Anyone else seen this problem?

Over the past 6 months or so I've noticed what look to be dry rot cracks on the rubber fuel lines on several company machines as well as some customer machines. Some have been carrying diesel fuel and some carry gasoline. All of the lines were "good quality" Gates multipurpose fuel line that was supposed to be good for any type of fuel. There didn't appear to be any deterioration from the inside out to indicate a problem with the fuel type, all of the cracks tended to start on the outside and work in. I've noticed it on 1/4, 5/16, and 3/8 line so it doesn't appear to be something that's confined to just one size/batch. The only common thread between them all, besides being Gates brand, is that the lines were all installed between a year to maybe two years ago. Recently there has been one on the pressure side of the fuel pump on our shop forklift (gas), another on the suction side of the pump on my welder (gas), another on the pressure side for the aux engine on my service truck (diesel). There are several others I kinda remember on customers equipment awhile back but don't really remember the exact details of them.

I've seen old line that lasted nearly forever and eventually got hard, etc but this recent mess of seeing the lines seemingly dry rot in such a short time is new to me. Whatever the case I was just curious if anyone else had seen this happening on any of their equipment.

Yes, I have also noted that all of the fuel lines I have put on in the last few years have dried and cracked in a short time. I have replaced the ones on the lawn mowers and tractors. I have recently changed some on various cars and trucks, being more worried about sudden failure in the on road vehicles than in the off road ones. They have come from diferent stores, so I don't know what brands they all are.

I saw that happen on a customers mini articulator, cracked right through the line and caused the transfer pump on the engine to suck air causing a starting/running issue. replaced the fuel line with some fubric covered stuff. hopefully that will last longer. by the way, i did not pay attention to the brand of the hose.

jared

Could be that the quality control is not what it used to be. Does it say made in USA on it or just the company name? I'm honestly not trying to bad mouth just wondering as sometimes even the best knowsn American companies have stuff made somewhere else.

Hehe maybe they have figured out that if they make a product that lasts a long time then they can't sell as many. NO resale, less profit. Who knows.

Yup;
just replaced some lines summer 2007 and now having to replace some again. Thought I was loosing my mind.

I've not noticed that with any Gates hose... but I've had some Dayco hose that didn't last more than a few years. I've also got OEM Aeroquip hose on a skid steer that's starting to deteroiate quite badly, but I'm thinking that it's soon to be 8 years old too....

That said, I'd not be surprised if you're seeing poor quality hoses.
Gates belts are not what they used to be.
I suppose if we dug into it more we'd no doubt find that it all originated from the land of almost right.
It's gotten very hard to buy quality replacement parts for anything around here lately it seems. Everything is being reduced to crap...


Rod

NC Wayne: Check and see if you are not using
oxygenated fuels. Ether is added to the gas
this time of year (which is supposed to reduce
CO emissions) is resulting in the deterioration
of fuel lines and gaskets in older vehicles. The new materials are not affected by it. And, if you are using ether to start your gas engines, and get it on the lines, you will get the same effect.

Gates is not what it once was. That's why I no longer use their timing belts.

I have to put a new fuel line on my chain saw every 2 years. Shop techs say its the ethanol that causes it. European made equipment is not designed for ethanol.

It's rubber that isn't what it use to be. All the innertubes you buy today seem to leak air.
All Junk! I think it's all synthetic now isn't it?

Natural rubber is still used in a lot of stuff. I know tire companies still use it.

I've noticed my hydraulic lines seem to get damaged by the sun is short order. The old folks here claim you can get sunburn a lot easier now than when they were little. Maybe that ozone layer is still healing up.

Yep, I've noticed exactly the same thing with the fuel hoses I've replaced BUT I'd say it's been that way for the last 5 - 10 years and as you say it's not confined to one batch, it's been all sizes....................I've seen original hoses on equipment over 20 years old that have remained relatively supple with no sign at all of cracking/dry rot...................I find it hard to believe the failure is caused from the fuels since the damage appears to be originating from the outside??

Frustrating isn't it? When you completely re-plumb a peice of equipment that had hoses that lasted 20 years only to have to change the hoses out 2 - 3 years later.................

You're not the only one.................

Have you noticed how fast windshield wipers go bad? They used to need changing every few years or so. Now, I have to change them almost every six months.

I see the same problems with tires. Recent talk about date/age of tires. Young tires crack and separate. I have much older tires that are NOT showing their age at all. I think the tires are made cheaper, as the price goes up!

but why are the hoses breaking down on the outside then?

That was only one of the most probable causes
that I know. I'm sure there are a lot more
causes with the problem of rubber hoses deter-iating. The way I have lived with it through the years is to use steel line where possible. Where there is a lot of vibration, I use two rubber hoses--one at each end, and kept a roll of rubber hoses for repairs. Some of these people on this forum will tell you that they took their tractors out of the barn and it started right up and the hoses were good. I got mad at my extended warranty on my car when I lost a rubber belt and they told me it wasn't covered. That belt plus labor cost me $200. They claimed it was maintenance, so I guess we are stuck with repairing rubber hoses.

Might well be that they have changed their formulations to either save a buck or comply with some wacko environmental rule. Even if the end product has no impact on the environment the manufacturing method can be altered to changed the factory discharge. And the "new" stuff is never quite as good. Take the "new" freon for example.