I’m looking for a better replacement for the Crankcase Breather Tube on the front of an XK engine. #s I see are C2485, C4500, and C15400. I bought one of these a few years ago from one of the main suppliers of Jaguar parts. It was a wimpy piece of crap hardly able to keep it’s shape under it’s own weight. Does anyone know of a source that offers a reasonable copy of the original? Does anyone know the dif. in those numbers? Maybe length?
Art:
I have to agree with you. As I recall, my original breather was an all-aluminum item that easily retained it’s shape when bent, but unfortunately it developed splits in several spots over time allowing oily residue to escape. The “aluminized-carboard” replacement item from one of the main suppliers is no where near as substantial. Sorry, while I sympathize, I cannot help with regard to a better replacement or what the number changes represent.
Chris.
1 Like
I bought the C2485/1 from Moss.
It does not have the cardboard inner hose liner as my original did.
So far it is holding up.
Remember these things are made from a strip of thin aluminum wrapped around a mandrel and crimped upon itself. They are not made to take a lot of bending force.
1 Like
If you are going to drive the car use a pvc hose sized to fit the outlet to replace the original. If it’s just a show piece then use the flimsy.
1 Like
I’ve been thinking about stuffing PVC hose inside the shinny crap to hold the shape.
The C-Types and D-Types used lots of the breather hose, which came directly off the the cam covers. You might post the question on the Replicas Forum, which deals mainly with C and D Type builds. Someone there might have a source for a high quality replacement breather hose.
1 Like
McMaster-Carr has stainless steel duct hose in 3/4" ID at about $26.70 per 5 foot length, 5241K12, but it looks more like the flex hose in your exhaust pipes, bend radius 2-1/2", so it probably wouldn’t look as nice.
1 Like
Im Building a Replica C type with the flexi ali hose as supplied by the usuals…to keep its shape iv bent and inserted 22mm copper plumbing pipe…Steve
2 Likes
I like that idea, I’ll try that on the Mk7 sometime, I’ve always just used the rubber hose that came with the car.
1 Like
Art,
Sometimes you have to look wider and when you do so, you might end up with a corrugated aluminium heater hose for a VW Beetle!
It has an ID of about 24 mm, whereas the Breather Housing has a connection pipe with OD 22 mm. These hoses are available in “carton” or “aluminum”…
I paid € 5.30 for a brand new 3ft long hose! Compare that with the € 25 (or more) that most Jaguar part suppliers sell them for.
Bob K.
2 Likes
How about this… from what I can see it looks to be correct…
1 Like
Probably also “Made in Germany” for WEBASTO. The ID of 22 mm is even better than my alternative, but the length must be 3 ft i.s.o. 2 ft. However, some companies show the “compressed” length and it might still be 3 ft fully stretched.
Bob K.
1 Like
Needed a couple of lengths…this post prompted me to look…got some at a good price from Gates in UK( on ebay)… but there HQ is in Denver…Gates air duct hose 25mm…less than £10/ mt …Steve
Hi Bob,
I actually ordered this, and it arrived the other day.
The tubing is made from stainless steel; definitely wont crush from casual use, but you have to gently work the bends into place so it doesn’t crimp.
It is 600mm long, but it doesn’t stretch or contract; it’s not a concertina pipe. You could do a sneaky join with a bit of smaller pipe as an internal sleeve that’s hidden under a clamp?
1 Like
That’s interesting - I got two lengths of the Gates vent pipe from Opie Oils yesterday, 25mm ID. Mine is concertina and pulls out to full length. It feels very rigid, much more so than the usual aluminium one, but is a loose fit on the breather pipe. It either needs a sleeve to fill the extra few mm, or crimping - not sure how successful that would be, though.