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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - fuel hoses and modern fuel

Hi there

Does any of you experience fuel hoses leaking after a year or 2-3 when using modern fuel (RON 95)

If yes, any sollutions?

Thx

Arnold


PS third time now, no fun with EFI car with 3 bars of fuel pressure
a.o. arnold

i have just had to change mine after 3 years all pipes to din73379 supposed to be for unleaded . what do they use on modern cars?
mark 1500 on the road Preston Lancs

Yes, it's down to the ethanol which is being added to 'green' the petrol.
It will attack not just the fuel hoses but possibly the tank and anything made from brass or aluminium apparently.
Thanks to the TR people for this
http://www.groups.tr-register.co.uk/wessex/ethanol-update.html

You can buy additive to negate the ethanol effect but in the UK, sorry don't know about the Netherlands, most superunleaded doesn't contain it and that's the route I've chosen.

If you just want to replace the hoses, this stuff may be what you need.
http://www.advancedfluidsolutions.co.uk/32mm-id-18-100-bio-fuel-hose-diesel--petrol-2012-p.asp
Jeremy Tickle

I still have the original hoses on my Sprite. At least I haven't changed them since I bought the car back in 1977.

It still has the original tank filler hose in the boot, the hoses on the fuel pump under the car, and the 2 fuel hoses on the carbs, and they don't leak.

So it must be modern hoses that are useless(poor quality), rather than a change of fuel.
Lawrence Slater

I don't buy into the above stuff about ethanol. We have had 10% ethanol for a few years now at our local gas station, and as it happens to be the best octane-rated brew available in NZ and I'm running 11.5:1 in the B and the blower on the K midget. I decided I'd be happy to be a guinea pig for it and have used it primarily (but not exclusively) ever since.

(98 octane RON, as are a couple of there fuels here, but MON is was found to be a point higher than the others when tested for motorsport approaval.)

And to date not a single problem from it in any of our fleet, even though some of the cars sit for a month or two at a time I'm ashamed to say. This includes both injected and carburettored set-ups.
One key to it is use good quality fuel components not cheap copies.

I notice that in the TR register list they don't note that ethanol also attacks the liver and the brain. It does. But I don't let that worry me either :-)


Paul Walbran

Ethanol is the bain of my existance...nasty stuff

Ive now got to replace the carbs on my leafblower and weed eater and if I dont treat the fuel system when I fill up and let it sit a couple months, I have to clean the entire fuel system out on the midget

I also have to replace the rubber fuel line on my midget from 3 years ago that I used to replace a bad section of ffuel pipe it just ate it alive

I think there is a big differance between corn, suger beet, and cain suger stilled ethonol...here we only have corn based.

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Ethanol has caused deterioration in my under bonnet fuel hoses to the extent that my fuel economy was affected with no visible leaks. After 2 years the hoses were rock hard. After changing my mpg was considerably improved.

I understand that the higher octane stuff has less ethanol in the UK so try to stick to that. Otherwise I am looking to regularly check the pipes and replace if in doubt.
Dave Squire

I understand that Esso premium grade (97) has no ethanol. Shell and BP have a small percentage in all their fuels.

I have to say I have had no problems with the flexible fuel lines. They are certainly over 10 years old and still as good as new.
Bob Beaumont

About ten years ago I replaced all of my fuel lines except the one that joins the two carbs (original braided hose). The reason being that the car had sat for 17 years and the lines were old. Since then I haven't had any problems with the rubber.

I'm with Paul on this. Ethanol has been around long enough that the hose manufacturers have had time to come up with a formula that is ethanol resistant. I think that it's more up to the quality of what you buy. And car manufacturers don't want to get sued for having inferior hoses in their cars causing fires since we all know how well most people look after their cars and how easy it is to blame someone else for your incompetence.
Martin Washington

This article on VW camper van site is worth reading.
http://m.vwaircooledworks.co.uk/Fuel-Hose-Safety-Campaign.html
Mike Howlett

Two further observations:
Petrol attacks rubber rapidly too. Try dangling a bit of ordinary heater hose in some overnight and you'll see what I mean. So it's really the effect on synthetic rubber which needs to be considered.
We see plenty of hard fuel hoses on customers' cars which haven't been near ethanol fuel.

Here's a parallel experience:
20 years ago NZ did away with lead in fuel. Following that there were a lot of reported car fires which were quickly blamed on the new fuel amid gleeful media hysteria. NZ's locally refined fuel had a higher aromatic content initially after the change in order to achieve octane specs with no lead to help.
Howevr, after the first year the fire service published stats about the number of such fires, noting that it was the same as ever before. Yup, all the fires had been for the same old reason - poor maintenance, shoddy materials etc. And the media went very quiet.
I guess that's why I was prepared to suspend judgement and give ethanol a go.
And if I do encounter problems, don't worry - I will be reporting them!
Paul Walbran

as I run EFI i use 3 bar fuel pressure... So a mini leak is an inmmediate danger.

Anyone suggestions, other than also buy GOOD FUEL?
a.o. arnold

We have 4 EFI cars running that pressure, all subject to the same test regime and no problems with any of them.

Yes, any sort of leak is not nice at all and gives good cause to be nervous about it. I recall the fuel hoses on our V12 Jag being as hard as nails when we bout it in the late '80's, when it was about 10 years old. No ethanol then. Changed them rapidly when I did some fishing and found that the short (original) ones joining the rail to the injectors could start leaking with age, get the fuel into all sorts of unwanted places and VROOOM, instant toast. Not an unknown fate apparently.

Over here there's more than one grade of fuel hose, so we have to be careful to get proper pressure rated EFI stuff.
Paul Walbran

This thread was discussed between 15/06/2015 and 18/06/2015

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