DIY: Fix/Prevent broken & leaking early style spider hose assembly.

[tsbpenguin]

Hey everyone!
So I decided to do this mod after I was working on my engine and cracked the boost hose of the spider hose assembly. I didn't realize it at the time, and couldn't find my boost leak for a week or two (after checking every charge tube, and finally buying a set of silicon hoses). When I pulled the assembly, the boost hose, and smallest hose were both cracked. That's why in the first picture (and the whole writeup) those two hoses are already done. I decided to do the other three hoses, and thus did the writeup for anyone else that wants to give it a go.

Cost of Mod: Less than $25 @ Home Depot or Lowes

Parts:
- ~6 feet of rubber hose. (I used 1/2" hose from Lowes, good to 200psi. If I were to do it again I would get slightly larger because the fittings were a PITA to get in.)
- Pack of 10 small hose clamps


Tools:
- Utility knife
- Small flathead screwdriver
- Flathead or socket for clamps
- Hose cutter (optional. Can use utility knife)


STEP 1:
Ok so here's what your spider hose assembly should look like (again, ignore the 2 red hoses that are already on there as I had previously done this.)


You want to do one hose at a time, so that you keep the correct orientation of all the hoses. Start by taking your utility knife and making a slit down the smooth portion at the end of the accordian style hose. It will take a couple passes to get deep enough to actually cut through the plastic. Make sure you're going from the end of the hose towards the middle of the hose. Repeat for the other end of the hose.



STEP 2:
Take a small screwdriver and insert the tip into the slit you just made with the utility knife. Get the flathead under the plastic until you feel the hose pop out of place. Pull the hose off the fitting. Repeat for the other end of the hose.



STEP 3:
You should have something that looks like this (two bare hose fittings).


Now take the plastic accordian hose, and hold it up to your rubber hose. Use your hose cutter (or utility knife) to cut the rubber hose to approximately the same size as the stock one. You don't have to be perfect here since it's rubber hose and will flex easily. Cut slightly long to be on the safe side.



STEP 4:
Now comes the fun part. Work the rubber hose onto the fitting for each end. My hose was slightly small and required a tiny bit of stretching and a LOT of force. Now clamp each end down tightly with your clamps. Check to make sure the hose will not pull off.


STEP 5:
Repeat for all the other hoses.



And VOILA, you're finished! Final product should look something like this:



Hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions, or want any more pictures.

[98a4]

For that much work, i'd rather do a catch man. But nice write up

[*Blue-Angel*]

when installing my F hose I heard a crack that came from that cheap plastic POS hose on my 2000. Im wondering if it actually penetrated the hose or if it was just the plastic flexing. I bought a new manifold and spider hose from the newer style but im debating whether to replace or leave it be to see if anything is actually wrong.

[HotSauce]

I'll be doing this soon. I already have a Home Depot special F-Hose.

[tsbpenguin]

For that much work, i'd rather do a catch man. But nice write up

It's not that much work. It took me a total of like 15 minutes. Although my engine is not in the car...

[Raacerx]

It's not that much work. It took me a total of like 15 minutes. Although my engine is not in the car...

yeah doesnt seem like to much work to me, nice writeup.

[BlackS4TT(Josh)]

FYI... there's no need to cut the stock plumbing to remove it from the distributor piece. Use a lighter or a torch and heat the junction (very lightly, maybe 10 seconds around the circumference from a good distance), and the joint will pull apart.

[Nadrealista]

I deleted my PCV and now I am venting out..no good reason for returning oil vapors into intake..they leave deposits, mess up timing and rob you of power!

[BlackS4TT(Josh)]

You mentioned the pressure rating for the rubber hose you used, but what is the temperature rating? I think temperature is of greater concern in this application, considering the system operates under vacuum.

[BlackS4TT(Josh)]

I deleted my PCV and now I am venting out..no good reason for returning oil vapors into intake..they leave deposits, mess up timing and rob you of power!

You've removed the vacuum source for the system, which means vapors will vent out only if the crankcase pressure is higher than atmosphere. This is why people install catch cans... you can retain the vacuum source without feeding the condensed vapor back into the turbos/combustion chamber.

I'd put the valve back in, or install a catch can.

[tsbpenguin]

FYI... there's no need to cut the stock plumbing to remove it from the distributor piece. Use a lighter or a torch and heat the junction (very lightly, maybe 10 seconds around the circumference from a good distance), and the joint will pull apart.

Not like you need to save it, but either way will remove it just fine.

