Time to replace fuel hoses. Any advise before I start?

pjv911

pjv911

Member
Jan 25, 2014
116
Mount Sinai Long Island Sound NY
Boat Info
1998 Sundancer 330
Engines
2016 385ci 6.3
390hp 479 ft tq Modified Scorpions
4V magnums
1.5 Velvet V drives
Now that my fuel lines are all 19 years old I think its time to change them. Im going to buy the fuel line in bulk length and have a local line/fitting shop install all the threaded ends.
Considering there are so many connection points I will to do one side at a time so I don't confuse how they go back on.
It is my understanding that the A1 rating is the correct hose to buy. Is this correct or is there now a better rating.
I don't care what it costs. My only concern is safety.
Also any idea on how many feet to order?
Btw my boat is a 1998 330 dancer
 
Not sure which lines you're doing but when I replaced one of my engines last year I noticed that the lines from the cool fuel to the filter were kinked. I think someone in the past had folded them in half. I searched high and low for a way of having new ones made with the correct materials and fitting but I had to give up and pay an outrageous price for OEM hoses. Don't remember how much they were but I remember thinking I would never buy the OEM....but I had to.
 
Is this a commonly understood life expectancy for fuel lines? I would have imagined fuel lines not physically molested would last as long as the motors?
 
I need to replace mine. They shrink, so the starboard line was attached to the stringer at a sharp angle to go to the pump. It had shrunk enough to pull itself of off the fitting at the pump. Scary. There's no sign of cracking of deterioration, so by relaxing some of those right angles they're no longer under stress, but replacement is definitely on my to-do list.
 
The type hose you want is [FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] SAE J5127, the A1 determines it's fire rating and permeability - ie resistence to alchohol. Not nearly as much work as you have ahead, but I replaced the fuel feed, fill and vent hoses on my 1999 boat two years ago. The feed line looked fine on the outside, but when I cut it off I found it was literally falling apart on the inside - it was also a marine and alcohol rated hose. Point is, they don't last forever.

Here is a run down on the hose types. I used the A1 for my fuel feed and an A2 for the fill and vent, this was the same as was on the boat OEM.

[/FONT]The rating system exclusively for marine hose is known as SAE J1527 and it provides for grades as follows:
A1--fuel feed hose; has a fire resistant cover; is designed to have fuel in the hose at all times. Least permeable with highest fire resistance.
A2--fuel vent hose; has a fire resistant cover; is not designed to have fuel in the hose at all times.
B1--fuel feed hose; without fire resistant cover; is designed to have fuel in the hose at all times; intended for non-enclosed spaces. Diesel engines or above deck outboard gasoline applications.
B2--fuel vent hose; without fire resistant cover; is not designed to have fuel in the hose at all times. Diesel vent lines.
 
Thanks for the info. Yes fuel lines break down on the inside and it's a risk I'm not willing to take. Also I've confirmed that my lines are deteriorating by the black rubber found in both filters.
 
Thanks for the info. Yes fuel lines break down on the inside and it's a risk I'm not willing to take. Also I've confirmed that my lines are deteriorating by the black rubber found in both filters.
Click to expand...

Yes, I was seeing what looked like pepper sprinkled in when I dumped my fuel filters. Turned out it was pieces of the inside of the fuel line coming apart.
 
Good info above. Brands... look for Trident or Shields.
 
19 years? Those hose are not only noncompliant with current hose standards they are probably seriously deteriorated. Above someone said you should use SAE J5127. That's a typo. It should be J1527 USCG A1-15 (the 15 is the EPA permeability rate). Actually most authorities say you should replace hoses every five years, but few people do, but anything more than 10 is asking for serious troubles.
 
Good to know. I should have done them all last year when I repowered but all those threaded fittings had me afraid I wouldn't get done before my season started.
I think fuel line replacement intervals should be a bit more respected considering the dangers involved. I can honestly say that nobody in my circle even suggested changing 19 year old hoses.


Ike said:
19 years? Those hose are not only noncompliant with current hose standards they are probably seriously deteriorated. Above someone said you should use SAE J5127. That's a typo. It should be J1527 USCG A1-15 (the 15 is the EPA permeability rate). Actually most authorities say you should replace hoses every five years, but few people do, but anything more than 10 is asking for serious troubles.
Click to expand...
 
I don't know of a single person who replaces their boat hoses every 5 years. That sounds like propaganda from the hose companies.

