BSwayze
Well Known Member
So... I'm working on my firewall forward tasks, and I'm at the point where it's finally time to install the fuel hoses to the engine. So the first one is the short foot-long hose that goes from the firewall fuel outlet to the engine-driven fuel pump. So I grab the hose that's been sitting on my shelf for several years now. I bought it new from Vans, and it's still shiny, clean, and brand new. Perfect.
Just before threading it on to the fittings for a trial fit, almost as a casual afterthought, I lifted it up and stretched it out straight to look through it. I could barely see a bit of light coming through it. Hmmmm... seems to me there should be more light coming through. Maybe I don't have it straight enough. So I try it again. Same thing. I wasn't sure if this was really unusual or not, having never done it before. I shrugged and reached in again behind the engine to install it. It had to be okay, it's still brand new. Then, I thought, maybe it wouldn't hurt to run a long pin or something down through it, just to make sure.
So I grabbed one of my cowl hinge pins and ran it through the hose. WHOA!!! It hit something inside, then punched through it, and all this hardened dirty debris came out!
Here's a picture of my nice new hose, and the mess that came out of it:
Here's a closeup of the debris:
WHOA again!!
After poking the pin through and getting all of this out, I held it up again and looked through it. Wow! What a difference! I could clearly see right through it. To make sure it was truly clean, I dropped a string through and pulled a fuel-soaked small rag through it a couple of times to make sure I got it all out.
In retrospect, here are some thoughts, and some lessons learned.
Obviously, during all that time it sat on my shelf, some bug or insect had crawled in there and made this mess.I would have never guessed because my shop was always clean and immaculate. I never saw bugs or insects in there. But you know what? That doesn't matter. It happened anyway. It may have even come to me that way. Who knows. I never looked through it before.
This really shook me up, the more I thought about it. This is all downstream of the fuel filter! Had I not looked, I can only imagine how this dirty mess would have gone through the hose into my fuel pump, and the red cube fuel transducer, then right into my fuel injection system. I can see how easily it could have messed up any of those components, or clogged a fuel injection nozzle. Or maybe all of them.
I shudder to think of how close I came to installing this hose, without looking through it first. It was almost like an afterthought or a casual thing, that I just happened to take a look. I could have so easily not done it. After all, I bought it brand new and it still looks like it did the day I brought it home. DON'T be fooled by the shiny new-looking external appearance of parts like this! Danger may lurk inside.
So I wanted to share my experience, with the hope that it may help someone else. Check those fuel hoses before installing them! I don't care if they're right out of the box.
Just before threading it on to the fittings for a trial fit, almost as a casual afterthought, I lifted it up and stretched it out straight to look through it. I could barely see a bit of light coming through it. Hmmmm... seems to me there should be more light coming through. Maybe I don't have it straight enough. So I try it again. Same thing. I wasn't sure if this was really unusual or not, having never done it before. I shrugged and reached in again behind the engine to install it. It had to be okay, it's still brand new. Then, I thought, maybe it wouldn't hurt to run a long pin or something down through it, just to make sure.
So I grabbed one of my cowl hinge pins and ran it through the hose. WHOA!!! It hit something inside, then punched through it, and all this hardened dirty debris came out!
Here's a picture of my nice new hose, and the mess that came out of it:
Here's a closeup of the debris:
WHOA again!!
After poking the pin through and getting all of this out, I held it up again and looked through it. Wow! What a difference! I could clearly see right through it. To make sure it was truly clean, I dropped a string through and pulled a fuel-soaked small rag through it a couple of times to make sure I got it all out.
In retrospect, here are some thoughts, and some lessons learned.
Obviously, during all that time it sat on my shelf, some bug or insect had crawled in there and made this mess.I would have never guessed because my shop was always clean and immaculate. I never saw bugs or insects in there. But you know what? That doesn't matter. It happened anyway. It may have even come to me that way. Who knows. I never looked through it before.
This really shook me up, the more I thought about it. This is all downstream of the fuel filter! Had I not looked, I can only imagine how this dirty mess would have gone through the hose into my fuel pump, and the red cube fuel transducer, then right into my fuel injection system. I can see how easily it could have messed up any of those components, or clogged a fuel injection nozzle. Or maybe all of them.
I shudder to think of how close I came to installing this hose, without looking through it first. It was almost like an afterthought or a casual thing, that I just happened to take a look. I could have so easily not done it. After all, I bought it brand new and it still looks like it did the day I brought it home. DON'T be fooled by the shiny new-looking external appearance of parts like this! Danger may lurk inside.
So I wanted to share my experience, with the hope that it may help someone else. Check those fuel hoses before installing them! I don't care if they're right out of the box.