is the one i used and the one i have just ordered for this return stretch.
Was reading a thread the other day were someone was saying R9 is the correct spec but people are finding it cracking and weeping within a year, even stuff from reputable stockists (I've certainly experienced this). Recommendation from one chap was fuel hose by Barricade, never tried it so can't verify this. Was only reading about it yesterday or the day before so this thread rang some alarm bells.
Mine was R9 and failed in two years...I have also heard that the Gates "Barricade" is the one...Someone I know used Pirtek......I think the failure in the hose was a result of the ethanol being increased in a short space of time which never gave suppliers a chance to catch up...Possibly

stevoj

Original Poster:

798 posts

161 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
quotequote all
I here what your saying guys but have checked the hoses i changed around 3 years ago and they seem absolutely fine and strong, being hard to squeeze etc in all the accessible places.

I think that the R9 is probably widely used on other vehicles also, so for now its probably still one of the better options. We just need to keep checking them.

Not too sure yet but i think even thee hose i have found leaking, that has probably been on for years, has only split around the connection where it is a tight angle actually cutting into the end of the small tube on the tank.

Plan B

347 posts

125 months

Sunday 1st April 2018
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Yes R9 spec is what you need however there’s lots of dodgy hose being sold on eBay that is stamped R9 but really isn’t R9. Although it’s expensive Gates Barricade is the right stuff.

asd2001

161 posts

87 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
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Replaced my fuel lines on my chimaera yesterday - feed at the rear didn’t look good and once off the car realised how bad they really were, with cracks across and along the lines particularly on curves. I used standard gates multifuel as I had time & inclination yesterday. I know the recommendation is barracde but noticed the gates spec sheet references improvements for new fuels - i’ll keep an eye on them but hopefully fuel hose manufacturers are getting their act together (or vehicle fires will be getting more common!). Here’s the gates spec:


This small-diameter multi-purpose hose is designed for fuel circuits (leaded and unleaded petrol, diesel). Recommended for clamped hose applications on all fuel systems, including fuel injection systems.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Cover resists heat, oil, ozone and weathering with spiral textile reinforment
• Tube has been upgraded to meet changes in fuel characteristics and resists heat and oil

stevoj

Original Poster:

798 posts

161 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
quotequote all
Yep i think we got to stay practical and consider as already mentioned; the biggest problem is hopefully the fact some some p****s are supplying well below par quality hose. If it was anything other than this then surely it is not just TVR owners but 100's of thousands of unsuspecting owners of any make of car prior to the fuel spec changes who are in trouble, no?

The other thing that springs to mind, if it was purely the fuel and increased ethanol that was the cause, why do we see them failing cracking from the outside? Why would this not cause issue from the inside first and thus block up fuel systems with deteriorating internals of the hose.

Steve

SuperApeInGoodShape

57 posts

225 months

Monday 2nd April 2018
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Agreed, it's nigh on impossible to get quality, genuine, branded stuff in the UK, guess that's the downside of the tinternet and insane price competition.


asd2001

161 posts

87 months

Tuesday 3rd April 2018
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Surely a case for supporting old school local motor factors. Worth a few quid extra - fingers crossed!

SuperApeInGoodShape

57 posts

225 months

Tuesday 3rd April 2018
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You'd think so, but all my motor factors seemed to have the same stuff as the ebay tat wallahs.

I ended up importing a reel of good stuff from the states at hideous expense! It's weird the original stuff TVR used lasted 25 years, but anything you buy in england now seems to last 1 to 3 years max.

Edited by SuperApeInGoodShape on Tuesday 3rd April 17:10

Engineer1949

1,423 posts

144 months

Tuesday 3rd April 2018
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i have posted this up on many similar threads pity good information couldnt be made a sticky, best source of flexible hose for modern fuels is to use 7840 marine hose, it is suitable for both diesel and petrol ,it is dated on the outer layer so you can tell instantly when it was made, comes in many sizes, it is 30 minute fire proof and has a more than adequate burst pressure nothing else is better, usa coast gaurd insist on it use in all there boats as does the IWA and MSA.


john

adam quantrill

11,538 posts

242 months

Tuesday 3rd April 2018
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I was never happy with the expansive amount of rubber piping used in the wedge fuel system so I upgrade to cunifer pipe when I change out a hose, if possible, with just the small connecting joints at the ends being rubber.

With relatively smaller length being rubber there's less chance of it splitting in the first place.

Hayduke

98 posts

284 months

Tuesday 3rd April 2018
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Engineer1949 said:
i have posted this up on many similar threads pity good information couldnt be made a sticky, best source of flexible hose for modern fuels is to use 7840 marine hose, it is suitable for both diesel and petrol ,it is dated on the outer layer so you can tell instantly when it was made, comes in many sizes, it is 30 minute fire proof and has a more than adequate burst pressure nothing else is better, usa coast gaurd insist on it use in all there boats as does the IWA and MSA.


john
added to the wedge parts numbers sticky wiki, under All Models...

Engineer1949

1,423 posts

144 months

Wednesday 4th April 2018
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good move.


john

colin mee

1,192 posts

120 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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Is there any reason why we cant use copper pipe for fuel pipe

adam quantrill

11,538 posts

242 months

Saturday 7th April 2018
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See above - cunifer is better. THe stuff I use is for lorry brake pipes and can therefore take enormous pressure.

General Zod

334 posts

131 months

Saturday 21st April 2018
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Fuel hoses. Again.
It's such a minefield. The 8mm I.D. stuff is everywhere but it's so hard to identify the quality material.
Is MOSS stuff OK- https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/fuel-hose-gates-barr...
Then for the big one (on a 350i) from the tank, it seems to be 14mm I.D. (9/16")- mine is shabby. Any sources for this one: