Date:         Mon, 8 Nov 1999 09:02:59 EST
Reply-To:     KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         KENWILFY@AOL.COM
Subject:      A Tale of two hoses
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

By Charles Pickins'

One hose began its life in the black forest of Germany where it was formed
and then installed on a transporter back in '86.  13 years later it is still
pliable and alive, though tired, and ready for retirement.

The other hose began its life in the great US of A about '96.  Three years
later it was as hard as a rock, had split and was causing a coolant leak.

The moral of this story:  Although hoses from NAPA, etc may be cheaper than
those from Germany, it has been my experience that they don't last as
long/hold up as well.  Your hoses need to be replaced if they haven't been in
the past 8 years/150k miles.  I wouldn't replace them with anything but
German hoses.  You might save $10 but is it worth destroying a motor worth
$2500-3500?  Is it worth it if you save $200? Not in my book.

Reason for this rant:
1. Napa high pressure fuel hose used by one customer burst within two weeks
of installation.
2. Napa coolant hose got brittle and cracked within a couple years of
installation.

Either one of these scenerios could have caused catastrophic consequences
(Thank God they didn't).

Just my opinion,
Ken Wilford
http://www.vanagain.com
John 3:16
Phone: (856)-765-1583
Shop:   (856)-327-0027
Fax:     (856)-327-2242