Another mental note to one's self...hoses.

[steved]

I developed a leak in my fuel system... could have been many things based on the location: fuel tank gasket, FASS, FASS fuel line, loose fittings, rusted filler tube, etc.



Crawled under the truck last night and found the "quality" three year old fuel lines (for my auxiliary fuel tank) from the local parts house weather checked and cracked. I know they were recent manufacture as they have/had the date printed on them... not to sure they weren't one of the "name brands", but that's been too many years ago to remember (I bought good hose though).



So I ordered a length of hose from Summit last night to replace the aged stuff... just something else to consider in your fuel mileage calculations, leaks.

 

[JJPage]

Sure doesn't take long for the hoses to deteriorate when exposed to the elements.



I carry a 10' piece of Parker 3/8" pushlok hose and 3/8" pushlok splices, along with a spare Walbro just for this reason. Getting quite a collection of spare parts under my back seat... .

 

[steved]

Sure doesn't take long for the hoses to deteriorate when exposed to the elements.



I carry a 10' piece of Parker 3/8" pushlok hose and 3/8" pushlok splices, along with a spare Walbro just for this reason. Getting quite a collection of spare parts under my back seat... .

I removed the "vent" hose I added tonight (waiting for the new hose to replace the supply line)... found several decent holes. In fact, I found a LOT of holes... luckily not in the supply line, but the fuel still backs up into the vent sometimes. The funny part about the deterioration is that it didn't occur outside, it occurred where they were protected?



I also found several hose clamps loose... the loosest one being one of the FASS manifold clamps. I know ALL of these clamps were tight on installation as I triple checked them.



I have a small toolbox with the majority of the known problem parts... FCA, timing sensors, injector lines, water pump, belt, truck and trailer wheel bearings, etc... can never have enough spare parts, especially if you travel.

 

[steved]

I got my Summit hose last night, and installed it... found my supply line was about to split due to weather checking. only the very thin inner layer was intact... even the cording/belting had deteriorated. Who knows how long it would have lasted, but I would not have been happy if I had lost 20 gallons of fuel on the road.



FWIW, the Summit push-loc hose has "Flex-loc" and "Made in USA" printed on it, and is supposedly a synthetic rubber. It looks very similar to the Parker hose used on my FASS system.

 

[CumminsPower98]

I have found that the standard Gates fuel hose doesn't last well most of the time. I use fuel injection hose ($$$) for anything critical that I want to last.

 

[steved]

That's what's scary... I used fuel injection hose because it was indicated (by the shop owner) to be better stuff. I almost wonder if they sold me transmission line???

One thing I did this time was remove my quick disconnects... I had installed these because I had to remove the toolbox for my slide-in. Now that I have a 5vr, the box never comes out... so I removed them. My flow rate, pumping from tank to tank, has increased substantially... so that 1/4 inch hydraulic quick connect was really causing a restriction.

 

[steved]

One other thing I'll add is regarding my bypass filter plumbing, and specifically the brass hose barb-to-NPT fittings. I had one literally fall apart on me when I was pulling my GCF out the other week... seems that brass can't take the flexing of a supported hose wiggling on it.

 

[rbattelle]

I prefer double-braided stainless steel hose for anything that faces the elements. Is there a reason you didn't use that, Steve?

Ryan

 

[steved]

Cost primarily... availability for another...

For the bypass, I can plumb my entire system with weather and fire resistant 3,000 psi hydraulic hoses for less than you can buy the stainless braid hose (let alone fittings). Keep in mind, my original install needed 25 feet of line to install the bypass.

For the fuel tank, one would assume fuel hose meant for automotive application would survive in an automotive environment. A lot of guys use fuel hose from the local parts stores for this kind of application... just look at the photos ON THIS FORUM showing peoples' installs.

 

[rbattelle]

For the bypass, I can plumb my entire system with weather and fire resistant 3,000 psi hydraulic hoses for less than you can buy the stainless braid hose (let alone fittings).

Perhaps, but once you add in the time and money required to do the job (or parts of it anyway) twice, plus the aggravation of a potential on-road failure...



Different philosophies, I guess. When I make something, I only want to make it once.



Ryan

 

[steved]

At the time, I would have never guessed the fittings would cause issues. Had I knew that, I would have did what I did this time (with the install of the different bypass), and installed hoses with swedged ends... I still have very little in the new system (under $100 in the entire bypass!)



As it is, my system lasted over 100k; which is longer than most own their trucks.