Hard Plastic vacuum lines
Hard Plastic vacuum lines
Like most of us with old Fox Mustangs, I have a cracked hard plastic vacuum line. The plastic is Nylon, which is fairly flexible when new but loses pliability with age. Anyway, I found a great replacement source for those who want to keep their engine bay looking as factory as possible. McMaster Carr sells nylon tubing that is vacuum rated to 28 inches of mercury in a variety of colors that will match up very well with the original Ford tubes. The brand new stuff is flexible and does not crack. It is about 7 bucks a roll of 25 feet, so a couple of guys can split an order. Get the color you want in 4 mm / 5/32 inch diameter. They have yellow, blue, green, red, black, and white. You can form it a bit with a heat gun and taking your time not to melt it fully or kinking it by trying to bend it too tight. You can make the ends fit tight by heating up right to the melt point and then pushing the end back a bit with the flat blade of a screwdriver to make a small "bulb" at the ends which fit snugly in the rubber connectors. The match in colors is much better than I ever found at the auto parts stores, and the nylon tubing is higher quality - even made in the USA! PM me if you need more info. McMaster Carr has great service too - stuff ships same day most of the time, no questions on returns, etc. They aren't the cheapest place but great / fast service and an amazing inventory makes the slight cost increase worth it.
Build #873. Red / Opal cloth. 105 K miles. Original owner, bought from Colley Ford in Glendora CA.
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93Cobra#2771
- Posts: 407
- Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 2:21 pm
- Location: Tennessee
Re: Hard Plastic vacuum lines
I've used weed eater fuel line for this in the past. My local auto parts store had the fuel line in different sizes in stock. Not sure how long it will last but most likely it will last pretty long since it is designed for fuel & we are pushing air thru it.
2002 Corvette Z06
2000 Saleen 00-0134 (SOLD)
1993 LX 5.0 Coupe Reef Blue (SOLD)
1997 Saleen #59(SOLD)
93 Cobra #418 (SOLD)
2000 Saleen SC281 Convert. (SOLD)
93 Cobra #3398 Black/Gray(SOLD)
93 Cobra #4019 Red/Gray(SOLD)
2003 Cobra Convert. (SOLD)
1996 Saleen (SOLD)
1989 Saleen Convert. #80(SOLD)
2000 Saleen 00-0134 (SOLD)
1993 LX 5.0 Coupe Reef Blue (SOLD)
1997 Saleen #59(SOLD)
93 Cobra #418 (SOLD)
2000 Saleen SC281 Convert. (SOLD)
93 Cobra #3398 Black/Gray(SOLD)
93 Cobra #4019 Red/Gray(SOLD)
2003 Cobra Convert. (SOLD)
1996 Saleen (SOLD)
1989 Saleen Convert. #80(SOLD)
Re: Hard Plastic vacuum lines
Yes, that should be durable. How is the color match? The stuff from McMaster Carr is great, the only issue are the numbering if you look that close - the stuff Ford used was blank, whereas this has a manufacturers part number on it. I am very happy with it though, it has worked out well as I have done my sensor refresh project.226gpd wrote:I've used weed eater fuel line for this in the past. My local auto parts store had the fuel line in different sizes in stock. Not sure how long it will last but most likely it will last pretty long since it is designed for fuel & we are pushing air thru it.
Build #873. Red / Opal cloth. 105 K miles. Original owner, bought from Colley Ford in Glendora CA.