How To Prevent Vapor Lock Using Thermal Barriers
If you’re wondering how to prevent vapor lock, try using a thermal barrier like a heat shield, or heat sleeve. Whether you have a carburetor or use fuel-injection in your vehicle, vapor lock can bring your vehicle to a standstill causing hours of frustration. If you’re a racer, it can put the car on the trailer well before you’re ready to leave the track. But, proper use of thermal barriers is helpful in preventing vapor lock, no matter how hot the day gets.
What is Vapor Lock?
Vapor lock happens when the temperature of fuel gets high enough to transform liquid into a vapor state. Fuel pumps are designed to pump liquid, not air, and the increased pressure inside the fuel lines keeps the fuel pump from being able to keep the fuel moving. The result is fuel starvation causing the engine to run rough or completely stall. Vapor lock typically happens during summer months when high ambient temps, combined with the heat of a vehicle’s engine and exhaust, is transferred to the fuel lines.
Vapor Lock Fix
The solution? Protect your fuel lines from getting hot. For carb-equipped vehicles, one of the easiest solutions to preventing vapor lock is to use a thermal-barrier sleeve on the lines such as a Thermaflect Sleeve from Heatshield Products. Our engine heat shield sleeves have a built-in, high-temp hook-and-loop fastener system which prevents needing to remove fuel lines and makes installation a breeze. A roll of Thermaflect Sleeve can be cut to various lengths, so different sections of fuel lines can easily be protected. And, if you have a show vehicle and need heat protection without compromising the restored look, the Thermaflect Sleeve can be removed!
Heatshield Products Thermaflect Sleeve is an effective automotive heat barrier to protect exposed steel and rubber fuel lines in an engine compartment from ambient heat that would cause the fuel inside the lines to reach a high enough temperature to cause vapor lock. Not only do these sleeves prevent vapor lock, but they also protect the engine lines themselves from heat damage.
Solutions for Fuel Injected Vehicles
Even if they're aluminum, fuel injector rails can soak in ambient heat and transfer that heat to the fuel running through them, potentially causing a vapor lock problem. Our Heatshield Products’ FR Shields thermal barriers install around the fuel rails, shielding them from underhood heat and preventing fuel entering the rails from being heated. FR Shields protect fuel rails from ambient heat coming from the top of the engine and the rest of the vapor lock engine compartment, so the fuel isn't heated to performance harming temperatures before entering the injectors.
Protecting under your vehicle where the fuel lines run next to frame rails or floor pans is another key area to protect for preventing vapor lock. In these cases, installing a thermal-barrier sleeve might be difficult or impractical. However, our Sticky Shields can be used around fuel tanks to protect it from heat. This will keep the fuel in the tank cooler and less susceptible to increased temps that could affect fuel-pump operation.
With the use of proper thermal barriers, you’ll reduce the chances of vapor lock fuel injection and provide more consistent and better-performing protection. Wondering which vapor lock prevention solution works best for you? Contact us today to discuss your heat issue, and we’ll find what works for you!
