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Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9681
Posted: 07:34am 13 Oct 2025
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No problems, right? (rhetorical!)
....nothing to see here....
This hose PASSED its last WOF/MOT(six months ago), before THIS test picked up on it....Damn....
HOW could you NOT see this - visually - if you were doing a WOF/MOT?(rhetorical again!)
Wow...
This line is within about 200mm or so, of the rear exhaust muffler. Fire hazard much?
Not all garages are equal.Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!
Revlac Guru Joined: 31/12/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1187
Posted: 08:15am 13 Oct 2025
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Don't be so surprised......If it ain't leaking it don't need fixing. However, a lot of rubber fuel line is not as good as it used to be, (or affected by crappy fuel )some of it just turns hard and brittle and will go unnoticed until it gets bumped and broken. Cheers Aaron Off The Grid
Godoh Guru Joined: 26/09/2020 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574
Posted: 08:32pm 13 Oct 2025
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Hi Grogster, do you have fuel with ethanol in it? That stuff is renowned for destroying rubber parts. How old is the vehicle that hose was on? As Aaron said, fuel lines and most other stuff has gone downhill a lot, as far as quality goes. It may be just rubbish materials or a combination of heat, age and maybe even ethanol pete
phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2773
Posted: 09:25pm 13 Oct 2025
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The layer of rubber inside the braiding is usually better quality and can tolerate most fuels and the braiding provides pressure resistance. But the outer layer is just there to give it kink resistance and they do use cheap rubbish for that.
Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9681
Posted: 10:00pm 13 Oct 2025
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On the Ethanol content, I have no idea. Our fuel probably does have some of that in the formula, but I'd have to research it to find out.
REGARDLESS of if the ethanol in the fuel was attacking the hose for WHATEVER reason, this cracking has been going on for longer then six months to get THAT bad, so it should have been spotted in the WOF/MOT.
1972 classic Mini Clubman.Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!
Godoh Guru Joined: 26/09/2020 Location: AustraliaPosts: 574
Posted: 11:57pm 13 Oct 2025
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Hi Grogster, I guess it comes down to just how thorough the mechanic doing the MOT test is. If they just get a fixed fee for the MOT they probably rush through the most likely things to check. Such as brakes, oil leaks, rust, exhaust etc. Looking further would be chewing into their profit margin, where they could be making more money fixing some other car. If the hose is original from a 1972 car then , it is past its use by date. I would be checking all the other rubber hoses too, like brake hoses etc. In the old days VW Kombi vans had a nasty habit of catching fire. The rubber fuel line went from the tank to the engine through the firewall. The hose used to rub through, spilling fuel all over a hot air cooled engine. It is best to trust your own eyes and be thorough on ancient vehicles, or any vehicle really Pete