Date: Mon, 22 May 2006 12:55:04 -0400
Reply-To: Jonathan Farrugia <jfarrugi@UMICH.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jonathan Farrugia <jfarrugi@UMICH.EDU>
Subject: Re: Cohline fuel line failure
In-Reply-To: <5.2.1.1.2.20060522115234.0316beb8@postoffice9.mail.cornell.edu>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
i think the problem is age. this stuff sits on the shelf for years
sometimes. during that time lots of the polymers off-gas. then when you
put it into use and start heat cycling it it degrades really fast because
of the lack of volatiles in the rubber. this winter i bought contential
line from a reputable supplier that has always done me well. when it came
it had a sticky residue all over the outside of the line that i had to
scrub off because it was getting on every thing in the box. i believe
rolls of this stuff sell in the commercial market in lengths of 100
meters. i don't think many places sell enough to go through a 100 meters
in a couple years not to mention the time it took to make its way from the
manufacturing plant to the shop that is selling it to you.
jonathan
On Mon, 22 May 2006, Robert Harris wrote:
> hi y'all,
> It's been ages since I have posted to the list but this bore mention. I
> pulled my '84 Westy out of winter storage last week and just about burned
> it to the ground right on the spot. How? Everything looked ship shape and
> it started right up on the first try, so I wandered off to let the motor
> warm up before attempting to move the bus. Came back a minute later to
> find gasoline spraying under the bus and in the engine
> compartment. Yikes!!! My fuel line had failed in multiple places, and
> gasoline was spraying everywhere under pressure. I immediately shut the
> motor down that that was that. I am so lucky the bus didn't burn!
>
> Now the other scary part. This was the recommended expensive, German-made
> Cohline high pressure hose, installed new only 18 months ago. Cohline is
> the stuff with a braided black fabric sheath on the outside. On
> inspection, I found that the rubber was cracking/hardening throughout. I
> have not used any alternative fuels or fuel additives that might cause the
> rubber to fail prematurely. Maybe I just happened to get a bad batch of
> hose or something, but I don't trust the stuff anymore. It should not have
> failed in such a short time. Has anyone else had problems with this brand?
>
> And a friendly word of advice, for what it's worth... if you have really
> old fuel lines, REPLACE THEM. You can use 5/16" fuel hose from any auto
> parts store. Just be sure to get true fuel-injection rated line, not the
> cheap stuff. The right stuff will cost $4 a foot or so, and have "SAE
> 30R9" stamped on it. Run a single piece all the way back from the fuel
> filter to the engine, bypassing the white plastic junction fitting on the
> engine bay forward firewall if your bus has it. (This plastic barb fitting
> is unnecessary and is also a known potential leak point as it ages and gets
> brittle. You are better off without it.) Short of a wreck, there is no
> surer way to total your bus than to have a fuel fire.
>
> older and wiser,
> Robert
> Ithaca, NY
> <www.people.cornell.edu/pages/rdh24/vw/index_vw.html>
>
>
>
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