At vw-resource.com he recommends replacing it every 5 years.
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It's always a good precaution to replace all four sections of rubber line about every five years.
John Connolly (Aircooled.Net) advises-
I strongly recommend cloth braided fuel hose. Every 6 months, you should inspect it! Bend it over 180 degrees, and if it cracks or is stiff, REPLACE IT. Leaking fuel hose is the #1 cause of those smoldering VWs you see on the side of the road. Don't be a statistic!
Rubber products such as fuel line, have a limited shelf life too. You can't tell how old the fuel hose was when you BOUGHT it.
I once bought cloth braided fuel hose for my 78 bus, and two years later I started getting fuel smells. I did what John said, started bending the fuel hose and I didn't get very far until it snapped! Nowhere near 90 degrees!
I don't know if the formulation or chemical additives they use in fuel changed at that time, and I was sold "old batch" fuel hose that was no longer compatible. But it was a shocker. "Brand new" fuel hose dried up to a crisp in 2 years. Insane.
When I was looking for my present T3 about 20 years ago I was surprised by how many cars I looked at did not use clamps on the fuel line. Not even on the fuel pump right next to distributor!. This was after having been hassled by some Govt inspector for my beetle annual inspection for having a couple of rust spots on the headlight reflector. Idiot had his priorities right!!!. My reliable supplier of parts though will only supply OEM cloth covered hose. He seems to recall VW never used clamps with OEM hose. Dunno about that. Keeping on topic though I have had the OEM hose he supplied me with about 7-8 years ago and it is still supple, no evidence of seepage. For things like fuel hoses, brake lines I try to go OEM or at least German. Cost a bit more but lasts a darn sight longer. John
The factory did not use clamps in the fuel lines. They used the proper 5.5mm fuel lines. A diameter that is no longer available, and the closest one being 6mm, fits too loose. So.... clamp them. And not with those "garden hose" type clamps, but proper fuel line clamps that leave no gaps.
I,m not familiar with the VW diesels. First glance you would think high pressure ergo must be clamps?. But if they,ve gone 10 years without a leak it,s obviously kosher. I seem to recall there always being clamps on my air cooled stuff dating from the 60,s. Wonder if it was a VW Aust measure for the hotter climate????. Or just evidence of more overly cautious old sods. John
I've had several original VWs from 60's and none of them have had clamps on fuel lines until I installed them. Newer ones had partial clamping, not all hoses.
You'd have to have factory advertisements showing clamps to convince me that factory used them and they magically have vanished from all I've had/repaired.
I replace it every time there is an engine fire. Just like when forestry experts found out that allowing lightning caused fires to burn is healthier for the forest in the long run, so should VW fires be allowed to run their course. Afterward, the rebuilt vehicle is better than the old one. That is why I use genuine NOS fuel line without clamps. I also have a see-through glass fuel filter that is suspended between the fuel pump and the carb and allowed to swing free. I don't have a fire extinguisher on board. Just by 2¢. Don't assume that I'm an expert just because I'm posting here.
pinched bandclamps came on the pressure side of the fuel pump, and they are visible in shots from factory owner's manuals, if you wish to check it out... some years have clearer shots than others... it is, indeed, a myth that vw did not use hoseclamps on fuel lines...
Just for interest went and dragged out all my manuals. Clymer manages to avoid all photos of a connected carby. "Scientific Publications" published Service Manuals in Australia for all car brands. Were a bit rudimentary. For the early T3 carbs ( centrally located) there was definitely no clamps. For all twin carburetted T3,s there is definitely clamps on all fuel connections. The crimp type that leaves a small non crimped region!. For Beetles was a bit indistinct but almost certainly not! You could argue though that if that was the engine they stripped down to do the manual it might be all just sitting together and not functional. Cheers John
The filter is made of fine mesh and is reusable after cleaning it. The ends unscrew with a wrench. O-rings provide the seal. This is the second one I've had. While I was disassembling the first one in a kneeling position the glass cylinder fell out of my hand onto the concrete and broke quite easily in a drop of less than two feet.
I don't actually have it hanging above the case. I molded some hard setting clay to fit around it as it rests on the case. And it's positioned in the line leading into the fuel pump, not the line between the pump and the carb.
By the way, I notice you always use a comma as an apostrophe. Is that how Aussie's are taught to do it? In Europe they use a comma as a decimal instead of a period.
"John" wrote in message news:ibvrjb$4n3$ snipped-for-privacy@news-01.bur.connect.com.au...
crimp clamps(band clamps) were used...they are crimped on and a one time use deal... which is likely why so many were not replaced... any tight fitting line with low pressure will stay put as long as the lines are within their serviceable lifespan, however, most folks do not replace lines as they should, and don't know when those lines are beyond their serviceable lifespan... therefor, vw saw fit to ensure they stayed put... but one time use clamps can't be replaced, so they got left off *a lot* and a great urban myth was formed!
take a look at actual vw owner's manuals... some of them have picture angles toward the engine(usually when discussing the V-belt) and the clamps are visible.... out of curiosity, I opened up my Bentley manual for 66-69 type one sedan and coupe, and in the section for fuel pump replacement (Chapter
3, Page 8, section 2.1 under the "to install" section) step 5 says "connect fuel hoses and secure with clips or clamps"... the next step is also widely disregarded "6. check seating of fuel line rubber grommet in engine front cover plate."..... in the fuel system section, chapter 3 also, under the section on removal and installation of the carburetor, on install they clearly dedicate step 3 to "secure fuel hose with clamp".... that said, the Bentley is touted as the "official service manual", but is still a third party.... vw's own owner's manuals have some shots where the clamps are visible... here are a couple links to manuals available for viewing at
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where the clamps are visible... I chose 1969 only because I have a 69 owner's manual here at my desk. this picture(left picture) shows that there are clamps on both the input and output side(tougher to see it on the output side) of the fuel pump(also shows that vw never put those silly filters in to flop around and pull out the tube nipples pressed into the carb and fuel pump)
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this one shows a clamp clearly on the output side.
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I'm sure other year manuals show them too, as I've scanned pictures out of manuals several times over the years for posting for folks to see... as I said, I chose 1969 only because I have a manual sitting here, and that made it easy...
Thats probably spot on, I remember years ago when I bought a filter it would be prepackaged with two of the "spring" type clip with overlapping ends and also two short lengths of hose. Not now a days. John
My apologies Randall, I was just being a silly bu...er . A poor attempt at humour!. I actually had one of those type on my 1300 Beetle back in 67 and I,d buy another of that type of filter if I could get one..These days though they are all those nasty little moulded plastic things. That was beautiful little car. I commuted 160 miles a day for about 4 years ( nearly killed myself on the first day with its evil handling) , when I sold her the compression was so low when ignition was turned off the engine spun for 3-4 seconds. Apart from a seized front right slave cylinder it never missed a beat. Which is another thing. On all my VW,s the right front slave cylinder/caliper has caused issues. Seizing mainly, purely coincidence? Cant think of any other reason.
It's a little known fact that in Australia, South Africa, Japan, India, the British Isles, and just about everywhere that the British left their stamp -- the right front wheel cylinder on every vehicle will seize before the left one will. In the US, Canada, most of Europe, and Latin America -- the left front wheel cylinder will be the first to seize. In China both wheel cylinders seize at the same rate, probably due to poor machining tolerances.
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