6 replies to this topic

[pikey7]

I've been advised by the people at SFS that I shouldn't replace the hard plastic hose from the brake servo to the manifold with silicon stuff. The problem is, I've cut mine to verify the size before I asked them! (doh!)

I've found the hose on minisports site, but it includes the fittings & valve, and I refuse to pay £21 for 2 foot of plastic pipe!

Does anyone know where to get it?

[DaveCoxon]

I've used 8mm EFI fuel hose with great success for many years. I don't reccomend non-efi hose; this'll probably collapse. EFI stuff is pretty rigid however.

[dklawson]

The Mk1/2 servo hose has been NLA for a while. One method of getting around this is to buy the correct size (inside diameter) heater hose. By itself, that hose would collapse. Find a long coil spring that will slip inside the heater hose and cut it off a little shorter than the desired length of vacuum hose. Insert the spring into the heater hose and you have a cheap, easily replaced solution that won't collapse.

[miniboo]

look in the for sale section as there are a couple of people breaking mini's at the moment.

Or miidaves has a fairly large stock of stuff

[Dan]

Clicky

Here you go, vacuum servo hose. £4.40 / metre, use the fittings from your existing piece and some jubilee clips.

Or you can do as I have done on a few motors and use some of this to connect to the actual servo and a spare engine block oil feed pipe as a rigid connection from the manifold itself as the banjo fitting on that is the same as the vacuum servo one. Saves some hassle as the outside diameter of the rubber vacuum hose is quite large and it gets in the way around the carb, using the oil feed pipe cut off to a few inches long with the vacuum servo hose slipped onto the end of it and clipped moves the large diameter section further away from the engine.

There is actually silicon vacuum servo hose available if you know where to look, I'll try to track some down for you but I think you'll be spending more than you would for the OE unit.

[pikey7]

Thanks for the link Dan, I didn't even think of looking there!

The SFS guys told me that unless the hose is fuel and oil safe, AND rated for vacuum, then I shouldn't use it on a "safety critical" item. I know the servo doesn't do a lot, but I think I'd better listen!

If you can find that silicon stuff, that would be great! (that nasty black hose won't match my new natty yellow ones!)

[dklawson]

Strictly speaking, the servo hose isn't related to safety. Your brakes will work fine without the assist, they'll just take more pedal effort. The safety side of things will come when you freak out because your vacuum hose ruptures and the engine dies from being way too lean.