Vacuum hose

A vacuum hose carries the suction an engine makes to the parts that run on it, the brake servo and the emissions valves among them. It also feeds the sensors that read manifold pressure, which is what keeps the idle steady and the fuel use sensible.They are the thin rubber tubes threaded around the top of the engine, some no fatter than a pencil. A car vacuum hose might be called a vacuum pipe or a vacuum line depending on who wrote the listing, and one engine bay can hold a dozen of them. Rubber hardens as it ages, oil softens it, and heat and vibration finish the job, so the tube splits, slips off its spigot, or collapses shut.A bad vacuum hose shows up as a rough or high idle, hissing from the engine bay, a lean fuel code, sluggish acceleration, poorer economy, and a hard brake pedal when the leaking hose is the one feeding the servo.A leak shows up worst at idle, because the engine is barely drawing any air then, so a small leak makes up a big share of it. Each sign has its own tell:

• A rough or hunting idle: the revs swing by a few hundred, then settle as soon as you open the throttle.
• A high idle: the engine sits above 1,000 rpm and the car creeps with your foot off the pedal.
• Hissing under the bonnet: air being pulled through the split, easiest to hear with the engine idling.
• A lean code and a warning light: P0171 or P0174, because unmetered air upsets the fuel trim.
• Flat acceleration and worse economy: the engine keeps adding fuel to compensate and never quite gets it right.
• A hard brake pedal: the servo line is the serious one, and stopping distances grow when it leaks.

Most of these tubes cost pennies new by the metre. The ones worth buying used are the moulded assemblies: pre-bent, branched, with quick-connectors moulded in and a part number down the side. No roll of bulk tubing replaces one, and the dealer either charges heavily for it or no longer stocks it.Parthunt24 brings together used vacuum hose listings from Ovoko, ProxyParts, eBay, TotalParts, Opisto, Ecooparts, Ricambipro, and Autoparts24 onto a single page, so all 433 offers show their vacuum hose price, their part number, and their condition in one convenient view.

Two hoses of the same bore are not the same hose.What the hose does decides what it has to put up with: a brake servo line is thick-walled so it cannot collapse under full vacuum, while a thin EVAP line has to live with fuel vapour, and swapping one for the other fails quickly.Replacement vacuum hoses come two ways. A moulded run has to match the OEM number, because a pre-formed hose follows the original bends and a straight length in its place will kink or chafe. A plain run is sized instead: inner diameter first, then a wall rated for engine heat and any oil it will meet. Automotive vacuum hoses are built for both, which is why garden or aquarium tubing lasts weeks rather than years. Check the connectors as well, since quick-fit couplings and their clips vary between engines and a hose that will not click home is no use.Enter the car in the make and model boxes down the left, and hoses for other engines drop out of the list. Click a listing and Parthunt24 sends you across to the site it came from, an eBay or an Opisto, where their pictures and the payment page sit.

• Vehicle make, model, and year: Routing and hose layouts change between model generations.
• OEM part number: Identifies the exact moulded hose for your engine and vehicle specification.
• Hose location and function: Brake servo, turbo actuator, EGR, and fuel-system vacuum lines each require their own specification.
• Engine type and fuel type: Diesel engines do not create manifold vacuum naturally, so their systems are designed differently.
• Hose diameter and inner diameter: The bore determines airflow, while the fit on the connection point ensures a proper seal.
• Hose length and shape: A pre-formed hose must follow the original bends to prevent kinking.
• Connection type: Fittings, clips, quick connectors, and mounting points must all align correctly.
• Material and pressure resistance: The hose must withstand engine heat, full vacuum, and exposure to oil or fuel vapour.
• Emission system compatibility: Hoses connected to EGR or EVAP systems must match the vehicle’s original configuration.
• Condition of the original hose: Cracks, hardening, or collapsed sections indicate that the hose needs replacement.

Once you are through to the marketplace, the rubber is what you have to judge, and photographs are all you get.Rubber ages whether the car is driven or not, so a hose off a ten-year-old car has ten years on it however few miles that car covered, and the pictures have to show the surface closely enough to spot cracks.Read down the listing:

• Photos: the full run, both ends, the connectors, and a close look at the bends.
• Seller reputation: an established dismantler rather than a one-off clearance seller.
• Compatibility: part number and engine code, both matched to what you have.
• Included components: the whole moulded assembly or one branch of it, and are the clips there?
• Condition: cracks at the bends, hardened or shiny rubber, splits at the ends, a crushed section.
• Testing: word that the hose was flexed and looked over, not simply pulled off.
• Warranty and returns: useful here, since a hairline crack only opens up under vacuum.
• Shipping: light but awkward, so it should arrive in a box, not folded into a bag.
• Documentation: which car it came off and how old that car is, because age kills rubber.

When the number and the shape both match, buy the Vacuum Hose direct on the breaker's marketplace.

There are two prices here: bulk tube, and moulded assembly.A metre of plain rubber or silicone tube costs a couple of euros new, a used moulded assembly with its connectors runs about €5-€25, and multi-branch runs off turbocharged or air-sprung engines reach €25-€70.Parthunt24 shows vacuum hose listings from 5.00 up. What puts one vacuum hose price above the next:

• Moulded or plain: a pre-bent assembly with connectors costs many times a length of tube.
• Branches and fittings: every extra spigot, clip, and quick-connector adds to it.
• Material: a silicone vacuum hose asks more than rubber and outlasts it.
• Engine rarity: hoses for common engines are everywhere, low-volume ones are not.
• Brand: a factory-moulded hose with its number still legible beats a copy.
• Age of the donor: rubber has a shelf life, so a hose off a newer car is worth paying for.

Sort by vacuum hose price and a cheap vacuum hose that genuinely fits your engine is the first thing you see on the Parthunt24 page.

A leak is rarely just the one hose. All the rubber went into the car on the same day, so check the other parts of the vacuum system while the bonnet is up. These are the ones to look at on Parthunt24:

• Breather pipe: carries crankcase fumes back to the intake and cracks in exactly the same way.
• Breather valve: the valve at the end of that pipe, which sticks open and leaks on its own.
• Vacuum air tank: the reservoir that holds vacuum for the servo, and rusts through from inside.
• Vacuum pump: makes the vacuum on diesels and modern turbo petrols, where the manifold cannot.
• Brake booster: the servo the thickest hose feeds, and its rubber diaphragm splits just as hoses do.
• Intake manifold: where the vacuum starts, and where a tired gasket leaks like a cracked tube.
• EGR valve: vacuum-operated on many engines, and often blamed for what its hose did.
• Turbocharger: its wastegate or vane actuator runs on vacuum, so a split tube means no boost.

Have a garage smoke-test the system before you order anything, since a hiss you can hear is rarely the only leak and guessing means replacing hoses that were fine.

A split tube is a five-euro part that a dealer turns into a sixty-euro order with a fortnight's wait. Parthunt24 finds the same hose on a breaker's shelf instead: one search across the leading used-parts marketplaces, and the vacuum hoses for sale come back in one ranked list, each with its number, its condition, and its price.Every advert here belongs to the breaker who wrote it, and the order goes through them. What Parthunt24 gives back is the afternoon you would otherwise spend working through breaker sites one at a time.Filter to your engine, petrol or diesel, turbocharged or not, and the list sorts by vacuum hose price. Compare vacuum hose prices, pick out the best deal on offer, and buy vacuum hose for your car today from whoever is asking least.