Fuel line failed

[Zed2k]

Hi Dave, hope you are well, I had the same thing happen on my 240 took it out of the garage one day for a spin, and had fuel coming out underneath, my fuel lines were all perished. It is to do with the additives in petrol now, if the car is not used much fuel sits in the hoses changes state and rapidly perishes the rubber compound. I had some of the same pipe spare on the shelf and it was fine as it hadn't been on the car.

 

[datsun dave]

Been into my garage this morning it just stinks of fuel. going to remove all the fuel lines and start again.

Looks like the PTFE fuel pipe is the way forward.

I emailed the company that I bought the lines and fitting from and they want some fuel line sending to be tested also I have only used Shell V power fuel.

 

[mattbibbey]

In these kind of cases, you must contact the supplier and the manufacturer to issue them with an Equipment Failure Report. They need to know that their product has prematurely failed so they can investigate, identify and rectify. There could have been a bad batch for example. They may find that it was the usage of the pipe even.

I'm interested to see what happens here as I use braided fuel line from one of the top manufacturers and I have friends in the aviation industry who also use the same products.

 

[Rob Gaskin]

Been into my garage this morning it just stinks of fuel. going to remove all the fuel lines and start again.

Looks like the PTFE fuel pipe is the way forward.

I emailed the company that I bought the lines and fitting from and they want some fuel line sending to be tested also I have only used Shell V power fuel.

Dave, again one of those things that might seem negative but just imagine if it had happened on a hot trackday!

 

[datsun dave]

Dave, again one of those things that might seem negative but just imagine if it had happened on a hot trackday!

Would have had no chance fire in engine bay fire under the car and fire around the fuel tank it would have gone up so quick.



Might just take it to The Lakes next week and use it as a BBQ.

 

[SKiddell]

Dave
As others have said, run ptfe braided, I moved to it a couple of years ago, you'll need new fittings but it's well worth it, rubber braid hose even in perfect nick still smells of fuel that's why it's not recommended to run it internally (in the car)

 

[pmac]

Dave
As others have said, run ptfe braided, you'll need new fittings but it's well worth it, rubber braid hose even in perfect nick still smells of fuel that's why it's not recommended to run it internally (in the car)

Always good to read all the posts in a thread before diving in with a comment

FYI you will need new fittings for it.

 

[SKiddell]

 

[SKiddell]

I did read it
It's called reinforcement

 

[johnymd]

May have to rethink my fuel lines. I've already replaced some of the line at the back, about 6 months ago, as they had badly deteriorated. The lines at the front all look ok at the moment. Mine are all plain, good quality rubber hoses with the correct fittings, so you can easily see the condition of the hose. I don't like the braised type hose but I must stress this is only my opinion and I am not saying there is a problem with it, just prefer to see the actual hose. I will always use braided hose on high pressure areas like brakes but you don't need it on fuel lines so why use it. Most fuel systems run at less than 60psi so normal fuel line hose is fine.

Hope you get it sorted soon Dave.

 

[RIDDLER]

So sorry Dave - but at least the car is still there! The idea of a fire doesn't bear thinking about. Hope you sort it out.

 

[Mr.F]

Further on this. Some suppliers in the braided hose industry are shying away from the fact that modern E85 additive petrol is not compatible with ANY rubber / elastomer hoses when left in contact for prolonged periods. The hose deteriorates and produces the effect that Dave experienced.

Speedflow have acknowledged the problem and are advising customers accordingly.
They can now supply Aeroquip Startlite hose which does have E85 compatibility or Teflon hose. The disadvantage of the Teflon hose is its stiffness, so not suitable for tight bends.

Read the article at E85 alcohol compatibility

 

[Rob Gaskin]

For clarification Mike:

Surely we all have rubber hoses somewhere so this is a massive problem and yet not many are reporting issues on here.

Prolonged periods - how long is prolonged?

This MAY be related - I recently had an issue with my Lawn Mower:

http://www.briggsandstratton.com/us...ssic-sprint-engine-hard-starting-running-rich

 

[datsun dave]

F

Prolonged periods - how long is prolonged?

I bought the fuel lines just under 2 years.

 

[Mr.F]

The lawnmower problem would be perhaps overwinter, so we can only guess at the moment that maybe six months is too long for static fuel to be in contact with rubber (and also brass and some other alloys).

The effects of ethanol are well documented, but "pro-ethanol" lobbies are hiding the true facts from us.
Below - good hose compared to E85 affected hose:

 

[Mr.F]

BTW, Millers VSPe claims to contain an additive to provide protection against harmful effects of ethanol...

 

[Ian]

Not good, not sure what lines to use on mine now, may give PTFE braided a go but from the sounds of what Mike has said above it may not be suitable either.

 

[AliK]

If you go into your garage and there is a stink of petrol, but you can't find a leak, then it is very likely that vapour is permeating through the fuel hose. If this is the case then it is a fair bet that the hose will fail sometime in the near future... maybe not immediately, but sometime.

...

Yup that's me! Anytime I go in the garage or sit in the car after a day of standing! Gulp!! :s





Ali K

 

[jonbills]

Of course, the smell of petrol could be from the open vent from the tank!

 

[johnymd]

It seams odd to me that the original Soarer rubber line that are still on my engine show no signs of deterioation after 22 years but the new ones I have used around the fuel tank area only last a year or so.

So, whats the answer?