You mentioned the pressure rating for the rubber hose you used, but what is the temperature rating? I think temperature is of greater concern in this application, considering the system operates under vacuum.

I don't see the heat rating anywhere, but I've been running those other two for a couple thousand miles without a problem, so I have a feeling it's perfectly capable. You're right though, anyone who wants to do this now should probably get a high heat rated hose.

[Audiophyle]

Autozone has various diameter bulk rolls of coolant line I am sure would work great, & isnt much more expensive.

[ram74]

I did the same thing except I used heater hose from autozone

[VR6Bomber]

Is that the Goodyear hose? Good stuff, I did my Catch can setup on my AAN with that hose.
Nice writeup, props!

[GiacGRs4]

can anyone tell me where that long line in the 2nd picture goes? (red). by the F hose? thanx

[goingone]

About to do this, just wanted to know what are the benefits of the OEM vs this method, if any????

[VR6Bomber]

About to do this, just wanted to know what are the benefits of the OEM vs this method, if any????

Benefits include ridding your car of that awful oem spider which features the structural integrity of a corn flake.

[AWD87]

can anyone tell me where that long line in the 2nd picture goes? (red). by the F hose? thanx

yes, the long piece connects to the F-hose





Anyways, I appear to be having a huge boost leak somewhere in the spider hose area. And it's not a small leak either. All the pumped air is gone within a milisecond. I'm not exactly sure where the leak is coming from. It's hard to pin point. Air seems to be coming from the blue area I highlighted in the pic close to the center of the spider hose or somewhere closer to the hose that leads to the N75.
Also, for those people that had to switch spider hoses, how exactly did you get all the clamps off of the F-hose and the long spider hose piece (area where the red arrow is in the pic)? It looks like a bitch to get them off, they're not angled correctly to loosen them. Does the intake manifold have to be lifted in order to swap the spider hose?

[drkenan]

You don't HAVE to lift the IM but it makes it much easier. As with every job on these cars, you have to choose between extra work or extreme patience.

Edit: The leak could very well be coming from the center piece that connects all the hoses. The one on my car broke and I jimmied it back together for a short term fix. Also, if you're gonna make your own spider hose you can just delete the F-Hose.

[ski&drive]

I recently did this. I bought all the parts from mcmaster.com, cost was around 25 bucks shipped for some high temp high pressure hose and the factory style pinch clamps. If your gonna run a catch can it easy to modify your custom spider hose too.

When he says the hose should be bigger then 1/2" he means it, if you run 1/2 hose that has no stretch to it you wont be able to get it on (like th mcmaster hose). i ended up running 3/4 or 7/8

[Ribbie]

I recently did this. I bought all the parts from mcmaster.com, cost was around 25 bucks shipped for some high temp high pressure hose and the factory style pinch clamps. If your gonna run a catch can it easy to modify your custom spider hose too.

When he says the hose should be bigger then 1/2" he means it, if you run 1/2 hose that has no stretch to it you wont be able to get it on (like th mcmaster hose). i ended up running 3/4 or 7/8

Good olde McMaster Carr. Built a few manual boost controllers from their stuff. Good to hear they have high temp/pressure hose. will probably be using them again.

[Corrado]

I have a 2000, how hard is it to use the updated spider hose, or is it easier to stay with the early style hose assembly?

Not sure if I want to tackle this or just pay or the updated piece. Also running a stock "F" hose so I want to either get a SAMCO style or brass F hose eventually.

[*Blue-Angel*]

updated hose goes with updated intake manifold.

i replaced my hose with a used one from Shokan, a samco f-hose, brass fittings from hardware store. Works perfectly. My car has no leaks at all.

[Austonwerner4]

Do you really need those plastic connectors on the ends or could you just clamp the hose to where it belongs

[Korben007]

Maybe use some metal zip ties!


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[00SantorinS4]

This was one of the first mods I did. Super simple just takes time and patience! I would def recommend using the plastic connectors but if your missing a couple I don't see why you couldn't clamp the hose to the ports on the engine.

[Austonwerner4]

Yeah I think I broke 2...

[The_Auto_Tech]

So instead of doing this you can run a catch-can? Anyone have a DIY or pictures on how they did it? Wouldn't mind being able to delete this thing.

[morris400]

You don't HAVE to lift the IM but it makes it much easier. As with every job on these cars, you have to choose between extra work or extreme patience.

Edit: The leak could very well be coming from the center piece that connects all the hoses. The one on my car broke and I jimmied it back together for a short term fix. Also, if you're gonna make your own spider hose you can just delete the F-Hose.

ill be making my own spider hose this weekend and i would like to delete the f hose. how would i go about deleteing the f hose with my own spider hose?

