[Sephent]

so this is just to try to simplify the whole replacing vacuum lines. I have read through a lot of posts and just wanted to make sure i got everything when i do this since i only have one car and dont want to have to re-hook the stock lines to go get something i missed..

so i replace all the hard lines with 5/32" fuel hoses (i prefer the fuel hose over normal vacuum hoses. was thinking 30ft should be plenty since it is $1 or less per ft. unless someone knows how much ft is needed for sure). but get a little bit of 7/32" hose for the WasteGate and a 7/32" to 5/32" reducer. i saw someone mentioning using a 7/32" hose to connect to the turbo, is this needed, or will the 5/32" work? also, would the stock T connectors work with the 5/32" hoses or should i just play it safe and get new 5/32" T connectors since i am going to get a reducer anyways?

i think that should be all needed for a vacuum line replacement.. if there are any other connectors i should be getting, please let me know my vacuum setup is for pcm controlled boost (fm wga) with aftermarket bov.

 

[bigben]

It sounds like you're on the right track. You will definitely use those reducers to step down or up in certain places. Just do 1 line at a time. I personally don't like fuel line because it will dry rot eventually being exposed to all the engine bay heat all of the time. I used "thick walled" silicone for my vacuum lines. That stuff will never collapse. I know that regular vacuum hose is kinda thin.

I used 3mm and 6mm I.D. thick walled silicone vacuum hose.
3mm = 0.11" which is close to 5/32 (0.15") $2/ft
6mm = 0.23" which is close to 7/32 (0.21") $3/ft

Here is where I get mine from. It's a site I used for some parts back when I had an Evo8. They're out of NY and they ship quickly if it's in stock. It does cost more than the fuel line, but it's much better quality.
STM: SILICONE VACUUM LINE | 3MM | 4MM | 6MM

 

[Sephent]

hmmm thats not too bad.. i might just go with the thick walled silicone instead.. i have a local shop that specializes in hoses so hopefully they carry the silicone ones. i bought my fuel line hoses from them for my oil catch can. any idea of how many feet id need? and probably not very much of the 7/32" just because all i need it for is to connect the 5/32 to the wga

 

[Sephent]

ok so i picked up some 5/32" hose and a tiny bit of 7/32". the only 7/32" i could find was basically windshield washer fluid hose.. so i am going to need to order some good 7/32" hoses.. i had a question though. i noticed about half the vacuum hoses were 7/32" and half were 5/32". should i try to match the hose sizes as close to possible to the stock lines? i am guessing that i should.. if so then i need to order more 7/32" than i planned.. and also i noticed theres a line that connects to the CAI and goes back to a T coming off the bottom of the turbo and it looks like a 7/32" hose with 3/4" connections.. so ill have to figure something out for that..

 

[Sephent]

i finally found some 7/32" hose locally and before i hooked it up, i wanted to actually see how close it is to the stock lines because i had a weird feeling maybe the plastic is just thicker on those lines and they are all the same... well i looked at one that was previously broken and saw that the big looking lines are actually 5/32" and the smaller (red, yellow, and i think 1 more) are smaller than that.. so i just went with 5/32" hose on everything. used vaseline and a heat gun to get the 5/32" hoses over the TIP sensor and the nipple on my hks bov piping (the wastegate nipple was easier to get the 5/32" on than people made it sound). now i have about all my vacuum hoses replaced besides the one that connects to my CAI and uses a 3/4" connector.. might just leave that one alone because i dont want to try using a 7/32" hose on it.. and i can not find hose reducers for the life of me.. online or locally..

 

[underSRTarmor]

It sounds like you're on the right track. You will definitely use those reducers to step down or up in certain places. Just do 1 line at a time. I personally don't like fuel line because it will dry rot eventually being exposed to all the engine bay heat all of the time. I used "thick walled" silicone for my vacuum lines. That stuff will never collapse. I know that regular vacuum hose is kinda thin.

I used 3mm and 6mm I.D. thick walled silicone vacuum hose.
3mm = 0.11" which is close to 5/32 (0.15") $2/ft
6mm = 0.23" which is close to 7/32 (0.21") $3/ft

Here is where I get mine from. It's a site I used for some parts back when I had an Evo8. They're out of NY and they ship quickly if it's in stock. It does cost more than the fuel line, but it's much better quality.
STM: SILICONE VACUUM LINE | 3MM | 4MM | 6MM

Funny Ive used the same fuel hose rated for 58 PSI for the past 2 years works great for me. Past 8 mths havent driven much but before that i drove it all the time.

 

[Sephent]

yeah i ALMOST bought the 7/32" from that site. seems to be the best place to get high quality silicone hose.. but i found out baxters auto parts here locally sells thick walled silicone hose in that size for about 45 cents a foot.. as opposed to $3 a foot

 

[BoostedYEEP]

Hey, you probably changed all your vacuum lines since then, but could you give me a checklist of everything you bought and used so I could change all my stock hard lines to the silicone ones? I'm overboosting right now and the rubber fitting that went into the top port of the turbo broke off the nipple. I didn't want to have to go through every hose to make sure they are all fine so I was going to replace the whole thing.

My car is still stock right now so nothing aftermarket. Just give me the run down of which sizes and how many feet I should get to replace it all. I'll probably make another thread throughout the process since I'm having a hard time finding a detailed installation process of the factory line setup. If anyone could just chime in and assist me that would be cool. Also how many T connectors I would need.

 

[E85_FTW]

i did this somewhat. made my own bracket for the solinoids. ran the lines hidden a little more.

 

[BoostedYEEP]

i did this somewhat. made my own bracket for the solinoids. ran the lines hidden a little more.

Do you remember how many ft of hoses you used for the different sizes? I kind of want to buy enough to do this once.

 

[s3*ps2]

Old thread. Have been google searching.

Just want to be clear... fuel line is fine for using as boost/vacuum line correct?

Read on a couple forums that people say it "rots" or it will collapse during vacuum. Not sure how that can be since it is thick as hell and less flexible as silicone vacuum lines. Plus it has high heat resistance.

Plus it is readily available everywhere.

 

[Simon.Starkie]

My stock, plastic PCV hose broke in 2008 when I was trying to bend it during installation.
So I replaced it with some gas line hose I already had.
The day-to-day temperatures inside the PCV line are high.
Eventually the gas-line PCV hose started to fail. It was soft and spongy.
I replaced it with genuine PCV hose from NAPA.
The NAPA PCV hose was much stouter than the gas line.
I had to use a hacksaw to cut it to length instead of the usual wire cutter pliers normally used for cutting gas line.
It's been perfect for the last 9 years.

ps
All the other lines are OEM stock. They fit. They last. Except for the rubber connectors which sometime fail.

 

[EricTker]

i did this somewhat. made my own bracket for the solinoids. ran the lines hidden a little more.

Thank you for this comment you made!! I've been struggling with my vacuum lines a lot. To the point where I'm starting to lose motivation to get off my ass and go do it because I just can't figure it out.

I've always hated the way vacuum lines look. The SRT4 is the worst as far as ugly vacuum lines and it didn't even occur to me... Relocate the solenoid and reroute/replace all vacuum lines in an effort to hide them as much as possible. BRILLIANT! 🤯