How long does fuel line last?

[Clara]

How long does fuel line last?

Anyone want to take a guess? We're driving around today in my 69 beetle. The clutch cable isn't even squeaking anymore. Maybe lubing the clutch cable was all it needed. Go to Nisqually and take a scenic walk in the rain for an hour. Really cool old barns give me barn envy. Lots of birds. Get back to the car and I smell gas. No leak under the hood. Not in the engine compartment either. Yup. The fuel line by the tranny is leaking.
Replaced it when I got home.

Guess how old it was.

Edit...... I wanted to add more options to the poll, but I don't see how to. Oh well.
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[goober]

Two years?

[airschooled]

Fuel line won't last eleven minutes if you buy the cheap shit line and reef the hose clamps on too tight.

It won't last long if you park the car and stare at it in your garage.

Volkswagen of Germany 5mm braided fuel line for our cars lasts a few years before I replace it out of practice. It could probably go longer, but it's cheap insurance. Anyone who bags on it:

a) doesn't understand there are at least four manufacturers of braided 5mm fuel line on the market today
b) doesn't understand the braided locking function
c) clamps unnecessary hose clamps on, and over tightens them
d) pulls the hose to remove it from fittings instead of using the twist/push method
e) doesn't drive their car at least once a month

I have 37k miles on my engine compartment line, and 55k+ miles on the line from the tank to the firewall. No clamps, no leaks, no rips, no cracks.

VW line. Because why the hell would you use anything else,
Robbie
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[busdaddy]

Depends on the line and what's in the fuel you use.
German braided Vs: pure gasoline = a few years most of the time
German braided Vs: Ethanol = a few months on a good day
SAE J30R9 or better Vs: any fuel = years+

The amount it sits and how you attach them also plays a part in any products life span as Robbie mentions.
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[Clara]

I used the braided 5mm line, no hose clamps under the car. Continental IIRC.
I don't see why parking a car would make a difference to fuel line wear. I mean some things go bad with use, some with age, right? But if it makes a difference I've put about 65 K miles on this car since 1989. I think at one point it sat about three years with a really bad wheel bearing, but other than that it has had about 1 to 3 K a year on it, and it gets driven at least 100 miles a month generally.
I'd like to stare at my bug in the garage, but there isn't room in there for it, so it sits out in the rain and I stare at it there.

Yes there is ethanol in the gas.

The fuel line did last more than eleven minutes
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[Tim Donahoe]

Some of the German braided fuel line (purchased at Wolfgang International) in my bug is three years old. I've had some of the line off for various reasons and they look brand new--ends and all. And here in California we most certainly have methanol in the fuel.

Recently, I pulled my fuel tank and thought I'd go ahead and replace the braided line under the tank; since, being a Super, you have to pull the tank to do this job. Anyway, I pulled the tank to get at my U-joint, and decided I may as well change the braided line and filter.

The filter looked great. The braided line looked new. I changed them anyway since I had already 1,2,3d it. But it was not necessary.

I can only assume some braided is better than others.

Tim
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[vernonc]

[busdaddy]

[SBD]

I try to never run ethanol blended gas in my VW if I can avoid it. Once in a while I end up someplace that doesn't give me a choice but that's usually when I'm travelling and when I get home that stuff gets run out and the non-ethanol stuff goes in. I also run non-ethanol gas exclusively in my riding mower. I think I might have replaced the fuel line on it once in 14-15 years. I'm voting for 10 years!
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[hitest]

I voted 5 years only because I should never go 10- but I often do.

I think they last a helluva lot longer when you never, ever put that ethanol shit in your classic car, motorcycle, lawn mower, weed whacker, etc...

If your car sits- I don't believe fuel line reacts to any difference. Exposure is exposure in the presence or absence of flow. But if the line never vibrates from said sedentary barn life- then I expect it would become more brittle when reintroduced to the rigors of motion.
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[Antonio Trejo]

1248 days or 3 years, 4 months and 30 days and the German fuel hose and clamps made by ABA in Sweden are still in good condition in my Sedan, running with pure gasoline.
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[Abscate]

I have fuel line in my 99, 05,06 that are All original equipment and run ethanol gas all their life. Ethanol gas has nothing to do with life if you use the right stuff. More bad internet info
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[Frodge]

The aircooled shop in NJ says never to run non-braided. I didnt ask him why, as I was on the phone with him in a rushed atmosphere. I trust his judgment.

[Mudpump]

[Cusser]

I recently replaced the under-tank fuel line on my 1970. That fuel line was 47 years old. I'm not guessing either, has been mine since 1972.

Yes, I added a metal fuel filter there.

My 1971 Super has the original fuel line under its tank.
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[wcfvw69]

I'm another person who hasn't had any issues with GOOD quality, German braided fuel line. I've gone 3 years and then changed it just because of calendar age. It was still fine. I even cut it lengthwise when I changed it looking for alcohol damage internally (we have alcohol in our fuel) and nothing could be seen.

Whoever said there's different quality levels of German braided line is on point. I'm pretty anal about PM service on my VW's. I have seen what old, bad German braided fuel line looks like on just purchased used VW's. It drys out and gets hard. You can't bend the old fuel line into a "U" shape without the fuel line cracking and ripping the braided cover. In the picture below, this fuel line was leaking under my then just purchased bus. It was super hard, dry and as I mentioned, snapped, crackled and popped trying to get it to bend into a "U". I bet it was decades old.

So, now when I have my engine lids up, I'm always checking the ends of the fuel line and seeing how flexible the fuel line is as well. Again, I change it at 3 years just because but I may even go longer if it still passes the flexibility tests and I incur no cracking at the end where it's slips on the inlet/outlet pipes.
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[Cusser]

I used new braided fuel line for my 1970's resurrection, replaced all the old lines. Some of the braided fuel line came from WW, some came from JBugs (just because I didn't order enough when I did my WW order).
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[busdaddy]

Time will tell, as mentioned some lasts fine while other batches turn to soaker hose in less than a year, stay vigilant.
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[airschooled]

[Cusser]