5/8 rubber hose/fuel line became such a hard find??

[Fred from MO]

Gosh, when did 5/8 rubber fuel line become such an obsolete part in this country??? I am repairing what I thought was a leaky gas tank in a 77 GMC van and found out it was just the hoses rotted away. No problem I thought, I will just drop the tank and buy a couple dollars worth of hoses and good as new. $44 dollars later I still couldn find a supplier of the 5/8" hose. NAPA, Autozone, O'reilly, the local Freighliner Dealer nor the Local Chevy dealer carries it. I had to order it online from a place in a 25 foot roll. I must be getting old, because the easy repairs are becoming very hard and costly. A new tank was $200 bucks so Im glad Im out thatm but now I have $75 or more in rubber that goes from the tank to various other parts of the van. CRAZY!!
 

[Mike M]

ARE YOU SURE THAT YOU DON'T WANT 3/8" ID FUEL LINE ????? That's what all my old Chevy's had on them.
 

[d beatty]

If you had a Advance auto parts store they stock it but you have to take 25 ft. at a cost of $42.00.
 

[Dick L]

It is hard to find 5/8" heater hose. I found an old gas station that had a hunk the length I needed and he just gave it to me.
Like below, I have never seen 5/8" gas line on my big trucks. That would be one honker of a fuel line.
 

[ArkanDan]

I too was thinking 5/8" fuel line might be a bit much for a passenger vehicle. Egads! Can you imagine feeding a machine that requires that size line at today's prices? 3/8" or even 5/16" should surely be enough for fuel.??
 

[Uncle Ernie]

Carquest carries it. $2.50 a foot.
 

[Fred from MO]

No its 5/8ths. Its on the return to the filler neck of the tank.
 

[mite-help]

my napa store used to furnish me with 'multi-purpose' hose in a bunch of differant sizes--used it for fuel,p/steer return, trans lines, etc-
 

[CAROGATOR]

Updates please! I have to keep an eye on this, as something just doesn't sound right. A return line should not need bigger line than supply.
 

[Mike M]

Oh those are that size. Is it a form fitted hose also ?
 

[David G]

I got 5/8 hydraulic return line from hydraulic supply store. Heater hose will get soft when exposed to gasoline or oils.
 

[bob15]

The truck is 35 years old and not a lot of them are on the road, so carrying a somewhat odd hose isn't beneficial to them, in regards to inventory. That being said, McMaster Carr sells in for about half of what you paid. Hydraulic hose makers or lube equipment dealer might also sell it, similar to the below link.
Automation

 

[MarkB_MI]

Marine hardware stores carry it as fuel tank vent hose. Don't substitute heater hose. If you can't get it locally, West Marine sells it online by the foot.
West Marine fuel hose

 

[Fred from MO]

Its the return or vent or pollution vent to the filler neck. The filler neck is where im talking. Supply to the engine is 3/8
 

[Fred from MO]

No just a simple hose held on by 2 hose clamps. Didn't think finding it would be such an ordeal.