An extensive search in as many classic parts catalogs as I can find reveals that …
I can not buy new or reproduction fuel filler neck hoses for my 1979 Chevy short stepside pickup.
They are age cracked, leak during fill-up , and smell of fumes when parked .
A very tight, quick double S deletes straight generic fuel hose as a possibility.
My idea to improvise a repair is to get some flexible aluminum tubing at Home Depot. ( much like the dryer vent tubing ).
Do youall happen to know how gasoline will react with aluminum ?
Will it leach something from the aluminum that will remain in the fuel supply ?
Will it eat through in short order ?
Do youall have other ‘‘alternate repair’’ ideas. ?
Wow! I can’t believe that LMC Truck Parts Catalog wouldn’t have a replacement filler neck hose for that truck; I would think they’d carry just about anything under the sun for older trucks, of any make or body-style. If they don’t have it, the only other thing I can think of is trying to get one special-ordered through a Chevy dealer. As far as aluminum reacting with the gasoline, well, I would tend to doubt that, since many engines today are either all aluminum or at least have aluminum cylinder heads. I hope this will give you some helpful ideas, but I’d say also check with a mechanic for a professional opinion.
Wow! I can’t believe that LMC Truck Parts Catalog wouldn’t have a replacement filler neck hose for that truck; I would think they’d carry just about anything under the sun for older trucks, of any make or body-style. If they don’t have it, the only other thing I can think of is trying to get one special-ordered through a Chevy dealer. As far as aluminum reacting with the gasoline, well, I would tend to doubt that, since many engines today are either all aluminum or at least have aluminum cylinder heads. I hope this will give you some helpful ideas, but I’d say also check with a mechanic for a professional opinion.
Whoops, didn’t mean to post twice, a little glitch with posting it the 1st time. Anyway, LMC or a dealer for options on where to look for the filler hose, best I can say.
LMC
Manes
JC Whitney
and dealer’s n.o.s. obsolete sources
= no go.
LMC has for the fleet-side box, not the step-side box
I phoned them just to double check that the catalog might be an incomplete, mere representation of their possible inventory.
but alas…
Aluminum or stainless steel tubing would be fine. I’d be more concerned about what it mates to. Will this go directly to the tank or to another tube which leads to the tank?
The flexible tubing that is used for clothes dryers is actually aluminized plastic and is very thin. I would not use it if you can find it in your gas filler tube size. I’d use a seamless aluminum or stainless steel tube. You can get it bent to the correct form.
I bought some 3" flexible aluminum tubing and used it to fix the venting on my boat. It seems solid enough, but I’m sure I wouldn’t trust it to carry fluids with leaking. Whatever material you find I’d test it to be sure it won’t leak before installing it in the truck.
An industrial supply house might have something for you, especially if they can make up custom hoses.
Sorry you’re not having any luck with LMC or dealer. Uncle Turbo has a good idea there, though, if you can get an industrial supply house to custom-bend a section of aluminum or steel pipe to the shape of your original filler hose. Then you could use something like a radiator hose and cut a couple of pieces to make “end cuffs” to clamp to either end of the metal pipe, to attach it between the fuel tank and the filler neck.
What about having a muffler shop bend a section of exhaust tubing and then connnect it with very short lengths of hose and clamps?
My brother in law has a pair of trucks from this era with step sides that I’ve done work on but simply can’t remember exactly what the pipe looks like. Whether the above suggestion would work or not I have no idea.
(No, he’s attached to them and won’t sell them.)
You might consider checking with CTC Auto Ranch in Denton, TX. They have acres of old stuff out there and may have a good used part. Hope that helps.
I was thinking on the same line as ok4450, thinking maybe having a piece of exhaust tubing bent to fit. Another option would be take the old hose to an auto parts and see if they had a radiator hose that fit the size and configuration.
However you end up doing it, be sure there are rubber “flex points” in the configuration. Otherwise, the metal will fatigue and tear rapidly. If you’re lucky, it’ll tear the hose(s), otherwise, it may damage the tank and/or the body.
Thanks for all the ideas, I’ll print this and refer to it as I tinker with the truck.
‘’ industrial supply house’’ sounds simple on the surface…
but not in this small town, Albuquerque is 140 miles one way. But for a classic, keep it forever truck, I should plan ahead for the next trip over there and look up W.W.Grainger’s address.
I drove it Saturday to the home depot for a new pellet stove after being parked for six months. Added just 10 gallons of gas so as not to have leaks. It didn’t even leak during fill up so it’s not imperative to repair asap.
Also added a whopping 2 lbs of air to the tires
How does a vehicle cover get tears in it just sitting there ?
Is there a way to take a newer hose line (say from and existing F150 or something in a junk yard), cut out a section of hose (enough to cover the split, with say an inch over), use a gasoline impervious glue, and clamp it in place? It may not hold forever, but it might make the vehicle safe to drive until you can find a suitable fix.
What is the size of the filler hose and breather hose? There was a recent post similar to this, and one suggestion was to use marine gas line and cut to fit. They come in sizes from 1/4" feed line to 3" fill line. This site sells by the foot: http://marineengineparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page487.html
I have a couple of classics I’m working on, and one of them is getting a fuel fill relocation. The though of the fuel fill in the rear bumper scares the h-e-double-toothpicks out of me ('62 Thunder-chicken). I was going to relocate the fuel fill to the top of the rear fender with a race-style flip-top. I suspect I’ll need custom fill hose to make it work.
I’ll look there, thanks.
The filler is 1 1/2 " dia.
The vent 3/4 ".
A very tight , quick S from a forward facing neck to the tank immediately below.
Two tanks, one on each side. The filler doors face forward on the stepside rear fenders.
I’ve always loved those old Chevy stepsides…out of curiosity I did some Google searching too. I found an online supplier called Year One (try searching Year One Chevy Truck Parts) that seems to list a filler hose for a '79 stepside, but just for the right hand tank. I also came across a message board with a poster who said that Napa sells sections of fuel hose with a 90 formed into it, and that a couple of these can be fabbed into a complete part with some barbed nipples. Hope this helps.
