So im gonna replace most of the old rubber/silicone hoses in the engine and im wondering about the vacuum hoses especially. Now i can understand that i need reinforced silicone hoses for systems such as Engine Coolant and fuel lines and such..but what about the vacuum system...how much pressure or abscence of pressure is needed before the hoses colapses in on itself?

I noticed the old vacuumlines are made of harder rubber than the Silicone hoses i received but there isnt any reinforcement in the old ones either....Could i use for instance 3mm Autobahn88 hoses on the vacuumsystem (if anyone else has them aswell)? Ref: The blue hose in the pic, the yellow one is 4mm

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i1...6/DSC00039.jpg

 

It may not be a big difference, but 3.5mm hose I believe is what you need for the majority of the lines.

 

Personally I am not a fan of silicone vacuum lines.. they stretch and tear and melt easier than the regular rubber style lines in my experience.

 

+1

silicon always breaks where it needs to stretch over the nipple.

the vacuum lines can just be plain rubber, anything with coolant needs the reinforcing in it. or to make it simple, coolant hoses need to be coolant hoes, and oil hoses need to be oil hoses....

 

Thanks for the tips guys! Ill look for some vacuumlines made out of a harder type of rubber than the normal silicone ones on Ebay. But if i still decide too use the silicone i have maybe reinforcing the vacuum lines with electrical tape or something else that will stick and support the bend, would it help? Concerning the size question in the first post...if going down to 3mm isnt an issue then going up to 4mm wouldnt be either would it?

 

Vacuum hose has thicker walls so it won't collapse.
Nothing you put on the outside of a thin wall tube is going to prevent it sucking closed.
Regular vac hose is easily available at most auto parts stores and is the correct part for the job...so why not use it and save the candy colored **** for something that doesn't matter.

 

I never had silicone hose melt or crack. I did have some collapse under vacuum (Autozone stuff) and it my car chirp like a bird. All my cars run good silicone hose from Mazdatrix or Hosetechniques. They have thick walled hose that is well made.

 

^Yeah, I don't get it. Silicone hose is very flexible AND heat resistant. It sticks well to/stretches over the nipples and is still plenty flexible and showing no signs of wear after years in my engine bay. I don't know what brand people bought that rips/cracks over a nipple. Must be made in china? Regular hose from the auto parts store cracks at the ends and get's very hard/brittle in a short time. I've had many rubber caps & hoses blow off nipples but no silicone has failed me yet (let go of the nipple). IIRC, I got mine from hose techniques years ago.

You don't have to buy bright colors either.

 

We bought the NA kit in red and the Tii kit in silver from HiPerformanceStore and was very happy with both kits. It bends nicely, has held up well with no splits, tears or any other kind of failure for several years. And since it is an old Mazda we have removed and replaced the hoses several times and they are still supple and seal tightly.

They provide plenty of hose in all the different sizes you need and there was enough of the silver that I also used it on the 18 year olds 91 MR2 turbo. Granted the Toyota has very few vacuum lines compared to the Mazda but we have all the emissions intact. The silver hose is clean looking and unlike the black rubber auto parts store stays clean and clean looking. Here's the MR2's engine bay where we used the leftover silver hose from the Tii kit.



If you really want to go the anti-Clokker route and go with candy colors, then you want to check out Hose Candy!



Actually, if you're a compulsive tinker like Clokker the Hose Candy easy disconnects could be a boon!

 

good info i think ill have to get some but in blue

 

Anyone have experience with the non-reinforced silicone hoses from Autobahn88?

 

I bought Silicone hose kit and it works fine.