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Fuel Hose + ATF = ???

XJ Bebop

NAXJA Forum User
Location
San Diego
What would happen if you used fuel hose for a tranny cooler line, in a pinch??
Would the fuel hose soften, swell or fail somehow??
 
if its in a pinch, I would think its only short term, in which case I think it would be ok. long term, not sure.
there are some hoses that aren't ok for use with some fluids, but can't recall what they are. Whether it be fuel lines with PS fluid or vice versa, or something like that.

short term, should be ok, long term... someone will chime in with knowledge.
 
Keep in mind your tranny lines are under pretty high pressure... you might be best off just getting a tubing bender and some proper steel pipes and bending it yourself. Its relatively inexpensive and you might just find that you can rent a tubing bender for a day for nothing! Lots of auto shops have them for free rental with a refundable deposit out this way!
 
TL-Iguana said:
Keep in mind your tranny lines are under pretty high pressure... you might be best off just getting a tubing bender and some proper steel pipes and bending it yourself. Its relatively inexpensive and you might just find that you can rent a tubing bender for a day for nothing! Lots of auto shops have them for free rental with a refundable deposit out this way!

The transmission cooler lines that run to the radiator are not under high pressure.
 
I would think it will work for a period time how long of time your guess is as good as mine.
 
Fuel line pressure is ALOT greater than tranny pressure.

Not sure about the fluids though. I'd think fuel would be worse for rubber than tranny fluid. Just what I'd think though.
 
I buy forklift hose (the stuff that spools out as the forks are raised), holds any pressure within reason, works well with most any fluid I've ever tried, almost indestructible. Remains flexible forever and not really any more expensive than Aeroquip (which is junk IMO).
The only real drawback is it isn't very expandable and the fit has to be fairly close.
Most of the major manufacturers stamp there hoses either with an application or a number. The numbers will tell you the compatibility and the pressure rating. Tranny coolers don't really have much pressure, normally. I've never tried blocking the flow off to see what the absolute pressure is.
Hard to find a hose that is oil, fuel, brake fluid and glycol compatible. Like trying to find "O" rings that can be used in any application, there are few available.
It's worth the research not to funk it up, if the hose starts to come apart it's usually from the inside out and those little flakes of material can be really hard to get back out of a system.
I've seen some fuel line out of the fuel tank that looked pretty bad, I've seen synthetic oils do things to some oil line compositions and brake lines disintegrate from using silicon brake fluids. Even the manufacturer (engineers) screws it up on occasion.
 
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XJ Bebop said:
What would happen if you used fuel hose for a tranny cooler line, in a pinch??
Would the fuel hose soften, swell or fail somehow??

I've used low pressure fuel line many times for connecting the tranny lines to the tranny cooler and it has always held up for years.
 
Im sure it would hold up in a pinch without causing any problems at all... however, i wouldnt run the stuff over a couple weeks ... a month at the most. That should be plenty of time to get the right stuff.
FWIW, i use power steering hose (high pressure and is ok with tranny fluid) for running transmission cooler lines. Its a little more then regular hose, but not as much as that high pressure tranny hose that you can buy. You should be able to get it at your local parts counter.
 
Read on the hose itself it will tell you what it is used for. Fuel line will work for oil or atf. They also say if it is high pressure on the hose"fuel injection". Just dont use vacuum hose.
Ron
 
8MUD and Muad'Dib have some real good advise below.

Be careful with fuel hose as there is a wide variety out there, some for low pressure (old style low pressure carburator fuel hose, like 20 psi), some high pressure for fuel injection (i have seen two different pressure ratings on this stuff, one good fro renix 50 psi max, one good for newer higher pressure fuel injection like up to 100 psi), some for pure bio-diesel (it's made of a flouroplymer like Viton, real expessive).

They use a variety of different synthetic resins for hose internals depending on the fluid used. Transmission fluid has its own unique rubber eating properties, so does brake fluid, gas, & bio-diesel. Power steering hose, high side has to handle a burst pressure of 10,000 psi, the low pressure PS return side is real low unless you accidently crush the hose. I think the tranny fluid pressure to the cooler is low unless you crush the hose or pinch the hose, in which case it can pretty high (several hundred pounds, PSI, I think).

Old vehicles used a special power sterring fluid, it was clear in color. In later years some cars started using tranny fluid (dyno) for PS fluid, but those who used tranny fluid in the older PS systems quickly ate the hose and steering box seals on those older cars (70 and 80s being the older models).

If you find and buy the flouroplymer grade fuel injection hose rated for about 100 psi on the jacket it will handle just about any fluid up to its pressure rating (but brakes and power steering high pressure side are too high a pressure for it).

I have seen low cost tranny hose for use with worm gear hose clamps. Have you tried finding and buying it?
 
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