[mr.awesome]

i just capped off the piece that goes under the intake manifold..and just shot a hose straight from the intake mani to the check valves as opposed to having one end of the f house on either of these two. Not sure if thats a good idea of not but i saw it on another diy and i havent had a cel yet

[vtraudt]

Broke the passenger side hose going to the valve cover on my 2.7T.
Have engine out, prepping for RS6 turbos and want to get the system right:

a) Can or no can? I assume with elevated boost, things can get messier as they already are. Any links to good can solutions for the 2.7T?

b) replacing the corrugated with rubber is clear. But what about the snap on connectors? At least on my 2.8, those hardly 'snap' on anymore. And aren't there O rings in there (that either from age or frequent on/off are worn)? Hat to fix the hose, and still have a gaping leak on those connectors.

c) where can complete hose and/or connectors and/or O rings be ordered from? I am a bit a fraid to leave the connectors off and just clamp onto the valve cover/block. How much is the going rate?

d) Check valve: should that be replace (part number/source)? Or better (looks like cheap plastic), upgraded (source?)?

By the way: I need to do the same thing on my 2.8 12valve. More or less the same situation, layout and fix?

[U2RedEye]

LATE AS HELL POST from me....i ran into a cracked spider hose situation last year and used this thread to design my own for my car. used all the tips and advice...but i used thicker hoses and black hoses from Lowes. same outcome tho....so great DIY!

[U2RedEye]

Broke the passenger side hose going to the valve cover on my 2.7T.
Have engine out, prepping for RS6 turbos and want to get the system right:

a) Can or no can? I assume with elevated boost, things can get messier as they already are. Any links to good can solutions for the 2.7T?

b) replacing the corrugated with rubber is clear. But what about the snap on connectors? At least on my 2.8, those hardly 'snap' on anymore. And aren't there O rings in there (that either from age or frequent on/off are worn)? Hat to fix the hose, and still have a gaping leak on those connectors.

c) where can complete hose and/or connectors and/or O rings be ordered from? I am a bit a fraid to leave the connectors off and just clamp onto the valve cover/block. How much is the going rate?

d) Check valve: should that be replace (part number/source)? Or better (looks like cheap plastic), upgraded (source?)?

By the way: I need to do the same thing on my 2.8 12valve. More or less the same situation, layout and fix?

A) depends on who you ask...
B) my connectors werent all jacked up, but i had a buddy of mine who modified some AN fittings to fit the vent on the valve covers and ran the stainless lines to his catch can
C) for the OEM stuff?...JHM, i believe ECS and maybe even FCPGroton? i know the OEM or upgraded stuff runs a pretty penny though. (if thats what you were asking)
D) i would have to look into that as i was able to reuse everything except the hoses themselves...but i believe Audi sells that stuff as one whole set with the hoses. i had to get a check valve for the brake booster/ master cylinder and it came as a set from the accordion hose to the booster/ master cyl. (2001.5 S4)

hope most of ur questions were answered except for the pricing. a few ACE guys have done catch can mods of varying types and from various manufacturers.

[vtraudt]

Thanks for the input. Next week, I will take a close look (both cars) and check how bad the connectors are.
Still on the look out for someone with 'left over' connectors!

A) depends on who you ask...
B) my connectors werent all jacked up, but i had a buddy of mine who modified some AN fittings to fit the vent on the valve covers and ran the stainless lines to his catch can
C) for the OEM stuff?...JHM, i believe ECS and maybe even FCPGroton? i know the OEM or upgraded stuff runs a pretty penny though. (if thats what you were asking)
D) i would have to look into that as i was able to reuse everything except the hoses themselves...but i believe Audi sells that stuff as one whole set with the hoses. i had to get a check valve for the brake booster/ master cylinder and it came as a set from the accordion hose to the booster/ master cyl. (2001.5 S4)

hope most of ur questions were answered except for the pricing. a few ACE guys have done catch can mods of varying types and from various manufacturers.

[vtraudt]

do you recall ID/OD of the hose material you used?
Probably best to take the cut up connector with me and go shopping.

[U2RedEye]

do you recall ID/OD of the hose material you used?
Probably best to take the cut up connector with me and go shopping.

^^^this^^^

thats what i had to do. i really dont remember what the ID was, but there were one or two of those hoses that were a bit smaller than the rest.....so be sure u take a good look at your connectors.