If you do little car fixings yourself, then you must have seen hoses that are spread around your car’s engine. Vacuum hoses may look like ordinary tubes, but the significance of these hoses is much more. Any gas-powered vehicle should have a couple of vacuum hoses around the engine. You may also find them on diesel vehicles. However, a minor leakage on any of the vacuum hoses of your car can easily turn your beautiful day into a terrible nightmare. Therefore, not only for car-repairing at home but as a vehicle owner, you should have proper knowledge of vacuum hoses. Read the rest of this article to know about the vacuum hoses of a car in further detail.
What Is Vacuum Hose?
Vacuum hoses are like a vein system of your vehicle. These connect engine vacuum to components and accessories of the vehicle. Vacuum hoses are also known as “Vacuum lines” or “Vacuum tubes”. In general, an average gasoline vehicle may contain five or six vacuum hoses around its engine. But you can find over a dozen vacuum pipes in some old-school vehicles.
Most commonly, these hoses are made from rubber. Hose clamps are used with them for locking then with components. The size and thickness of a vacuum hose mostly depend on its functions. You will find different sizes and quality vacuum hoses in your car.
What Does Vacuum Hoses Do?
From the late 19’s vehicle till today’s, vacuum hoses play a vital role to make vehicles safer and easier to control. There are more than a half-dozen components that are controlled with vacuum functions. This includes brakes boosters, power steering, windshield wipers, EGR valve, heater valve, vacuum advance, HVAC controller, PCV, and valve many more.
The vacuum makes everything much more comfortable for the driver and also makes the vehicle more flexible. As an example, a car would have been much harder to control or brake without a power steering or brake booster. With dozens of hoses and other connecting components, the vacuum is spread to the vacuum-powered components.
Vacuum Hose Types
Are all vacuum hoses the same? Well, the answer lies between yes and no. Though the working purposes of all vacuum hoses are more or less the same, there are several types of vacuum hoses you can find. According to structure materials, there are three types of vacuum hoses- rubber, silicon base, and PVC. Moreover, vacuum hoses can be categorized into two types according to the pressure they can handle.
Low-Pressure Vacuum Hoses
These are commonly made from rubbers and include no cords coatings. Usually, these hoses can handle 10-15 PSI without any problem. The thickness of these hoses lies between 3 to 4 mm which is quite general for vacuum hoses. Low-pressure vacuums are normally used for transmitting basic non-volatile fluid or air.
High-Pressure Vacuum Hoses
As per its name, high-pressure hoses can handle much more heat and pressure. On average, this type of vacuum hose can handle around 25 PSI or more. These are usually made from silicone base rubbers with cord layers or thick PVC. The vehicles with bigger engines mostly contain high pressures all over them. In addition, with proper care, these hoses can last for a relatively long period.
Vacuum Hose Size
In general, scene, anything that is flexible and capable of transmitting vacuum power all over the vehicle can be a hose. The vacuum hose size normally lies between 3/16″ inner diameter (ID) to 5/8″ inner diameter (ID). The smaller hoses are normally called “vacuum lines”. Though all the vacuum hoses do the same job, their size and type differ according to where they can be applied. There is also a “vacuum hose size chart” on the internet which you may find fruitful. However, here is some of the most common size that can find-
- 2 millimeters (1/16 inch) vacuum hoses
These are generally called vacuum tubes and have 2mm of inner diameter. These are commonly made of rubber and Silicone materials. An average 2mm Vacuum tube can operate between -20C to 200C. Apart from the vacuum hoses, these are also useable with turbo, Gauge pump lines.
- 3 millimeters (3/32 inch)
3 mm vacuum tubes are not much different from the 2mm ones and have pretty similar applicability. In general, this hose is 3 to 4 mm thick and of course, the inner diameter is 3mm. The 3mm has a working temperature range which is around -20C to 200C.
- 4 millimeters (1/8 inch)
4mm are very common in most vehicles. Its thickness varies according to the manufacturers but 4mm thickness is quite common in these hoses.
- 8 millimeters (5/16 inch)
8mm vacuum lines are entry size of larger size. In general, these hoses are more durable and have more capability. These are generally found in rubber, PVC, or silicone version vaccum.
- 9/10 millimeters (3/8 inch)
The 9/10mm vacuum hoses are is seen on several major parts of the vehicles like brakes or so. In general, these hoses are 3 to 4mm thick. There are usually used for the components that need high vacuum power in a small time.
- 12 millimeters
These are relatively rare on medium size vehicles; these are capable of handling more PSI than the smaller hoses. Apart from these, you will find several other sizes of vacuum hoses in the market.
Monitoring and Replacing Vacuum Hoses?
Typically, hoses are made of rubber and they have a high probability of wear over time. It is because these hoses have to deal with heat and sudden PSI increase. That’s why monitoring these tubes is quite important. Lastly, you need to replace them before they develop any major situation. Here are some facts that you keep in mind about the vacuum hoses of your car.
- You will have a very stiff brake pedal if your brake booster loses vacuum.
- Vacuum hoses failure generally doesn’t post any instant threat to your safety
- Most vacuum featured vehicle has vacuum diagrams somewhere in the engine compartment. It really helps you understand the location of the hoses.
- No tools are necessary for most vacuum hose replacements.
- Measuring the proper inner diameter is rather simple than you can expect.
Let’s See The Video How it works?
Final Words
Vacuum hoses are undoubtedly a vital part of a car. As a sincere driver, you must know what is vacuum hose and make sure you take good care of them. It is important because a warn vacuum hose can lead to several problems. Even a small leak can be a reason for rough idling.
Since most vehicles have rubber vacuum hoses at its engine, they need greatly monitoring and care. And when necessary, you should replace them as soon as possible. Though vacuum hoses from the quality manufacturer may last much longer, sooner or later, they will need replacements.