*DO IT* Changing rubber hoses $2058 every 5 years

[Rudi Venter]

I own 3 Rotax powered aircraft, 2 of them with engines older than 5 years and I have replaced all the hoses on them at 5 years. Looking at the condition of the hoses I removed I was NOT sorry I replaced them!

It is something I would not skip....

Fly safe,
Rudi

[ussyorktown]

My airplanes "mother" is changing them now but tell us what did the pipes look like after 5 years? I've read (here?) that low lead gasoline really tears into the tubing.

[drseti]

On mine, the outsides of all the hoses looked perfectly normal. The insides were definitely showing abrasion and wear.

[Rudi Venter]

Yes, the outsides looked fine but the inside not so good, looked "worn" with soft rubber bits coming off in some places. Also once removed I squeezed and bent them a bit and some tubes (oil) developed nasty cracks, maybe only surface cracks but still......

I recently changed hoses on a low hour engine (11 hours) that stood for about 8 years, inhibited in a crate. The hoses were rock hard and brittle!

BTW, when I change the hoses on a Rotax 912 I also change all the O-rings on the cooling system and in the carbs, they also deteriorate.