this car sucks(vacuum line, group purchase?)

[Brett Dikeman]

I've got a bunch of vacuum leaks...among them, the ECU moisture trap.
Nosing around with a poor-man's stethoscope, not only does the trap
leak(I haven't figured out how on earth the trap is leaking, but it
is), but so does the hose between the trap and hard plastic line
hose.  It is very amusing; turn the car off, and with the kickpanel
removed, you can actually hear the vacuum release through that
section of line.  If the hose in the kickpanel is in this tough
shape, god knows what kind of shape the rest of the vacuum lines are
in.

I found what -appeared- to be new/good condition vacuum line hanging
around on the shelf...substituted it in place of the old vacuum line.
Nope...it leaks in various places almost the continuous length -as
well-; running my kludged steth up and down the hose, I kept hearing
very small leaks.  Only the trap->ecu hose is completely silent.

Viton hose is most certainly the ultimate replacement; its tough,
oil/heat resistant, and damn near guaranteed to outlast anything else
out there.

The catch is, Viton hose isn't cheap.  The size used on the
ECU<->trap<->plastic line seems to be 4mm ID/8mm OD/2mm wall(I
believe there is a second size as well, used for one or two other
things.)  Closest I could find in McMaster was 4/6/1, and it is
anywhere from $2.60-$3 per foot.

That sounds like a lot...and it is...except that, for the ECU, one
needs all of at most 2 feet.  It is doing all the rest of the lines
which will be the expensive proposition.  There is something to be
said, however, for never having to worry about a vacuum line in the
car again.

I think I can do better than McMaster; I'm checking with a friend who
has wholesale connections(if you know of cheaper prices than the
above McMaster prices, let me know.  And no...silicone is NOT an
option, its temp rating isn't any better than regular rubber line and
it is NOT oil resistant AT ALL, in fact, it is completely
inappropriate for environments with oil, which is why I scratch my
head bigtime when I see all this silicone-boost-hose nonsense.)
We're looking at 4/8/2mm, 60A durometer Viton(or similar.)

Who else would be interested in jumping in on a group purchase of
this stuff for a quantity sufficient to re-do all the engine vacuum
lines?  Among other things, this Viton line should be durable enough
to handle the temps that kill the turbo bypass control line(Viton is
rated to 400 degrees F), although nothing beats a thin copper line
for that application.)

Actually, does anyone happen to know how much line it takes to
completely "do" a 3B, from experience?

Brett
--
----
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/
http://www.apple.com/switch/