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Sun Jan 16, 2011 8:01 pm

My filler neck line was mush. Completely feel apart got all that changed today. :P They do not leave much room to get that hose on in the wheel well :twisted:

Mon Feb 14, 2011 11:40 am

Only use hose rated SAE 30R9 (Not 30R7) the 30R9 hose is the lined hose with a teflon like material. this is the only hose that is designed to resist todays new fuel formulations. the old standard 30R7 is now being marketed as unsafe for FI cars! the fuels today have changed and the old standards no longer are safe.

the BMW hose sold by some van vendors is NOT the stuff to use, it is NOT lined and not safe. i even used 30R9 (1/4 inch) hose for the fuel tank vent lines as i only wish to do that job once.

Only use SAE rated 30R9 hose it MSUT be printed on the hose to be sure it is the right stuff. do not let any sotore talk you into hose that does not specifically have printed on it "30R9". lesser hoses will fail with todays mandated fuel mixes.

this is extremely important. remember the BMW hose sold by major vanagon vendors is NOT lined, do not use it.

the lined stuff cost a lot more, but is the only safe stuff to use.

Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:07 pm

Another reminder is to also check the lines behind the firewall.

About four years ago while heading out to move to Canada my partner was driving our 91 Carat and I was following in the moving truck. We were inching along a stretch of rush hour clogged highway when a observant motorist started waving frantically to my partner, she wasn't sure what it was but pulled over and called me on walky-talky we use. I managed to force my way through traffic to get over and walked back to find a line of fuel stretching behind the van.
The main line from the fuel pump that attaches to the coupling at the firewall had cracked and come undone. It was amazing that the van even ran! I guess so much fuel was spraying against the coupling that enough was still getting to the engine.
We were very lucky!

Check ALL your fuel lines!

Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:29 pm

71MYSTABOO wrote: Another reminder is to also check the lines behind the firewall.

About four years ago while heading out to move to Canada my partner was driving our 91 Carat and I was following in the moving truck. We were inching along a stretch of rush hour clogged highway when a observant motorist started waving frantically to my partner, she wasn't sure what it was but pulled over and called me on walky-talky we use. I managed to force my way through traffic to get over and walked back to find a line of fuel stretching behind the van.
The main line from the fuel pump that attaches to the coupling at the firewall had cracked and come undone. It was amazing that the van even ran! I guess so much fuel was spraying against the coupling that enough was still getting to the engine.
We were very lucky!

Check ALL your fuel lines!

I eliminated that coupling, the plastic cracked on mine, big leak, I simply got a big fat rubber gromment and ran a one piece hose thru it, thus eliminating one brittle plastic par and two hose clamps.

It is interesting that one side (supply and return lines) goes thru a gromment per factory and the other thru that stupid plastic coupling per factory., Now both supply and return go thru my fire wall via a rubber grommnet, no need for that coupling.

Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:38 pm

OK, OK, I get it. I'll immediately change the fuel lines, from the tank on, on the '89 that should arrive at my house in the next few days (pictures to follow).

I want the very best quality available and I want a kit rather than being faced with the chore of finding all the pieces on my own. Who should I buy it from?

Also, what are the issues I should be looking for on the fuel tank? I keep reading about "sealing" it.

TIA

Wed Apr 06, 2011 5:53 pm

VWFanman fortunately you will not become one of these. Every time I see a title about a Van burning I feel sick. Good on you for getting a complete kit. Did you get your Bentley yet? Listen to all the gals and guys who hang here. Vanagonitis comes with a liability - your life when it comes to fuel line failures. Enjoy your new van.

Wed Apr 06, 2011 6:52 pm

DAIZEE wrote: VWFanman fortunately you will not become one of these. Every time I see a title about a Van burning I feel sick. Good on you for getting a complete kit. Did you get your Bentley yet? Listen to all the gals and guys who hang here. Vanagonitis comes with a liability - your life when it comes to fuel line failures. Enjoy your new van.

Thanks for the welcome, DAIZEE. I just got my Bentley today, but I haven't bought the fuel line kit yet. That was the point of my question; I want the very best (this thread has coninced me of the need) parts in a kit, what vendor should I buy from?

BTW, 30 years ago I bought a diesel Vanagon new, off the lot of my then local dealer. It couldn't get out of it's own way, and every crosswind was an "adventure" but all these years later I still miss it.

Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:07 am

:lol: so you've had latent Vanagonitis all these years! it'll reactivate real fast. I'm leaving it to someone else to give opinions on where to get kits as I don't know.

Thu Apr 07, 2011 7:26 am

bluebus86 wrote:

Only use SAE rated 30R9 hose it MSUT be printed on the hose to be sure it is the right stuff. do not let any sotore talk you into hose that does not specifically have printed on it "30R9". lesser hoses will fail with todays mandated fuel mixes.

the lined stuff cost a lot more, but is the only safe stuff to use.

This is the valuable information I come to the samba for.

Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:18 pm

fastwagens wrote: bluebus86 wrote:

Only use SAE rated 30R9 hose it MSUT be printed on the hose to be sure it is the right stuff. do not let any sotore talk you into hose that does not specifically have printed on it "30R9". lesser hoses will fail with todays mandated fuel mixes.

the lined stuff cost a lot more, but is the only safe stuff to use.

This is the valuable information I come to the samba for.

I bought 2' of this hose from NAPA and it's $7.00/foot. Pretty $pendy stuff if you do all the lines.
Hope that it's worth the added expense.

Thu May 19, 2011 10:35 pm

Should the injector o-rings be replaced when doing fuel line replacement?

Ben's site does not mention then (other than not to lose them)

I searched the Samba w/o results.

Thoughts on :

1 - Should they be replaced as a matter or course
2 - what kind to use? / where to get them? / Will any from the FLAPS work?

Thanks

Thu May 19, 2011 10:39 pm

PS - how'bout editing the topic name of this thread to include something like "Changing flue lines hints" Since this is the "fuel line change" sticky (#2 link here - http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=151300) and there are many good hints here?

Thu May 19, 2011 11:00 pm

Yeah, I'd replace them since you take them out with the injectors to service things. Just a few bucks for the full set. Any Samba vendor has them, some include them with their fuel line kits, and your local flaps will have them also.

DougM

Fri May 20, 2011 2:44 am

It's a good idea to replace these as well as the large ones that hold on the injector clamps.
Try your local VW dealer if you can't find them at a FLAP, the smaller O-rings tend to break
apart or dissolve over time. I have even had a new on split on me. Maybe get a few for
back up, never know when you'll be needing them in a pinch.

Sat May 21, 2011 4:54 am

to the OP - if you find you are having a hard time convincing the adjuster of what the van is worth vs. blue book or black book value, print out or bookmark classified ads or ebay auctions of vans in similar condition. I was rear-ended in my Jetta a couple of years ago and it easily tripled the value vs. what the ins. company initially offered me.

Sat May 21, 2011 5:01 am

question about fuel lines. When I redid the seals on my fuel tank (86 1.9 manual)|, I used a seal kit from one of our vendors. I noticed that the kit didn't come with hose clamps for the overflow tanks on either side. I used zip ties like I had seen here on the samba. The hoses fit snug and it's not under large pressure. is this safe? I looked around at a couple flaps(orielly, and carquest) but I couldn't find hose clamps that would fit.

Thanks,

akyrie

Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:50 pm

This was my first job I did on my new van. I felt all the photos I found floating around the internet and even in the Bentley were lacking in clarity and simplicity. 1987 Vanagon. These are the fuel lines one must replace! :!: Attain them where ever you like. :) I like Van Cafe and GoWesty because they have good internet sites. :D Its fun dreaming about everything there is to do to the WankaVan in the years to come.
On the left side I drew in the return line to fuel tank because I forgot to model it in the original photo. La paz sea contigo!

Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:30 pm

Thanks for that simple yet abundantly clear photo essay.

Now if someone woyuld do that for the '84 coolant hoses that would be just great.

BTW -- w/o wanting to start another debate on this -- there are alternatives to that plastic tee fitting (aka "Revenge for Dresden") that accomodates the fuel lines passing thru the 'firewall'.

Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:37 pm

Ahwahnee wrote:

BTW -- w/o wanting to start another debate on this -- there are alternatives to that plastic tee fitting (aka "Revenge for Dresden") that accomodates the fuel lines passing thru the 'firewall'.

I got the metal one. Seems to work just fine

Tue Nov 22, 2011 6:56 pm

Ahwahnee wrote: there are alternatives to that plastic tee fitting (aka "Revenge for Dresden") that accomodates the fuel lines passing thru the 'firewall'.
http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_1130_286/fuel_line_firewall_adapter.html

photo: Van Cafe