Fuel Injector Hose Tips

This was posted on the Alfa Digest by MAARC member Michael Tiefenback. The info has been posted on the MAARC site as well, although the parts info mainly pertains to the Hampton Roads gang. There are some good tips on replacing injector hoses on Spiders and 164’s:

My local "TAE Autoparts" (I believe it’s not a chain, just a local shop)stocks the "Bosch 7x3" 7 mm high pressure fuel injection hose for about $3/ft. I just purchased 8 ft. of it a couple of months ago when my stock ran out as I was replacing some hose on a 164. It _is_ out there. This same hose is used on the Bosch LJet Spiders. The fuel hose clamps, however, I have to get from the local NAPA store, and are probably 5/16" SAE clamps but work just fine. When I pulled the injectors from our ‘86 Graduate rail, they came off manually with a bit of heave and ho. You might get better response if you were to heat the hose in place, but there are obvious problems with gasoline residue. Or use a scissors and pare the hose down in a place to thin it out and make it stretchier for easier removal. The one thing I did not do was risk scoring the metal underneath. I really didn’t want hairline paths for the fuel to flow along. It was pointed out to me that Bosch/Alfa did not use clamps on the hose when they installed it in the LJet application. So after some thought and consideration of my own, I simply pushed the hose back on with the original little dished buttons (I didn’t trash them when I pulled everything apart) and, what do you know? nothing leaked. It’s been happy for months now. No gas smell, no leakage I can detect. Your mileage may vary.

If anyone wants some of this hose and can’t get it locally, contact me and we’ll work something out. I drive by the place often enough and if you want to pay for postage, the packing envelope, and the hose, I’ll probably be able to get some for you within a couple of weeks. Even if you only get a meter of hose, the net cost should still be under $22/meter, and if you get more to share or keep in your stash, it only gets better.

Michael (mtiefenback1(AT)cox.net)