02 October 2019

Not So Simple

The tank filler hose I mentioned before is not a straight length of "rubber" hose.

It's got a gentle 's' curve to it.


I harvested this one from the new-to-me tank I bought just to get this part.

Because GM just cannot make things easy...

Despite being marked 1"...


It's 1" at the filler neck and 1-3/8" at the gas tank.

The captive hose clamps are even different sizes:

At the tank.  30-45mm translates from Godless Metric to 1.18" to 1.77"
At the filler neck.  25-40mm translates from Godless Metric to 0.98" to 1.57"

What GM has managed is to make it nearly impossible to use standard fuel line!

Well, not impossible.  Some 1-3/8" with a REALLY cranked down hose clamp at the filler neck would probably work just fine.

This problem is a double whammy.

First it's the mother-fucking greenies who have managed to crank down the emissions standards so tight that the permeability of the "rubber" to fuel vapors matters.

That's why this little length of hose cost $100 back when GM still had some.  The GM6289M printed on the side refers to a specification over permeability.

I am pretty sure that C.A.R.B. is responsible for this specification.

The second whammy is GM making the tank and filler neck different diameters.  That tends to lock the owner into the GM part or nothing when the "rubber" eventually deteriorates.

GM6289M has been supplanted by GMW15349.  I am willing to bet that some stupid law or treaty makes it illegal to manufacture new parts to the old spec because GLOBAL WARMING!  Or some such asinine reason.

The stocks of this part got slammed but hard with the recall over the fuel pump's outlet cracking at the bend and spraying the underside of the car...  Mechanics under recall tended to replace the filler neck and the crossover tube as a matter of course "just in case" and besides, "We're not the ones paying for it, Corporate is."

If you combine the massive demand and an inability to make the part like it was...  You get no parts from GM.  You also get no parts from the aftermarket later on, because who can afford the engineering on an ever fluid permeability standard?

1 comment:

  1. Oh, that sooo sucks.

    BITD, at the boat shop, I remember one mechanic heating up 1" fuel line in hot water to make it fit on slightly larger than 1" fittings, like you could find with Volvo inboard/outboard systems.

    But 3/8" difference? Doubt hot water could make that stretch.

    You have been hosed by GM, but big time. Hmm.. Wonder if McMaster Carr makes a 1" to 1 3/8" fitting. Of course, that would require both 1" and 1 3/8" hose.

    Damn, nothing's easy, is it?

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