clear hose from fuel pump to carb replaced with fuel hose

[Milemaker13]

I replaced the clear plastic tube that connects the fuel pump to the carb. I'm told this is a safety feature in case of fuel pump failure.
I replaced it using standard fuel line, black rubber hose. Is that ok?

 

[thumpar]

It won't hurt anything but the reason it is clear is so that you can see if there is fuel in there.

 

[stonyloam]

Yeah, that line is never suppose to have fuel in it, and as thumpar noted it will only have fuel in it if the pump diaphragm fails. A clear tube would be best.

 

[Milemaker13]

I didn't think clear tubing was approved for use with gasoline.

 

[Alumarine]

I'm not sure if it's approved or not but if it's not clear you won't be able to tell if your fuel pump diaphragm is bad or not.
That should be the only time it has fuel in it.

 

[duped]

It's polyurethane, that's why the factory hose turns yellow. It's definitely approved and you can get it online. But again, you should never have gas in it anyway.

 

[thumpar]

I didn't think clear tubing was approved for use with gasoline.

It is not a fuel line. It is there so you can tell if your pump diaphragm is bad.

 

[stonyloam]

A little info: the mechanical fuel pump uses a rubber diaphragm to pump fuel up to the carb. One side of the diaphragm has gas, and the other air. In order for it to work the air side is vented. Should the diaphragm rupture gas will enter the air side and be pumped out of the vent. In a car, it is no big deal because the gas just squirts out onto the road. In a boat that gas would leak down into the enclosed bilge creating an explosive situation. So in a boat there is a clear tube that runs from the vent up to the carb, so any leakage goes through the tube up to the carb, rather than into the bilge. Should that happen the engine will probably start running like crap, so when you check it out, look for gas in the clear tube.