WTB: Plastic fuel lines from engine compartment Options

[grogthegreat]

Anyone have the two plastic fuel lines from the engine compartment?

One of mine on my 74 got partially melted through because it was touching the main battery cable when it shorted to the underside of the trunk near the starter! It feels like it it about to burst and I don't want to waste any expensive fuel!

Let me know how much you want with shipping to Escondido CA (92026)

Thanks!
-Grog

[euro911]

Perfect time to change them both out to stainless steel ones (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[grogthegreat]

I considered it but everything else about the car is so original and stock that I'd prefer to keep it that way. Not as important, but I figured that a set of good used plastic lines would also be cheaper than new stainless steel ones.

[JawjaPorsche]

If you don't replace those lines, you will have bigger problems than wasting any expensive fuel.

[pilothyer]

If you don't replace those lines, you will have bigger problems than wasting any expensive fuel.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) 100%

[walterolin]

New stainless steel. The OEM plastic lines, all of them, are 40 years old. Plastic doesn't hold up over time. When I took my lines out this past summer, they crumbled in my hands.

[Rockaria]

I considered it but everything else about the car is so original and stock that I'd prefer to keep it that way. Not as important, but I figured that a set of good used plastic lines would also be cheaper than new stainless steel ones.

This is one place I broke the "My Car is perfectly stock" rule. Those stainless steel lines look better, work perfect, and will give you piece of mind.

Besides the engine bay lines are only about $50 a set and the Tunnel ones about $80 a set. Best investment you can make.

They should change the concours rules to add points for having them!

[JeffBowlsby]

I prefer the orignal non-metallic tubing. No real beefs about the stainless steel, it has its benefits, but I like the clean look and originality of a new set of milky white plastic lines. I like seeing the fuel flowing through them. New factory OEM is not available so I make them from identical new material to match an NOS piece I have. And they are less expensive than the SS. Email me if interested in a set.

PS if the original tubing is discolored a dark brown, brittle, or damaged in any way, they should be replaced and not reused. They embrittle and discolor over time due to moisture absorption, not heat exposure.

[grogthegreat]

If you don't replace those lines, you will have bigger problems than wasting any expensive fuel.

That burning 914 is so sad!
Don't worry, I am not driving the car till those lines have been replaced. You guys have convinced me not to swap in 40 year old plastic lines. If Jeff's new plastic lines don't work out than I'll go stainless. When the red hot battery cable started to melt through the line, I bet the car was about 10 seconds away from burning to the ground!

Jeff: You have a PM!

[Tom_T]

If you don't replace those lines, you will have bigger problems than wasting any expensive fuel.

That burning 914 is so sad!
Don't worry, I am not driving the car till those lines have been replaced. You guys have convinced me not to swap in 40 year old plastic lines. If Jeff's new plastic lines don't work out than I'll go stainless. When the red hot battery cable started to melt through the line, I bet the car was about 10 seconds away from burning to the ground!

Jeff: You have a PM!

Plus in reality, the 100% stock rule doesn't apply to functional, safety & wear items on any marque/make or model. Besides - they won't be seen in the tunnel nor behind the steering rack - only where they daylight in the engine bay.

You wouldn't get dinged value or CW-wise for changing out the original shocks, nor for going to SS on these fuel lines.

I love Jeff's stuff & his devotion to originality, but this is one job you'll want to do once, & IMHO go with the SS for a few bucks more. Sorry Jeff buddy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Even the newer Porsches have had trouble with plastic fuel & coolant lines cracking within 10 years, as with the series 1 `03-06 Cayennes with their coolant lines in the V8 valley cracking & causing starter & trans problems.

Your choice.

[grogthegreat]

I see your point. I plan on replacing the lines in the tunnel with stainless and try the new plastic in the engine compartment where it is visible. If the new plastic ones turn brittle in 5 or 10 years, than I'll replace them with stainless.
Thanks for the advice!

[Kraftwerk]

I will say it another way: "stock "doesn't always equal "safe"

[JeffBowlsby]

Tough crowd! Porsche designed these cars with non-metallic fuel lines - when they easily could have provided metal lines if they had thought it was important. "I'll say it another way" - an alternate material or design does not always mean 'improved' - thats been proven time and time again on this board. Maybe race cars use stainless, but race cars have different requirements and more rigorous inspections than street cars.

Betcha the vast majority of all stock fuel injected 914s on the road today are still using the original stock non-stainless fuel lines. Thats not a good thing because they are old and can be fragile, and I agree, they should be replaced if questionable - but my point is that stainless is not the only alternative and may have its own concerns. In its 7 year production run Porsche could have switched them to metal or some other product but they did not. Not even a recall or tech bulletin. The HO recall issued 6 months after the last 914 was built, did not change them.

I trust the quality of Tangerine's products implicitly, but what are the details of those lines and similar products on the market by others so we can evaluate them? What grade of stainless is used? - some grades can corrode. What effect does battery acid have on them? Are they seamless or seamed tubing? If seamed, they can can open up, the seam is a weak point. What is the pressure rating of this material? Do these work harden causing weakness either during fabrication or while inservice from vibration? Is metal better than non-metallic? Metal is a good conductor for engine bay heat and may contribute to vapor lock. Does condensation occur in cold climates through the metal diluting the fuel with condensate moisture? Does anyone know? Maybe better would be insulated lines? If we don't know the answer to these, then 'improved' may not be 'better'.

I will stick with the factory stock material unless and until its proven that an alternative is better and that stock is defective. Touche...

[euro911]

Were the fuel lines originally white and turned brown with age, Jeff?

Those look like the tubing supplied with the under-sink water filter system we just installed, probably rated at the same PSI too.

[mtndawg]

This comparison of plastic and metal has me thinking. I have definitely thought that the metal lines would be better simply because they are hard and inflexible. Now that I'm thinking through Jeff's points...plastic has low thermal conductivity. A metal spoon in boiling water is hot, but a plastic spoon's temperature doesn't change that much. I hadn't thought about seamless vs non-seamless metal tubing either. A seam could be a weak point, but it isn't always. I just might switch to plastic.

[yeahmag]

Crazy... That looks like PEX tubing.

[euro911]

Well, to settle this whole issue of which is better, I put heat-shrink plastic tubing on my SS lines before installing them (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[JeffBowlsby]

Were the fuel lines originally white and turned brown with age, Jeff?

Those look like the tubing supplied with the under-sink water filter system we just installed, probably rated at the same PSI too.

Yep white, which is translucent with fuel in it.

That undersink tubing is simple polyethylene. Nope. PEX? Nope.

The material is Polyamide 11, otherwise known as Nylon 11. You can google its properties. I verified this info from an NOS piece.

[tod914]

pm sent Jeff. Interested in a set.

[Tom]

Jeff,
Good points! I always wondered why Porsche didn't change them out. They must have tested them to some engineering standards and found them to be satisfactory. My 76 has black plastic. Did the later years change to a different plastic or is it just a different color?
Thanks,
Tom