MTBE in gas, fuel line deterioration

Michael D. Porter mdporter at rt66.com
Sat Jan 9 05:25:57 GMT 1999


Chris Conlon wrote:
> 
> So what I'm wondering is, should I worry that today's pump gas might
> eat up rubber fuel lines extra quick? Would this only apply to "older"
> cars, and if so, how old would "older" be? 10 years, 20 years?

This came up on another list a while back, and the "new" additive wasn't
mentioned by name, but I presume they meant MBTE. Fuels using this
additive are in use in Albuquerque, but not in the rest of the state, so
I'm fairly certain that its use is restricted to those places with
ongoing smog problems indentified as such by the EPA, which would
include CA. It is simply an oxygenator, like alcohol. 

However, to answer your question, yes, I've heard the same thing about
older cars, but the break point for older, if I recall the message from
the other list correctly, was something like 1991. At any rate,
silicone-lined hose would likely take care of the problem.

Cheers.



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