Rubber Fuel Lines and Ethanol – Dave’s Garage

I have heard of people having problems with collapsed fuel lines due to attack by ethanol. Although most of my fuel line is metal, there has to be a short section of flexible line between the body and the carburetor. Is there any specific material you know of that is impervious to ethanol? When I asked that question at my local parts store, he first gave me a blank stare, then asked what kind of car it was for. When I told him it was for a ’29 Plymouth, I got another blank stare. Then he said he didn’t know of anything and suggested I use non-ethanol gas. That’s pretty consistent with your last column. -Wendell Noble

First, the good news:
Fuel line today is made of neoprene, not rubber. It is impervious to the alcohol in E10 ethanol. I usually use fuel injection hose, not fuel line because it is much more substantial. This is available in auto parts stores in 1/4″, 5/16″ and 3/8″. If you really want to be sure, you can use marine fuel line. This stuff will holdup to E85 and bio diesel. Marine fuel hose can be purchased from marine supply stores.

I would remove a section of the flexible hose and bring it to the auto parts store. The old rubber fuel hose will dissolve with the E10 ethanol we are stuck with today. Replacing the old rubber hose with new neoprene is cheap, easy and makes the car much safer and more reliable.

Please email all inquiries to: Dave
or snail mail
32 Turkey Hill Road
Richmond VT 05477