Jump to content

Fluid lines


Recommended Posts

Well, it's annual season at the hangar which means I'm 18 days into having my airplane as far apart as she's been in the 25 years I've known her. My IA came out yesterday and started checking the boxes on the checklist as he followed up on my wrench work.

He dug through the logbooks as I was wrestling with something or the other.

"How old are these oil cooler lines?"  

Uh, let's see. Pretty sure I changed them. 

"Well it's your handwriting in here that says you fire-sleeved them and installed them... 17 years ago."

Holy moly, time flies. 

They're the old style rubber hoses with separate fire sleeves. 

I'm debating pulling the trigger to install "forever hoses" on my "forever plane." Question for those who have: Do the newfangled PTFE hoses (the brown hoses in case my verbiage isn't correct) fit an M20C? My specific concerns are the oil cooler lines where they attach to the accessory housing, and the sweeping 180 turn for one fuel line that connects to the fuel flow transducer that's mounted to the left footwell. 

I'll be sending a few quote emails to Heber and PHT. Has anyone had any luck with a Parker Store? There's one less than a mile off the route to the hangar. 

Thanks.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, TX-Champ said:

Also try Gann Aviation for hoses - fast turnaround and good prices.  

It's always best to send the hose shop your old ones, if possible, so you get an exact copy....

 

https://www.gannaviation.com/hose-production

Crap, I forgot about Gann. I can drive to his shop! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Normally all hoses are changed during an overhaul. I’d probably go with the cheaper separate fire sleeve which should easily last to the next round.  I was surprised how much they were from AERO last year. I think they really jacked the prices lately, almost $525 for two hoses iirc. Last time I use their services and next time I’ll be calling around and getting a quote ahead of time. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ordered a complete set of oil and fuel hoses, already firesleeved, at annual last year. I can look up the name, but they were in Oklahoma. Then I called LASAR for a quote, he called back and said that I'd already called his supplier . . . . Seems it was almost an AMU for everything, but I had to exchange one hose that was about an inch too short.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an A&P I made my own for the oil cooler a few years back just for the bulk hose price and the set of tooling. Cheap it was! 

All A&Ps have the skill set but many don't want to use it. 

Slid on my fire sleeve and away we go with new black hoses. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, cliffy said:

As an A&P I made my own for the oil cooler a few years back just for the bulk hose price and the set of tooling. Cheap it was! 

All A&Ps have the skill set but many don't want to use it. 

Slid on my fire sleeve and away we go with new black hoses. 

I've been making fuel lines and oil cooler lines under supervision since I started flying.  It's really easy, the tools are cheap.  I guess I'm a CB, but I can't imagine an amu to replace hoses.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Normally all hoses are changed during an overhaul. I’d probably go with the cheaper separate fire sleeve which should easily last to the next round.  I was surprised how much they were from AERO last year. I think they really jacked the prices lately, almost $525 for two hoses iirc. Last time I use their services and next time I’ll be calling around and getting a quote ahead of time. 

I thought the new teflon hoses didn’t have a lifespan? Although they might be more expensive?
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:


I thought the new teflon hoses didn’t have a lifespan? Although they might be more expensive?

That’s my understanding. And looks like a slightly more compact profile than the rubber hoses with a fire sleeve. A little space freed up FWF might be nice! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/18/2020 at 5:26 AM, Pasturepilot said:

Do the newfangled PTFE hoses (the brown hoses in case my verbiage isn't correct)

We just got a couple of new fuel lines, for a transducer installation.   These new lines are Teflon, but with a stainless steel braid and they also have the orange fire sleeve over them.  Maybe this was a belts and suspenders thing?  These don't seem to be any different in outer diameter than the older hose it replaced.  I just looked up the order...they are Aeroquip 666 hose with Firesleeve.  From the outside, because of the fire sleeve, they look exactly the same as all the other lines.  Do these, or the brown ones you mentioned, not need the fire sleeve?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Ross Taylor said:

We just got a couple of new fuel lines, for a transducer installation.   These new lines are Teflon, but with a stainless steel braid and they also have the orange fire sleeve over them.  Maybe this was a belts and suspenders thing?  These don't seem to be any different in outer diameter than the older hose it replaced.  I just looked up the order...they are Aeroquip 666 hose with Firesleeve.  From the outside, because of the fire sleeve, they look exactly the same as all the other lines.  Do these, or the brown ones you mentioned, not need the fire sleeve?

The one's I'm talking about have an integral fire sleeve, and a slightly smaller outer diameter, if I'm reading correctly. 

https://specialtyhose.com/index_htm_files/Brown Silicone Firesleeve Hose eng bulletin.pdf

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Teflon is chemically resilient and resists expansion under pressure, so it's been used for flexible brake lines in race cars for decades (because the expansion resistance allows better modulation of the brake pedal).  It also fails easily if nicked, so it essentially always has steel braided armor on it.   The aeroquip stuff then adds the firesleeve as a silicone coating on the steel braiding.    Good stuff and checks all the boxes except that I don't know if there's a way to cut them to length and make them in the field like you can other stuff.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.