A reasonable time frame would be the 10-15 year mark. Ethanol which found its way into marine gas in the mid 90s is why your hoses need to be upgraded. The fuel filters will keep the debris out but there is a black sludge that reforms in the carburetor causing the passages to get blocked.

Keep in mind the only pressure in an older fuel system is between the fuel pump and the carburetor. On most engines, that is steel formed pipe. The rest of the system relies on negative pressure/gravity to bring the fuel to the pump. So there is no danger of a burst hose.

The danger is what is going on inside the hose. This was the source of great debate years ago as advocates argued for higher levels of Ethanol. Even the USCG weighed in with new standards to handle higher concentrations (20%). Fortunately, the politics have subsided and we are stuck with 10% for the foreseeable future.
 
I guess this is another reason to pay the long dollar at the marina for ethanol free fuel? Now I feel better about that extra buck a gallon.

I guess I will have to check my filters a little more closely this spring. I saw no signs of black residue last year but I honestly didn't look too terribly closely.

If the hype is true I have a 1971 Chevy in my garage...with original fuel lines....that is a ticking time bomb!

This thread has been quite helpful though. I have a handful of preventative things I'd like to do on my now antique 1999 Sea Ray. This should likely make the list due to the safety implications.
 
Actually the changes to fuel hose came in the late 80's. I was a LT in the Office of Boating Safety and the project officer on a related subject, plastic fuel tanks. We were testing them for affects of alcohol (called ethanol now, gasohol back then) on the tanks (almost none by the way). My Boss was on a Committee formed by the USCG, ABYC, NMMA, SAE and NFPA, and others in the alphabet soup to study the affects of alcohol on marine fuel hose. This was mid 80's. The results weren't pretty. So they worked out a new formula to make hose more resistant to alcohol. That is SAE J1527. That went into the regulations in 1987 (had to look it up. my memory is not that good!) Then in the late 90's the EPA started talking about exhaust and evaporative emissions from boats, including tanks and hoses. I was the liaison to the Epa on that issue. What a mess. They didn't have a clue about boat fuels systems. They just assumed they were like cars. They wanted to seal the system and pressurize it with the fuel pump in the tank, like cars. It took some time but we convinced them otherwise. Well it took about ten years but eventually the fuel system standards were changed and the hoses were upgraded from 300g of vapor in 24 hours to 15 g per 24 hour. That's where the 15 came from. What in fact SAE did was add an inner liner to the hose that is extremely resistant to permeation, so very little vapor escapes through the hose walls. This is good because it also makes the hose last longer. The big problem was the alcohol and aromatics in gasoline leached the compounds in the hose that made it pliable and flexible. So over time the hose simply began to come apart from the inside out.

As for your car. You shouldn't worry too much, but if they are the original hoses they should be changed. But automotive fuel hose is made to a different SAE standard and does not have to meet the fire resistance and alcohol resistance standards that marine fuel hose does. This is because the fuel simply does not stand in the hose for long periods of time. It gets used up, unlike your boat which may sit for months at a time, especially in winter. want your fuel system to last? drain the tank and hoses, and fuel system on the engine. No fuel, no problem.
 
sea ray told me, they went to a better e10 resistant fuel line in about 2008. That old car should have a steel fuel line from one end to the other.
 
The new hose was available as early as 2004. I went to a meeting in Miami Beach (really hard duty-LOL) in March 2004 and hose manufacturers had already changed the hose. The tanks hadn't changed yet. The formula for cross-linked polyethylene tanks needed to be made less permeable to reduce evaporative emissions. They got there eventually. The regulations went into effect in 2012.

I love the name games: In the 70's and early 80's, 10% ethyl alcohol in gasoline was called gasohol (it was the law) then for a long time they put MTBE in the fuel because it was supposed to be better. But health studies showed it caused cancer and was leaking into the ground water, and the exhaust it created in cars gave people migraines. So they went back to ethyl alcohol but changed the name to ethanol. So after that hoses and tanks became e-something. Now the EPA wants to go to 15% ethanol and the name is e-15. Fun and games. The problem is it is ok for cars but devastating to marine engines. So who knows what will happen?

Metal fuel lines eliminate this problem but they are an issue on boats because they can't be copper (Cracks and corrodes) and aluminum has problems (cracks and corrodes) and so does stainless steel. Steel is good but copper-nickel or nickel-copper are better but vastly more expensive than hose, and not as flexible, so you get into vibration and flexing problems. And on and on.
 
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