Can I use vac hose for fuel line???

[jaymac]

Long story short, I traced a gas tank leak to a cracked return line. The end that clips to the tube on the pump assembly cracked and was leaking fuel kinda bad. This hose is a hard plastic hose inside a rubber hose. and is all one piece, about 2 1/2 feet long, $136.50 from Ford
You can buy a replacement hose w/ the end for the pump assembly (the part that cracked on mine) for $20, so I plan to buy it soon, but couldn't today.
Anyway, for a quick fix today, I took vacuum hose and clamped one end onto the hard plastic hose (I cut the cracked end off), and clamped the other end onto the metal tube on the pump assembly.

The vac hose part is only about 2" long.

So, Will fuel melt that vacuum hose, eat right through it??
Am I gonna be up *****'s creek soon?
I drove about 12 miles w/ it after we installed it, and saw or smelled no leak.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[jrichker]

The best thing to use to fix fuel line is fuel resistant hose.

Vacuum hose is usually single ply hose with minimum pressure capacity. On a return line you might get away with it. How long it lasts is a function of what kind of rubber it is made of. Some kinds of rubber are not gasoline resistant and begin to deteriorate very quickly when continuously exposed to gasoline.

 

[jaymac]

so there is no "universal" vac hose?
What I can tell you is that it is not the type with a braided layer in the middle. I definitely don't feel comfortable Leaving it there. In a ballpark figure, what's the quickest "worst case scenario" time you think a hose could deteriorate?
Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[srothfuss]

You will need to get a hose with some sort of treatment on it that makes it gasoline resitant. You'll be suprised how fast the gas will eat through the hose....

It would probably be safe for 2 weeks maximum.

Edit: Just thought of something. If you find a hose that you want to use temporarily, then you could cut a small section and place it in a cup of gas to see what happens before you put it on your car.

 

[vristang]

The cheapest permanent fix will probably be to get high pressure fuel line from your local Schmucks store.

Just about any parts store will have it. It is meant to be used as a fuel injection fuel line, which means... fuel and pressure resistant.

 

[HISSIN50]

The cheapest permanent fix will probably be to get high pressure fuel line from your local Schmucks store.

Just about any parts store will have it. It is meant to be used as a fuel injection fuel line, which means... fuel and pressure resistant.

It is about a buck a foot around here, good for 50 PSI, etc.

Good luck.

 

[jaymac]

Yeah, that should be easy enough. I'd love to drop the tank again!
Srothfuss - good idea bro! I was thinking of doing that experiment myself!

 

[crazypete]

Nonresitant fuel line will slooooooooowly dissolve. It leave this "black dust" crap in the tank as the gas wears it away. Fuel hose.....I have a bit sitting in the tank 3 years beside acetone and fuel system cleaner and who knows what else pour in there and its not given me any problem. I used some vac hose on the last length of the secondary hookup to the holley and WOW that fuel bowl looked like ass. Everywhere else was fine so it was the line dissolving.

 

[jaymac]

hey crazypete, I didn't know you were from Mass??
Anyway, I guess I should change it then. My guess is those contaminents (dissolved rubber) will not really do much to HELP oerfromance, so why not go ahead and take it out, huh??

 

[crazypete]

Yeah, I'm out in belmont MA, a little sleepy suburb right outside boston. A little too quiet for my tastes but not when I wake the neighbors at 2am starting up the stang MUHAHAHA =P

Yeah, rubber contamination is going to "hose" your fuel system in a few months. Man, I'm on a roll today.

Your best bet is to walk into napa/autozone and get a 25 foot box of 3/8 fuel hose and use it for eveything. I did that and that stuff is used for fuel line, trans cooler, vacuum hose, everything. Better than fussing over little bits and pieces of hose.

 

[jaymac]

good point...