Braided vs. nylon fuel line

[Jdubs71]

Other than the obvious price deference, do any of you swappers prefer using one over the other when running fuel lines? The ss braided and AN fittings look nice, but the nylon kit seems much more reasonable in price. I'm getting ready to run my fuel lines and I don't want the price to be the only reason I go with the nylon fuel line kit. Any advice would be great. Also does anybody know what the p/n for the russell an fittings for the vette regulator feed and return? I think i have all the other fittings down.
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[Indian113]

I used hard lines every where I could. I only put the braided line in a flex area, then using as little as possible.

[rcrahn]

Being in Cali (like me) you need to consider the additives in the crap gas here. There's been a great deal written about how these additives attack the inner linings of SS hose. So using a braided hose with rubber lining it will break down eventually. Hot Rod did an article in Jan 2011 on this.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/e...s/viewall.html

One solution is to use hard lines as much as you can followed by a short section of braided that is teflon (conductive) lined. These hoses can be made custom at a local Parker fitting shop. That 's what I did. Not cheap but neither was my truck to build and I don't want to gum up my engine,smell gas or worse have a fire.

The other solution is the nylon lines and many are going this way too.

Here's a picture of our fuel lines with the hoses made for me. Using 3/8" SS hardline for supply and return to LQ9 6.0. Note the stripe on the SS braid that designates it is teflon lined. The line with the dash on it is a custom made center brake line allowing movement of the 14 bolt axle through the range os motion on bagged suspension. It is all the way up in this shot.

[Jdubs71]

Originally Posted by rcrahn

Being in Cali (like me) you need to consider the additives in the crap gas here. There's been a great deal written about how these additives attack the inner linings of SS hose. So using a braided hose with rubber lining it will break down eventually. Hot Rod did an article in Jan 2011 on this.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/e...s/viewall.html

One solution is to use hard lines as much as you can followed by a short section of braided that is teflon (conductive) lined. These hoses can be made custom at a local Parker fitting shop. That 's what I did. Not cheap but neither was my truck to build and I don't want to gum up my engine,smell gas or worse have a fire.

The other solution is the nylon lines and many are going this way too.

Here's a picture of our fuel lines with the hoses made for me. Using 3/8" SS hardline for supply and return to LQ9 6.0. Note the stripe on the SS braid that designates it is teflon lined. The line with the dash on it is a custom made center brake line allowing movement of the 14 bolt axle through the range os motion on bagged suspension. It is all the way up in this shot.

Do the russell an fittings still work with the teflon or j309R hoses? I started purchasing some of the fittings.
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[rcrahn]

Originally Posted by Jdubs71

Do the russell an fittings still work with the teflon or j309R hoses? I started purchasing some of the fittings.
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You should check with Russell on that.

After reading a great deal about this one conclusion I came to: Best to stick with the same supplier for both the hose and fittings. If you are making your own hoses mixing and matching hoses and fittings from different suppliers might create problems. Not always, but better to be safe than sorry.

That's why I always have my hoses made by a Parker shop.

I believe either hot rod or car craft had an extensive article on suppliers of fittings. Google for it.

Good luck

[BR3W CITY]

braided hose had the added benefit of abrasion resistance for anything that spends time outside of the car; I don't have to panic if I get forced to run over junk that is on the road.

For the fuel additives, they make PTFE as well, the teflon lined stainless hose. Expensive stuff, and uses different fittings.

[slamed67]

i just completed my fuel system today.. i had bought the Russel braided line and fittings.. pulled it all off today after pressure testing the lines.. everywhere i had Russel fitting i had leaks.. grrrrrr! so i went to a local parts shop and had them hydrolicly press fit some FAST EFI fule line, came home, strapped her back up and bam! No leaks! and it looks super clean. ill take pictures tomorrow and post.

not a fan of the stainless outer braiding on the russel fule line. pain in the rear.. :/ looks f@#in kool tho! very rugged..

i like the hard lines. thats a way to go thats cost efficient and solid. looks clean.

[Jdubs71]

Originally Posted by slamed67

i just completed my fuel system today.. i had bought the Russel braided line and fittings.. pulled it all off today after pressure testing the lines.. everywhere i had Russel fitting i had leaks.. grrrrrr! so i went to a local parts shop and had them hydrolicly press fit some FAST EFI fule line, came home, strapped her back up and bam! No leaks! and it looks super clean. ill take pictures tomorrow and post.

not a fan of the stainless outer braiding on the russel fule line. pain in the rear.. :/ looks f@#in kool tho! very rugged..

i like the hard lines. thats a way to go thats cost efficient and solid. looks clean.

What shop in Fresno did you use? I bought all the russell stuff and braided line i just havent started running the fuel lines. I would rather go with what works best and dependability over looks, but the braided line and an fittings do look nice.
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[slamed67]

the o'reillys over on ashlyn and west. they used the fittings like you would have on your power steering lines. solid! steel too not aluminum

[Jdubs71]

Originally Posted by slamed67

the o'reillys over on ashlyn and west. they used the fittings like you would have on your power steering lines. solid! steel too not aluminum

Cool, thanks for the info. I didn't know orileys did that there. Did you use the stainless still braided line still or did you go with different line all together?
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[Wasted Income]

x2 for hardline. I did the bulk of my feed and return in hard line. The exceptions are at the fuel rails, and from the sump to the pump. I just used regular rubber hose with stainless braid.

[mcmlxix]

I am using parts store 3/8 fuel line with Dorman fitting to connect two lenghts together. I then purchased a Dorman nylon repair kit ( P/N: 800-058) that has the OE GM connector on one end. It comes with a brass barb to connect to teh existing nylon line. I found another Dorman fitting that is designed with compression fittings, one for 3/8 hard line and the other for the nylon. The fix kit is about 18" long...




I has also purchased some 3/8 compression to -6AN fittings off eBay... but making AN lines is more money.... so I'll try the nlyon lines first... I did however but some heavy heat shrink tubing to increase any abrasion or puncture resistance of the nylon ....

[Jdubs71]

Thanks for the info guys. I had ordered most of the stuff for running ss braided line and russell fittings so I'm into it quite a bit now, but I will still look into using hardline for the main supply run from the vette regulator to the fuel rail. I'm sure I could sell the russell stuff easily if I decide to go another route.

Wasted Income, that boxed in frame looks sweet.
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[solidaxel]

Interesting, thanks !