braided fuel line

[Jack McCarthy]

how long is it good for ?
do you all replace it every ____ years ??
cant see inside so I'm curious

what is the norm here ??

GO !

jack

[Alan Roehrich]

No set answer Jack, way too many variables. Quality of the hose, and type of fuel being two of the biggest. But also how long the hose was stored, and in what conditions being another big one. As well as how often the car is run, and what conditions it is stored in. Several big name suppliers have had quality issues over the last few years. I suppose the best thing to do is look at similar rubber items in your fuel system, and watch for sings of trouble, such as weeping hoses, difficulty in tightening hose connections to stop leaks, and the presence of black rubber dust in the fuel system.

[Adger Smith]

Jack, We had a buddy that flies with us had his engine go to "Net 0 oil pressure". After the engine goes back to the MFG and is taken apart and looked at no problems found. They ran it on their Dyno 5 hours. When he got it back in the plane everything looked good until he got some heat in the oil back to "0" pressure it went. One mechanic that was helping the A&P related the story to me. The plane had been down with this problem since August and the owner was about to go nuts. After a short discussion with everyone I suggested that an oil line de-laminate and closed it's self off. . It was only 5 years old. You couldn't see it looking in the hose, but when we split it open it looked like something the Dr. looks at in open heart surgery. The engine company and the plane MFG said they had never had that problem before. The lines had stayed on the plane when the engine went back to the MFG is why I think they never see it. A $128.00 oil line kit cost this guy thousands of dollars. If you have any time (age) on it change it.

[terry1]

I have had double stainless braided hoses with Earls fittings in/on my car for over
15 years.Never a problem!
Terry K

[Paul Merolla]

I used the braided hose with a PTFE inner instead of rubber to try and avoid this problem.

[Tom Goldman]

I agree with Paul , the PTFE hose lasts in our applications, but I've only used it for the main pump to regulator fuel line .
The new cloth covered lightweight stuff ,I've seen deteriorate in as little as two years.
The cheap Chinese "House Brand" hose the Speed Giants sell really deteriorates rapidly , I've had cars in the shop that had it on only one year and it was getting hard and loosing its flexibility .
Bottom line is if you think it's too old, replace it .
A couple of feet of quality hose costs way less than chasing a phantom performance problem or replacing a car due to a hose failing .

[SSDiv6]

PTFE hose from Aeroquip or Stratoflex is the way to go.
It will not permeate and can last for the life of the car if you choose a good brand.
Other non-PTFE hoses need to be replaced at least every 5 years.

[FED 387]

We have always used Startlite hoses the kind specifically for fuel--- light in weight, bendable and we replace them every other year and sell just the used hoses off keeping the Jiffy- Tite fittings and recover about 50% of what we originally paid for the hoses--- No problems that way--- FED 387

[Eman]

I've got older SS hose on my car, I believe it's Earl's fittings and hose. Can you upgrade to teflon hose with the same old fittings?