Fuel Pipe Routing

[peter_m7uk]

I routed the copper fuel pipes on my Lightweight along the transmission tunnel and wanted opinions on how close the gearbox can be to the pipes before you would fail SVA/IVA, please!

 

In the attached pics, you can see looking down directly from above at the route taken, in the first pic. In the second, I zoomed in on the point where the box is closest to the 2 pipes. It's hard to get perspective, but the 2 pipes are p-clipped so that one passes above the thin strengthening "fin" on the box casing and the other passes below. If the box were to move to the left it would have to move at least 10mm and would then hit the bolt holding the p-clip.

 

Any thoughts? Anyone routed their lines similarly?

 

Pete

[peter_m7uk]

Further pics from different angles.

[Guest diyer]

Hi Pete,

 

My initial opinion would be that they are ok, just give the gearbox a right good heave, if they don't come close then they should be ok. How close are they 10mm to the p clip from the gearbox???

 

Make sure you take lots of photo's of the route though, as the tester might want lots of evidence as he won't be able to see them.

 

Cheers

Simon

[Snapperpaul]

Regardles of IVA would you want the pipes to be split by the gearbox???

I would split some fuel hose and cover the pipes where the gearbox and prop flanges are, just for my personal peace of mind.

 

I also added some steel plate, or you could use some box section, to contain the prop if it let go, dont want to have a prop spinnig in the cabin

[Guest gdc]

hi pete

as with all of your car pete a very neat job , clip centres should be no more than 300mm, cant tell so just added that.

regarding the pipes in the tunnel , i tend to agree with paul , i ran mine under the car and clipped to the inside of the box chassis rails that i added to mine , and i have never had a prob .re the prop again its an issue to think about , i bonded and bolted a piece of 5mm ally about 350mm long shaped to go over the prop but mainly towards the front end , thoughts were if the rear went i might be able to dip the clutch and poss stop it , but if the front went the only time it would stop trying to slap me would be when the car stopped .

hope it helps .

graham

[peter_m7uk]

Hi Pete,

 

My initial opinion would be that they are ok, just give the gearbox a right good heave, if they don't come close then they should be ok. How close are they 10mm to the p clip from the gearbox???

 

Make sure you take lots of photo's of the route though, as the tester might want lots of evidence as he won't be able to see them.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

Hi Simon,

 

I've tried yanking the gearbox hard and it's definite that nothing will touch. It's probably more like 15mm minimum clearance, although I'm not sure what you mean by "how close are they 10mm" ? I'll have plenty of photos and the tunnel top will be removable in case he wants a good look!

 

On another note, did you sell your Lightweight in the end? Just wondering what you got for it??!

 

Cheers,

Pete

[peter_m7uk]

Regardles of IVA would you want the pipes to be split by the gearbox???

I would split some fuel hose and cover the pipes where the gearbox and prop flanges are, just for my personal peace of mind.

 

I also added some steel plate, or you could use some box section, to contain the prop if it let go, dont want to have a prop spinnig in the cabin

 

Hi Paul,

 

I guess the pipes could still be crushed with fuel hose over the top, but your thinking is that the rubber hose would cushion enough to prevent an actual split? Might give that a go.

 

I'd never really thought about the prop breaking, but how often does that happen?! I'm going to make the tunnel top removable, so I can check the universal joints and grease them up from time to time. Is this where props normally break?

I suppose this will be another thing that nags away at the back of my mind until I eventually do something!

 

Cheers,

Pete

[peter_m7uk]

hi pete

as with all of your car pete a very neat job , clip centres should be no more than 300mm, cant tell so just added that.

regarding the pipes in the tunnel , i tend to agree with paul , i ran mine under the car and clipped to the inside of the box chassis rails that i added to mine , and i have never had a prob .re the prop again its an issue to think about , i bonded and bolted a piece of 5mm ally about 350mm long shaped to go over the prop but mainly towards the front end , thoughts were if the rear went i might be able to dip the clutch and poss stop it , but if the front went the only time it would stop trying to slap me would be when the car stopped .

hope it helps .

graham

 

Hi Graham

 

Thanks for the compliment Any chance you could post a pic of your added prop protection, or should I have that among the pics you sent me on CD??

 

Cheers,

Pete