The Alfa Romeo GTV6 fuel pump hoses have a unique routing that have hoses with 180 degree bends. Naturally, these hoses are no longer available. Even if they were available, there is a very good chance that NOS (New Old Stock) fuel hoses will not be compatible with the ethanol fuel most of us have to use. If you are running original fuel lines, or fuel hoses that have been on for a decade or two, you should change these fuel hoses before a disaster occurs.
The Alfa Romeo GTV6 uses an electric fuel pump located under the car, tucked besides a chassis reinforcement at the right rear. Fuel runs from the fuel tank to gravity feed the fuel pump (#10 in the image above) and then is sent to the fuel filter (#9) then makes a 180 degree turn to run towards the front fuel feed (#11)
Sure, changing old fuel hoses is a good idea, but the problem is because of the convoluted routing of the GTV6's fuel hoses, there aren't many options available to service these GTV6 fuel lines. A couple of Alfa specialists make these special fuel hoses with the 180 degree bend, but they are expensive, or may be out of stock and those that come from Europe may not be compatible with the fuel blends sold here.
Ethanol fuel can cause issues in classic cars that were not made for the that type of fuel. Problems can include deteriorated rubber fuel lines, gaskets, and plastic and rubber fuel-system parts.
The work around many people do is try to bend a straight length of hose 180 degrees. This will likely to kink and restrict the fuel flow. This could result in poor performance and premature fuel pump failure. No Alfa GTV6 owner wants poor performance, so here's an option.
RetroMotion Innovations' Sidewinder U-Cut Molded Curved Fuel Line part number: RMI-33010 half-inch J30R7 (35 PSI) fuel hose along with a Bosch fuel pump and stainless steel fuel barb connector.
I found a set of universal ethanol resistant fuel hoses made for custom applications with pre-formed 180 degree bends. Manufactured by RetroMotion Innovations, their Sidewinder U-Cut Molded Curved Fuel Line, features universal hose elbows with 45, 90, 135 and 180 degree curves. The company makes fuel lines in 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", and 1/2" sizes.
The Alfa GTV6 uses a 12.5 mm and 8 mm fuel hose. Many in the US Alfa community use 1/2" for the 12mm and 5/16" for the 8 mm.
The Alfa GTV6 uses an electric fuel pump. The original Bosch part number was 0 580 464 020, however, it is no longer available. It has been replaced with this Bosch OEM replacement pump, part number 69412 ( 0 288 517 941 21). This pump is capable of putting out 100psi, so it is important to use fuel injection pressure rated hose for the output and hoses downstream of the pump. It should also be ethanol compatible. The SAE standard to look for is J30R9 (100psi).
.jpg "Alfa GTV6 180 Degree Fuel Pump Hose")
The inlet to the fuel pump is 12.5mm, but a 1/2" (12.7mm) is deemed acceptable by many in the GTV6 community. The inlet or suction side of the fuel pump is gravity fed, so a J30R7 (35 PSI) spec fuel hose is what I used. Getting a flexible J30R9 (100psi) spec, ethanol safe 1/2" fuel hose is difficult to source, plus the hose has to be flexible enough to be routed around chassis components. That may be difficult to do with a super stiff reinforced hose.
.jpg "GTV6 Fuel Pump Hose and Connector")
Above you can see how I trimmed the inlet a little at a time to get the right fitment. There is not a lot of room to fit all these hoses in the fuel pump location, so to help, I trimmed the inlet hose as tight as possible to the fuel pump.
I suggest starting off trimming these fuel hoses a little long, so you can fine tune the fitment. It is a tight fit under the car, so I wound up trimming the inlet end as close as possible to the pump. I used a 1/2" barbed fuel line connector and high quality European style clamps. The barbed end was super tight to push in, so a little P-80 Emulsion rubber lubricant made the fitting slide in super easy.
.jpg "GTV6 Fuel Pump Filter and Hose")
Once the fuel pump inlet side was done, I went to work on the fuel filter side. This hose has to be high pressure J30R9 (100psi) spec hose. The RetroMotion Innovations' Sidewinder 5/16 molded fuel line comes in J30R7 (35psi) or J30R9 (100psi) specs. Make sure you get the high pressure 100psi hose! You'll also need a 5/16" barbed fuel hose connector and high pressure fuel injection spec hose clamps.
.jpg "GTV6 Fuel Pump and Filter")
The trimmed fuel hoses. The small tube is the P-80 fuel hose lubricant that helps ease installing the tight fuel hose barbed ends.
.jpg "GTV6 Fuel Pump and Filter Assembly")
The fuel hoses installed on the fuel pump and fuel filter.
After the fuel pump and filter are clamped into their respected brackets, the large feed coming from the fuel tank (green arrow) is connected to the fuel pump barb.
The fuel pump feed line (green arrow) come from the bottom of the tank, attached to the fuel tank filter screen. I used a fire and abrasion resistant silicone insulation sleave over the fuel feed hose. The red arrow is the fuel retune line coming from the fuel injection rail.
Here's the GTV6's fuel tank screen and banjo fitting. The large 12.5mm / 1/2" fuel line is attached to this and feeds the fuel pump.
This is how I renewed my fuel hoses on my GTV6. The information is provided for entertainment and informative purposes. At the very least, you'll get familiar with what's going on under the car. Only you can decide if you feel comfortable doing this kind of work. Use the information at your own risk. If you have any doubts on you ability to perform this work or have any issues, I recommend having it done by a professional. I am not responsible for any issues arriving from you reading this post.
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Parts I Used On My Car For Your Convenience
