Fibre washers affected by bioethanol?

[greensimonc]

Hi all,

Had a fabulous weekend at Wroxall, (apart from sitting in a sauna on the M25 for a while on our return journey), very well done to the organising committee and everyone involved. However, on the short run back to our hotel on Sunday there was a worrying smell of fuel. Once I'd parked up I could see a trail of drips.....

Examination quickly showed that 97 octane was squirting out of the petrol pipe union at the front of the engine where it's connected by a banjo bolt. Thankfully amongst the tools I had was a plug spanner which fitted and a nip up cured the problem.

So, is this degrading fibre washers, caused by the addition of bio ethanol in today's fuel, or just old age?? And if so, should I just get more fibre washers to replace or is there something more resistant recommended?

Cheers, Simon.

[davidr]

I would have thought it more likely that a rubber type of seal would be affected by ethanol than a fibre one? If a nip up sealed it again maybe it had worked a bit loose. Keep an eye on it but I'd think it will be OK.
I'd put it down to old age. After all, I notice that as I get older I tend to dribble from places that were previously adequately sealed!

[PPV]

I have used the standard fibre washers and have found no leaks (touch wood!) at the carbs and the fuel filter. Not sure which part of the ethanol based fuel would do the harm to fibre washers. I tend to agree that you have to be sure if you use rubber ones that you have ethanol resistant ones.
Regards,

[greensimonc]

.....thanks for the advice guys, I'll keep an eye for a while though I've found out that SNG Barratt will relieve me of 47p each for new washers (plus postage that will probably be more than the total cost!) so I may just go ahead and replace them anyway.

Cheers, Simon.