URGENT NOTICE - 12/01/2014

Our cars are now 25 years old and in many cases possibly still running their original fuel lines. I do feel strongly that they should be at least checked over for cracking etc. Fuel line issues may be accelerated because of the increased use of Ethanol in fuel. Should you need new fuel lines be sure that the replacements are suitable for use with ethanol. (There is a large stock of unsuitable hose flooding the UK).

I have purposely not given any specification for the above as the spec's may alter in the future.

Kind Regards & rant over.

[If the above was not worrying enough I received the following email from Dr Dan Mitchell within a week of me adding the above warning note to the website.]

Hi Mick

I was going out to my car this morning and smelt petrol on Scimitars side of the garage. Not thank goodness a tank problem having changed 3 on our 5A, one on the GTC and one on MB PPP. A small pool of petrol was noticed directly under the small petrol pipe between the pump and the filter. The spring clips were rust free but I found a small crack in the pipe. Do I get the car over the pit and change the pipe or go lazy? I called the AA as we have home start. The AA girl was full of compassion. 'Don't switch on the car or even try to run it and open the windows in your garage as this is a dangerous situation! I will have one of our mechanics with you within the hour'. Mark turned up in 30 minutes and changed the pipe in 15 minutes. Message to other MB owners - worth checking your petrol pipes and ensure they are up to today's specification. The pipe causing trouble was a plain rubber - not a braided rubber one - 26 years old.

Also if you have Homestart the AA are happy to change petrol pipes. The only problem is the fuel pipe they carry is too small a bore . I keep some correct sized pipe in the boot of my MB. This really Helped Chris when his SS1 petrol pipe burst at the Silverstone classic. The AA went to change his burst pipe but had no correct sized pipe. The fuel pipe on my car is 8mm internal diameter multi braided rubber and labelled Gates 3225 multi fuel auto master. The AA tend to only carry 6mm hose.

[R7 hose is fine for the current E5 fuel mix and probable future E10 mix. (However please take professional advice before fitting new fuel hoses as the regulations / specifications can change at any time.] Mick G: I'm very sorry for the above rant but we have never had a Middlebridge catch fire and I don't want us to start now.

Hi all,

After reading about the Middlebridge fuel system leaks I felt that I needed to add my story. Please see the enclosed photos. The part that failed is a fast fit coupling linking the flexible fuel pipe on the engine to the metal pipe on the chassis. The coupling seal is essentially an O ring that had perished. (The small piece of metal pipe had to be cut to remove the coupling.)

The leak, luckily, on start up was spectacular. On checking the second coupling (by rotating it) that started to leak as well.

The flexible pipes, ironically, were found to be in excellent condition.





Please check yours.

Regards, Chris. Middlebridge Owner.

Many thanks to Chris for further emphasising the importance of this issue. Mick G.

Yet another very good reason to check all lines, clips & connectors.

Early November nearly lost No 26. While the car is on Sorn and not being used, I usually start the car once a month in the garage and leave the engine running for about 15 to 20 minutes to let the oil flow around the engine and the fan to switch on and off and in general just keep every thing ticking over.

Meantime while the car was running I was doing other jobs nearby, on my return I could smell petrol, I opened the side door to the double garage the floor was flooded wall to wall in petrol I quickly switched off the ignition opened all windows and doors then retreated to a safe distance, after a few hours when the fumes were bearable I started to investigate the source of the leak, starting at the petrol tank worked forward to the engine and found nothing wrong all hoses and copper pipes OK.

The only way now to find the leak was to start the car, then quickly looking into the engine bay, instantly saw the fuel being sprayed all over the exhaust manifolds, the fault was the cracked speed fit connector attached to the copper and rubber fuel pipe, both fuel lines have now been replaced and connected with the good old fashioned jubilee clips.

After my frightening experience and Dans can only endorse how important it is to check and replace old fuel lines.

Photo below showing faulty components.

Many thanks to Bruce for sharing this very important information with us all.

Hi all,

After reading about the Middlebridge fuel system leaks I felt that I needed to add my story. Please see the enclosed photos. The part that failed is a fast fit coupling linking the flexible fuel pipe on the engine to the metal pipe on the chassis. The coupling seal is essentially an O ring that had perished. (The small piece of metal pipe had to be cut to remove the coupling.)

The leak, luckily, on start up was spectacular. On checking the second coupling (by rotating it) that started to leak as well.

The flexible pipes, ironically, were found to be in excellent condition.





Please check yours.

Regards, Chris. Middlebridge Owner.

Many thanks to Chris for further emphasising the importance of this issue. Mick G.