Finally got around to ordering fuel lines from Carl for the 79. Excellent quality, great service. If I had know what a pain it was going to be to change them, I would have done it long ago when I had the engine out (several times). With so little room to maneuver and 28 years of being coupled, I couldn't break them loose on the lower connections. I ended up dropping the hard lines to get them changed out. The pain was compounded because of the auto trans lines running under the fuel lines. If you ever have your engine out and haven't changed them, do it then. While the originals were not cracked (that you could visually notice) they were hard and way beyond due to be changed. I have been worrying about these lines a long time, and I will definitely sleep better knowing they are changed out. Many thanks to Carl for making these lines available and selling a quality product.
(now saving for a new engine wiring harness)

 

Nice Anthony! This is on my list too. I just bought a commuter mobile, so I'm planning on parking my daily driver S4 for a bit and pulling the motor to do a ton of overdue service, including the fuel lines. -Ed

 

I did my pressure hose in the engine bay last year (83 Euro), but the return line is NLA. I also replaced the steel delivery line back to the accumulator - WITH the the car only 1 ft in the air (and the engine in place), there was no way I could get this steel line fitted in one piece, so I ended up cutting the line just before the upward curve, and fitting a joiner. It MIGHT have been possible on a hoist, but not at the height I could get. FWIW, on close inspection, neither of the two rubber sections really warranted replacement IMHO - no cracks when flexed hard, no abrasions at all. Despite the car having spent 10 years in Saudi at up 120F.
jp 83 Euro S AT 51k

 

JP--

Failure mode is that the inner liner cracks and leaks in between the layers. There's a reinforcement layer (fabric cord or sometimes metal), then the outer protective layer, there to help the reinforcement layer survive in an abrasive or possibly corrosive environmnet. Outer still looks great except for the bulge under pressure. Finding cracks in the liner is kinda tough until there's catastrophic failure. Since the resulting fire pretty much destroys all the evidence, it's safest to just replace on a PM schdule IMHO.

 

Bob, I did replace the delivery hose, but I felt that the return line would not be under much pressure, compared to the other hose, so I didnt think it was worth trying to get a replacement built from scratch as they are NLA. I do take your point though that the exterior condition is not always a definitive indication of condition. I replaced all the rear end hoses, as they were available, and under pressure.
jp 83 Euro S AT 51k

 

Anthony,

Does that mean you're going to make 3rd coast next month?

 

Hey Chuck, I would love to, however, we have family coming in from out of state that weekend, and I have already been warned about sneaking off