Vacuum Hose Sizes, Total Lengths, and Sources?

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 29 Sep 2010, 07:34

Jablackburn previously posted that he needed 3.5mm, 4mm, 6mm, and 8mm hoses to replaced all the vacuum hoses in his 850 (turbo).

Does anyone know if these are the same for the 98 - 00 V/S/70 (non-turbo)?

What quantities of each size are needed in order to replace all the vacuum hoses?

None of the auto parts stores in town have metric hoses. Advance Auto Parts has:

5/64" (1.9844mm)
5/32" (3.9688mm)
7/64" (2.7781mm)
7/32" (5.5563mm)
9/64" (3.5719mm)
9/32" (7.1438mm)

The 5/32" could probably substitute for 4mm but I hesitate to use, for instance, 9/64" for 3.5mm since it is slightly larger and may fit loosely. Interestingly, I notice that IPD lists 9/32" for 7mm (larger at 7.1438mm actual) and 1/8" for 3.5mm (smaller at 3.175mm actual).

What vacuum hose sizes (and quantities) do you usually use and where do you get them?

Post by **thecheat** » 29 Sep 2010, 09:13

+1 here, I would like this info as well. My hoses all need to be replaced and I would like to know what diameter to get and how much to do all of them.

rrochell8 · Post by **rrochell8** » 29 Sep 2010, 10:24

stylinmotors.com They have kits to fit most all Volvos.

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 29 Sep 2010, 11:01

Thanks for the sylinmotors tip. I had heard of them before.

I'd still like to know the necessary lengths of each size so that I can price the rubber hoses and compare it to the stylinmotors $59 for the silicone versions. That seems pretty expensive to me. If you needed 20 feet (and I am pretty sure you wouldn't need that much) that is $3 per foot, not including shipping

.

t5ftw · Post by **t5ftw** » 29 Sep 2010, 20:19

I am curious about this kit too. So, their hoses are actually metric-sized? How is the quality if anyone used it before.
I heard the kit include some kind of zip tie for clamping. Is this good enough for the purpose? Any other cheaper but good quality alternative?

Post by **thecheat** » 29 Sep 2010, 20:25

I would like to go all silicone but I've heard of some hoses collapsing under vacuum. I may just buy a roll of each of the rubber hose in those sizes and skip the silicone and the uncertainty with that.

Any evidence on the problem with silicone hose?

Post by **jblackburn** » 29 Sep 2010, 20:34

I don't see the point in going for the silicone hose. The rubber lines on my car have already stood up to 12 years of use; I seriously doubt I won't have run this car into the ground in another 12 years. They're great cars and all...but 25 years old? Probably no.

The rubber hoses are much cheaper (Calvin, yes, the "American" sizes work just fine - I put small little ring clamps on some of the looser ones - especially the intake manifold and turbo control valve hoses), and like I said, will probably stand up just fine.

The '98 has a SAS system; there's a long purple line from the valve up by the radiator to the SAS valve at the back of the car. That was one I had some trouble finding the right size for - as the elbows are a much bigger size than the line itself - I think it's like the line on the PCV system if you've done/remember that one. You probably don't need to replace that one, but the elbows were starting to go on mine and I was trying to chase down a pesky O2 code.

I don't know the NA engines well enough to give you an answer on how much you'll need - I do know that the differences between a 98 and 99 configurations between a T5 have quite a variety of different vacuum lines, however.

This might be a question you could defer to the folks at Volvospeed.

Post by **Matty Moo** » 29 Sep 2010, 22:02

My local ACE has a large selection of automotive vacuum hose. Most of what is on my Platinum is from there.

I'm with him. If you can get 10+ years out of the stock rubber hoses why pay $35+ more for silicone, especially on a NA that doesn't have nearly the lines the turbo has.

C@lvin · Post by **C@lvin** » 30 Sep 2010, 06:44

Even if you go silicone, you still need the rubber elbows which are already the high failure point, right? So that seems to kind of defeat the purpose. I am inclined to stick with the rubber hoses......of course, they don't come in all those cool colors that make the engine run better

t5ftw · Post by **t5ftw** » 30 Sep 2010, 12:07

Those colors too flashy for my taste. Besides, it doesn't go well with my dirty engine bay. I would rather go with black silicone. So, is the decoration the only benefit of silicone or is there something else?