I recently tried it. I seem so see ALL positive results in using the method. Where there have been problems with swelling is when you leave it in the mix to long. You can use either water or Xylene as the carrier to get the Wintergreen into the rubber. The Wintergreen is the primary ingredient in a number of rubber restores, rubber softener for racing tires, etc. There is one member who did it 5-years ago and says the rubber is still as supple as when it came out of the mix!
I used the water as there is a fire risk in using the Xylene. You accelerate opening the pores in the rubber by heating. So if you can safely heat (questionable) the Xylene you maybe able to reduce the bath from say several hours to maybe an hour or so, I have no experience with this.
I purchased a crock-pot from the local salvation army store for $6 as some members mentioned using a crock-pot. Problem was I was never able to get a rolling boil with the crock-pot. I left it in the crock-pot for like 8-hours as high as the crock-pot would go (maybe 170 degrees) and it did not improve the rubber at all. I'm going to use a camp stove now and an old pot to get it to boiling as ALL others have said this works great and you would typically let it boil for like 30 to 45 mins using this method. Using water the Wintergreen (oil) separates as opposed to the Wintergreen and Xylene, so the boiling emulsifies the oil and the combination of say 220 degrees opens the pores and allows the Wintergreen to get into the rubber.
Others question how this could be a long term solution but, have not tried it! The longest member says 5-years and it still great.
I was talking to a guy the other day who purchased some aftermarket hoses and he says the mold for the aftermarket hose was actually taken from a used set of hoses and the new hoses included the imprints from the original spigots down to the blemishes from the original clamps.
I realize some versions of the hoses are available OEM but I'm thinking its like $70 each. Also I have the "F" and they are a little different, shorter I think, and it seems even the OEM's do not take into consideration these slight differences. In other words you order the OEM hoses for the "F" and you get the "K" hoses.
I have ordered several OEM parts only to find some differences between my original stock and the replacement OEM. Probably not significant performance or fit changes, but changes none the less. In the case of the hose differences between say the "F" and the "K" I assume you can tune/sync the carb to accommodate the differences or maybe there is no effect. But if I can purchase a quart of Wintergreen for $12 and boil them back to supple/sealable condition, why not give it a shot.
