Hard fuel line replacement

[alwigley]

Dear All

I finally managed to drop the transaxle out at the weekend, and whilst waiting for the replacement (99p on eBay auction, which will negate the cost of the new mounts !) I have decided to have a shot at the MOT very advisory, being the hard fuel lines are seriously corroded either side of the rear axle. The lines running towards the front seem fine, so I only really need to sort this section, but it seems you can only buy the full hard lines, and that means dropping the axle to replace which I would rather not get into - every time I undo something, something else invariably breaks !

I am sure I saw a post on this months back, mentioning kunifer lines etc., but can't find anything using the search.......

Does anyone know of suitable flexible replacement lines to replace the section over the axle, or a way of doing this without dropping the axle ? I am tempted to try and get someone mobile to do it for me, but don't know if anyone will touch it ? Does anyone know someone reliable in Thanet who might take this on - car is stuck at my in-laws as it jammed in 3rd gear on the way down there the other week......

Cheers

Alan

 

[PSH]

hi Alan

I did this job myself some years ago, I had to drop the torsion assembly and can't see a way around this, iirc I didn't have to drop it too far but bear in mind I was using a four poster ramp which makes life a lot easier. Without a ramp I suspect you'll need to remove the torsion assembly more than I did as the hard pipe is very long and you won't have enough angle if not on a proper ramp/lift. I know that others have replaced these pipes with flexible alternatives and I believe without issue, personally though I'd only use Porsche hard pipes, but hey that's just me.
One other thing to think about, if your fuel lines have failed then your brake line is about to do the same, the fuel and brake lines all follow the same route and being of similar material and size will be just as bad as each other

Pete

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I had my lux repaired with a flexi pipe by a local garage for about £100. It never gave a problem, was checked every year as part of the service and MOT, and so far as I now it's still perfectly good all these years later. The S2 got the stainless braided hose kit fitted by RPM at somewhere nearer £600, which is not far off the cost of having the OEM parts fitted!

Good point about the brake pipe, mine went within a couple of months of each other last year.

 

[JamesBall]

I also got the SS braided hose kit from RPM and as much as I love the chaps there I'd go with bog-standard rubber if I were doing it again purely on cost grounds.

 

[sulzeruk]

Do it in the proper Kunifer for a lot less. I buy a roll of 10 and 8mm fuel pipe and the 4 ends for about £90 all in. Rolls is more than enough to do a 944 with plenty of spare. I also have the tool for flaring the ends as well which I can lend but it weighs a ton to post. Tool is available for about £100, also does brake pipes, etc. Worth its weight in gold!
The flexi pipes look crap!
Alasdair

 

[JM1962]

Did mine with black flexi 10mm and 8mm rubber fuel hose with the correct fuel hose clamps (not jubilee clips). Cost me about £25 and took me about 4 hours. I cut the pipe back at both ends to good metal and made sure I could slide at least 2" of hose over the metal pipe, then used 2 hose clamps on each end. It looks tidy, it doesn't leak, I didn't have to drop the torsion beam and it was cheap.

As an aside, I may be wrong but I didn't think corroded fuel hoses could be an MOT failure.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: JM1962

As an aside, I may be wrong but I didn't think corroded fuel hoses could be an MOT failure.

My old Turbo needed fuel lines for it's MOT a few years ago. JMG have their own kit so you don't need the OPC parts.

Total cost inc fitting and VAT was £948.75 []

 

[Hilux]

Total cost inc fitting and VAT was £948.75

Paul, you are joking!! That is a typo?

Re fuel lines. Flexis might look `crap` but who sees them however my concern is people fitting fuel hose to cut steel pipe without flaring the ends. The pump is putting out some 50 - 60 plus PSI I would imagine to maintain 3 bar at the fuel rail and I (personally) would not put flex/rubber hose on a straight end pipe without flaring it.

In my view use Kunifer for the straight forward bits and use flex for the final end bits - I`d use plain hose also as you can see its condition wheras with braided you cant.

 

[chrisjcoe]

I've got an MOT advisory for corroded fuel lines too, nothing about brake lines though. I had no idea it would be potentially so expensive to change and require so much to be removed. I had a quick hunt a while ago for a replacement line, and was surprised at the difference in prices. I'd love to know what you end up doing Alan, as I'll be tackling this in the near future. Also I'll only have access to axle stands, and didn't consider that I'd need a lot more clearance to remove the corroded line.

 

[alwigley]

Dear All

Many thanks for all the responses - really helpful to have this much feedback.

I would love to be able to replace the lines in kunifer, but realistically don't have the time or equipment for the job, and am not keen on dropping the torsion bar/axle for fear of creating yet more work for myself....... Wish I was much further North as I would be dropping in on Alasdair to do it properly []

Having thought about it, I suspect I will replace just the section over the axle with high pressure reinforced rubber lines, and see if I can flare the ends of the hard line where I cut it to ensure a better seal - I suspect my father in law will have a suitable tool for the job buried in his garage somewhere ! I need to take a proper look, but I am wondering about leaving the hard line in place over the axle as a useful point to fix the new flexible lines to.......

Will report back once done with the results, hopefully sticking the new transaxle in place at the same time - I think the car has been driveable for about 6 weeks so far this year [&o]

Cheers

Alan

 

[PSH]

Alan

[/quote]

Alan, the usual place for these pipes to fail is indeed over the axle so I don't think it's wise to leave this sectioned untouched, You'll have a better idea once you start taking things apart.

good luck

Pete

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Hilux

Total cost inc fitting and VAT was £948.75

Paul, you are joking!! That is a typo?

Unfortunately not [] It was in the middle of a large bill running to several thousand pounds. I missed it at first because the parts were listed at 25% discount so I thought I was getting a good deal. Needless to say I didn't pay the bill and ultimately sold the car back to clear my debt.

As a comparison, Promax replaced all the fuel and brake lines on my S2 a few years ago using genuine Porsche parts that required dropping the rear suspension. The cost was half that quoted above [&:]

It's good to see that a lot of Indies like Alasdair are now making their own cost effective pipes and charging a fraction of what I was charged. It will help to keep a lot more 944 on the road as they all have to go through this process after around 20 years []

 

[sulzeruk]

The most time consuming part is bending the pipes to the original. It is not a difficult job and you only need to drop the axle by about 6 inches to get into the fitting. You could leave the driveshafts attached I would think as long as it was supported. It is worth doing the brake lines as well while you are in as they will be knackered too! Anyone wants to borrow my tool, they are welcome as long as they pay for the courier charges and I am also not using it myself. I can probably provide all the parts to do it as well.
Alasdair