I've been helping a friend over the weekend with the wiring on his sunbeam rally car (an absolute shambles of Scotchlocks!). The car smells strongly of petrol (not nice when you're messing with electricity!) and he and the rest of his mates say it's because the Aeroquip braided fuel hose allows the fumes to seep through!

As I'm planning on using the same fuel hose on my Elan I'm a bit nervy now! I'll use it on the Westfield too but that has the tank in the engine bay so no major problem for me.

Anybody want to confirm whether this is a myth??!

Regards

Wyn

Ah, this debate again. Last I heard, the rubber hose itself underneath the braiding used to perish, but this couldn't be seen, and the first sign was the smell of petrol.

Personally I'd rather just use regular petrol-specific hose that I can see, so if and when it perishes or cracks, I can see and replace it accordingly before the worst happens!

If the electrics are a bit of a shambles as well, I'd personally be ripping all the braided stuff off and replacing - else big fire risk!

I had the same problem a while back replaced the lot with propper marked fuel hose and just added the stainless braiding myself after taking it of the leaky hoses. Mine went on a shallow bend from my Filterking filter, fuel dripping just before the carbs.

I was told that it was ok for unleaded fuel but everdently NOT.

Mike

[Edited on 15-2-2010 by miikae]

It may come from people who have used fuel hose not suitable for unleaded (evil stuff) but which was fine with leaded fuel.

There was also what was possibly a bad batch of the regular rubber stuff sold a while back.
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=110754

The stuff sold by decent suppliers should have numbers that make it suitable for unleaded fuel.

http://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/FUEL-SYSTEMS-Fuel-Hose/c26_3212/index.html
for example have some hose specifications (hidden in the dip tube pipe section) which imply their stuff should be ok (though I'd call to confirm).

Wouldn't want anything in an elan shell that stank of petrol, they are quite impressive (not in a good way) when on fire, and given your profession it might cause a few jokes back at the station

I got caught out when i bought some braided from a show, the day before SVA we found fuel dripping through the braiding, quickly swapped for the standard rubber fuel hose, no issues since.

It doesn't matter what braided hose you use - it is not, nor is it intended to be impervious to gas & therefore petrol smells. It is not dangerous in any way unless the wrong hose has been used & therefore damaged by unleaded fuel, but you will always get the smell of fuel. Only way to avoid this is to use copper lines thro' the passenger compartment.

I've had issues with the braided stuff a couple of times, the braid seems to pinch the rubber and split it in a crosshatch pattern. Eventually it splits right through and you get a very dangerous high pressure jet of fuel. First time I thought was a one off due to a tight bend, but started the fuel pump last week and the hose has sprung a new leak.

That's running @ 3bar, I bought the hose from Autosport show a couple of years ago as rated for FI. I'm now changing out for simple rubber that can be properly inspected. I'll strip the braid off the stuff I remove and see if it has a pressure rating printed on it.

I guess top dollar / highest quality braided hose is OK, but would advise against the cheaper stuff based on my experiences.

braided hose = rubber hose with a fancy sheath......

had the same problem....under the shiney braid you dont know what type of hose it is....if you can smell through then is leaking......

Not sure if it would be acceptable for IVA as it is marked for LPG rather than petrol but for a Elan I would use Polyflex Pipe for liquid LPG available in both 6mm and 8mm from LPG kit supplier try Googling Tinley Tech or search on ebay.

You would also need the special end fittings.
Polyflex is really good strong stuff and nice to work with.
see ebay item 250580056349

I have seen a lot of braided fuel hoses leaking

[Edited on 15/2/10 by britishtrident]