Check Fuel hoses

[Rob Gaskin]

Folks, I had a look around my Samuri yesterday and particularly the carb area (Webers) because of work I've been doing on some other carbs I have.

I noticed cracking of the fuel hoses and on close inspection they were quite bad. Just one leak could be quite dangerous of course.

Needless to say I replaced the hoses and it was surprised how hard the rubber had gone.

I have also had a bad crack in a pipe on my blue car near the electric pump at the rear, so again a breakdown averted.

Finally check the standard fuel hoses to the tank AND the metal pipes in the rubber block over the diff. If a return hose leaks you may not notice at first but your fuel consumption will be high of course. I've caught those in time too.

If I've had issues on the cars I've owned you may get them too.

Many people use braided hoses - I suppose they last longer but if the rubber get brittle in those how will you know?

 

[nospark]

There was a thread on fuel hoses on this forum about three years (?) ago. I think it was Johnny who advised using CODAN SAE J30 R9. Apparently its the R9 spec that's important as it has vitol lining and resists ethanol deterioration. I quote this from a bit a spare bit of tubing I have in my box. So DOUBLE CHECK what I say is the right spec. I seem to remember the advise is to get a good brand and make sure the hose spec is printed on the side of the hose.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Yeh I've mentioned the tank area before too.

Of course Fi cars have their own requirements due to the pressure. I remember Datsun Dave had major issues with deteriorating hose.

The main point I'm making is just check - wiggle the pipe a bit to see if cracks appear.

 

[Paul_S]

Wise words. You don't want your Z turning into a Zafira!

 

[richiep]

This is why it is now essential to go through your fuel hoses and make sure you are using ethanol resistant rubber or PTFE. My Facet fuel pump died on me last summer (thankfully only two miles from home) due to deterioration of the line connecting it to the tank. It was full of granules of rubber. The replacement hose, along with all in the engine bay are now ethanol resistant.

Datsun Dave's fuel hose issues weren't primarily pressure-related - they were due to ethanol corrosion during a period where the car was standing for a year. The residue fuel in the lines just ate them. When he got back around to firing it up, they had become porous and the high pressure supply led to a cloud of atomized fuel bursting forth through the stainless overbraiding on the lines and hanging over the engine - explosion in waiting basically!

 

[uk66fastback]

Very good advice from everyone ... it does make you think ...

 

[johnymd]

I have replace lots of fuel hose on my various zeds, some only a year or so old. I did previously recommend sae j30 r9 but would now like to remove that recommendation. You will see this hose for sale a lot and having used it then replaced in a very short period of time I would never use it again. The type I now use is called bio hose. It is around 4 times the price of normal r9 hose but highly recommended. Here's a link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-BIO-...809975?hash=item3a67fe1cf7:g:5iMAAMXQl6pRYrzV

 

[MaximG]

I have replace lots of fuel hose on my various zeds, some only a year or so old. I did previously recommend sae j30 r9 but would now like to remove that recommendation. You will see this hose for sale a lot and having used it then replaced in a very short period of time I would never use it again. The type I now use is called bio hose. It is around 4 times the price of normal r9 hose but highly recommended. Here's a link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-BIO-...809975?hash=item3a67fe1cf7:g:5iMAAMXQl6pRYrzV

Finally ahead of the curve, used bio fuel hose on my car when I rebuilt it 3 years ago. No sign of any deg yet.

 

[Paul_S]

I have replace lots of fuel hose on my various zeds, some only a year or so old. I did previously recommend sae j30 r9 but would now like to remove that recommendation. You will see this hose for sale a lot and having used it then replaced in a very short period of time I would never use it again. The type I now use is called bio hose. It is around 4 times the price of normal r9 hose but highly recommended. Here's a link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-BIO-...809975?hash=item3a67fe1cf7:g:5iMAAMXQl6pRYrzV

Thanks for the link, you've convinced me to buy some even though I changed my hoses less than 2 years ago.

Do you know what length the hose is in that listing? Sorry, I'm being lazy, I should ask the seller!

 

[AliK]

I recall this one well as it scared the b’jeeezes out of me!

