Newbie and fuel lines

[jkaput]

Hey all,
Quick question
As i'm going through stuff to do on my 85 weekender, one of the things I keep wondering about is fuel lines. Tons of stuff has been redone by the PO, and I have records going back to 2001. But nothing on fuel lines or gas tank stuff.

Is there a way I can test the lines, or indicators that they are shot? Same for tank stuff? What should I be looking for?

Alright, thats it. Stay safe everybody out there!!

[dhaavers]

Great question...

Quick answer: if you don't know if/when they've been done, DO THEM.

Better safe than not safe...

- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[Syncronoid]

Replace them all!
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'90 Syncro Westy w/GW2.5L

[Wildthings]

You want to use fuel hose with an SAE 30r9 rating and use FI style clamps. There is a high pressure Gates Barricade hose with both a 30r14 and 30r9 rating that is good to uses and is fairly available. Do not use the low pressure Barricade variant, which carries only the 30r14 rating but not the 30r9 rating. 5/16" hose is fine.

Figure on change the hoses every ten years or so during your ownership.

[SCM]

[Steve M.]

Change them. This is why.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=722193

get a complete kit either at Van Cafe, GoWesty or Bus Depot.
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[hartung105]

When I first bought my van I drove it home about 30 miles. My girlfriend followed me and when we got home she said "wow that really smells like gas."

I took a look in the engine bay and didn't find any leaks. When I started the engine and looked underneath there was gas squirting out of the return line. Feels like a pit in my stomach every time I think about how lucky I was to not have a fire.

Anyway, don't forget to check the hose the connects to the fuel return valve behind the engine tin.

[natejohn]

Like everyone else is saying, yes, absolutely do them! Peace of mind is a wonderful thing. I bought the fuel line kit for my '90 a week before I even took ownership of it, and it's the first thing I did.

Buy a good set of ear clamp pliers (Knipex or the like) for the ear clamps included in the kits and you'll be golden.
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1990 Vanagon Westfalia

[Vantropy]

You can do a pressure test on the fuel system, but in your case, you really want to know how old they are. If you don’t have a record, you need to start one.
Fuel lines should be regularly inspected, visually for small cracks (especially around clamps, etc.) and physically (squeeze them, feel for abrasions, cracks, soft spots, anything out of the ordinary). Speaking of which, what kind of clamps are on there? Worm drive hose clamps? Get rid of them! All the cool kids use ear clamps now. Much better, though you’ll want a special pair of pliers.
Also: do you have the plastic valve in the firewall? You’ve got to get rid of that thing.

There is no hard and fast rule on replacement schedule, but most people around here seem to side with the 5-year replacement. 10 years is probably fine, but it’s not a ton of money or time to just have some peace of mind.

Tank sealing problems usually indicate by smelling gas, especially after filling up.
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1989 2.1L Vanagon Westy, Automatic, Titian Red

[Merian]

fuel hoses as per above and get the right clamps - NOT hose clamps form the hdware store

metal & plastic fuel lines are likely fine - inspect them

also repl. the brake hoses with new rubber ones

see my sig.
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[Mark Lewalski]

I'm just starting a fuel tank replacement today on my 89 and although I had previously bought and installed a fuel line replacement kit from a Vanagon vendor, it did not include the return line - only the pressurized lines.

So clamping off the non pressurized rubber return line near the gas tank snapped the hard plastic line that was attached to it. I found the plastic line is so brittle that I can squeeze it with my fingers and it cracks and breaks apart. Sent my son and his friend to the local FLAPS to get rubber line to completely replace the hard plastic line. Getting additional hose to replace the hard lines from the expansion tanks too.

A few years back, I bought a fuel line replacement kit for my 87 from GoWesty that included enough hose to replace ALL the old lines - hard and soft.

Just saying... the non-pressurized lines need to be replaced too. Might as well get those hard plastic lines out of there since they are at best close to 30 years old.

Mark
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'89 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg "Bluestar" (given to and owned by my son now)
'87 Vanagon Weekender
'74 Thing

[Wildthings]