Experiences with stainless steel braided hoses

[SWThomas]

I'm finally to the point to where I'm getting tired of smelling fuel all the time. I have inspected every place that could have a leak and there are none. I have heard that stainless steel braided hoses tend to give off a fuel smell when used in fuel system applications because the lines breath a little. Is there any truth to that? If there is, would switching to all stainless steel braided Teflon hoses remedy this?

I'm just looking for opinions and facts from people who have experience with braided hoses. Thanks.

[jmill98Z]

I've never had that problem. How bad is the smell? IMO, if the system is tight I could deal with a little bit.

[Steve-UK]

Hi, I have never had any problems with stainless steel braided hoses, have run them for many years on different cars, with manual and electric fuel pumps.

I have found that the place you seem to get a smell are the joints were you have a male thread that screws into items such as a regulator, depends on the tape or joining paste you use, some times over a period of time the tape can breakdown. Were are you getting the smell of fuel?

[SWThomas]

I've never had that problem. How bad is the smell? IMO, if the system is tight I could deal with a little bit.

It's not too bad, I just don't like smelling fuel. And when I pop my hood to show someone the engine it smells like we're at a gas station...

[SWThomas]

Hi, I have never had any problems with stainless steel braided hoses, have run them for many years on different cars, with manual and electric fuel pumps.

I have found that the place you seem to get a smell are the joints were you have a male thread that screws into items such as a regulator, depends on the tape or joining paste you use, some times over a period of time the tape can breakdown. Were are you getting the smell of fuel?

I can smell it real bad when I open the hood. It also hits me in the face pretty hard when I initially open the garage in the morning.

[jmill98Z]

Something is definately wrong. I think you should re-inspect the lines while pressurized. Maybe there's a split line, or a cracked fitting.

[Steve-UK]

What type of fuel system are you running?

[satur9]

ive got stainless ,no smell. however if you used teflon tape. take it off all joints and redo it with automotive gas rated paste. gas eats teflon tape. i have a billet aluminium fuel rail and the endcaps were preinstalled with tape. as soon as i fired it up. i watched the tape desintergrate and had to redo it.

[SWThomas]

What type of fuel system are you running?

I have twin Walbro 255lph fuel pumps. Each pump has it's own individual fuel line coming out of the tank. Then they connect to an Aeromotive y-block and from there it's a 6AN hose to the rails. I have Aeromotive fuel rails with 8AN hoses connecting them and they're feeding Siemen Deka 60# injectors.

[SWThomas]

ive got stainless ,no smell. however if you used teflon tape. take it off all joints and redo it with automotive gas rated paste. gas eats teflon tape. i have a billet aluminium fuel rail and the endcaps were preinstalled with tape. as soon as i fired it up. i watched the tape desintergrate and had to redo it.

I didn't use anything. You're suppose to use AN fittings with no sealant.

[SWThomas]

I think I'm gonna replace all my hoses with some extra hose I have in my garage. I'm also gonna replace my fuel injector o-rings. If that doesn't fix it I'm gonna remove everything and replace it all with Aeroquip Teflon Lined Hose.

[nitrofish420]

If you can smell it that strongly, I would think you've got a sizeable leak somewhere. Be sure to look over all of your evap hoses too, as they'll leak vapor and not liquid fuel. Have you been throwing any evap codes? Give the charcoal canister a look also, if it's cracked it'll smell. But if it was on the evap side of the system, you'd most likely be setting evap codes. Unless your ECU is programmed to ignore emission faults.

[SWThomas]

If you can smell it that strongly, I would think you've got a sizeable leak somewhere. Be sure to look over all of your evap hoses too, as they'll leak vapor and not liquid fuel. Have you been throwing any evap codes? Give the charcoal canister a look also, if it's cracked it'll smell. But if it was on the evap side of the system, you'd most likely be setting evap codes. Unless your ECU is programmed to ignore emission faults.

That's a good idea. I'll look at the evap system while I'm re-doing the hoses. I've been all over the fuel system and can't find any noticeable leaks. That doesn't mean that there isn't one though...