Here’s the thread ...

https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/fuel-line-failed.18839/

Thanks Johny, always good to know when a product is successful or not! [emoji106]

 

[MaximG]

Fuel hose?? what to use?

 

[toopy]

Fuel hose on modern cars doesn't need changing every couple of years, so what is it about old cars that causes the problem?

It can't purely be through irregular use surely, I use a fuel stabiliser with every fill up, and none of my hoses seem to deteriorate other than getting a bit hardened over time.
I do still replace them though every few years, in the engine bay at least. When i was under the back of the car earlier in the year, i looked over the rubber hose's near the tank and they looked fine, hardened obviously, but not cracked. I realised they have been on there since the car was restored, so 15 years!! I plan to replace them ASAP, but I'm confident they are not unsafe. Maybe because they are away from any real heat, that helps considerably with longevity?

 

[jonbills]

My fuel hoses are all at least 10 years old.
I like to live life on the edge.

 

[johnymd]

I think is is down to the quality of the hose rather than it’s rating.

On my blue car with the 1jz engine, I used the original ‘92 factory hose from the hard line to fuel rail. It is still very soft and flexible and shows no signs of deterioration so “fit for purpose” rubber hoses have been around for many years. I think it is just the aftermarket hoses are very poor quality compared to OEM.

 

[Jimbo]

it also helps to route the hosing with as little bends in as possible and if you do have to bend it then as gentle a curve as possible.
if needs be use a pice of copper tubing to complete the bend or a propper elbow connector suitable for use with fuel.

 

[racer]

https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-69352-millers-oils-eps-ethanol-protection-additive.aspx

 

[Paul_S]

Just to add to this conversation, I learnt today about ESSO Supreme+ 99. Apparently they don't use methanol at the moment (which might change):

Although our pumps have E5 labels on them, our Synergy Supreme+ 99 is actually ethanol free (except, due to technical supply reasons, in Devon, Cornwall, the Teesside area, Scotland and NW England). Legislation requires us to place these E5 labels on pumps that dispense unleaded petrol with ‘up to 5% ethanol’, including those that contain no ethanol, which is why we display them on our Synergy Supreme+ 99 pumps.

There’s currently no requirement for renewable fuel, like ethanol, to be present in super unleaded petrol although this could change in the future, in which case we would comply with any new legislation.

So it looks like a good alternative to buying additive for the time being, unless you live in the areas stated in the quote above.

Source: ESSO website

 

[Farmer42]

I thought I would resurrect this thread as I noticed at the weekend that most petrol stations now have this E10 stuff in their unleaded pumps which has more Ethanol. Having read up on it, it sounds like it rots everything and not just old rubber hoses. I had already accidentally filled up once with the stuff without knowing as mine had been converted to run on unleaded some time ago but won't be using it again as it appears it could damage the engine as it won't be compatible due to its age. It could be why I have been experiencing running issues for the last couple of weeks.

What is everyone else doing? The advice is to use E5 Super-unleaded but it is nearly £1.50 a litre. Are we able to use the E10 with fuel additive as we used to with unconverted engines?

 

[MCBladeRun]

I thought I would resurrect this thread as I noticed at the weekend that most petrol stations now have this E10 stuff in their unleaded pumps which has more Ethanol. Having read up on it, it sounds like it rots everything and not just old rubber hoses. I had already accidentally filled up once with the stuff without knowing as mine had been converted to run on unleaded some time ago but won't be using it again as it appears it could damage the engine as it won't be compatible due to its age. It could be why I have been experiencing running issues for the last couple of weeks.

What is everyone else doing? The advice is to use E5 Super-unleaded but it is nearly £1.50 a litre. Are we able to use the E10 with fuel additive as we used to with unconverted engines?

I also have been dreading this. I've only ever used E5, but worried the E5 will also be phased out.

 

[arcdef]

isn't it just the rubbers in the fuel system that can be damaged by the additional Ethanol content? or can it cause damage to inside the carbs also?

Otherwise whilst inconvenient its not too difficult to replace the fuel hoses on the car if it means you can fill up on much cheaper/widely available E10 fuel.