Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 16:22:36 -0700
Reply-To: Ron Bloomquist <roadcow@MCN.ORG>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Ron Bloomquist <roadcow@MCN.ORG>
Subject: Trip
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Hi kids,
Since it is still Friday round here.....
Just a note to let you all know we just returned from a 1,800 mile round
trip to my daughters wedding in Seattle, driving my Vanaru. The wedding was
beautiful, of course but... During our trip north I stopped at a rest stop
and while there a guy walked up and said he had a Vanagon exactly like mine;
an 1984 with the same colors. I told him it wasn't quite like mine in that
I had a Subie engine. I told him about the wonders of my trouble free
Vanagon and then he told me about his Vanagon which he was hauling home on a
U-Haul trailer because a hose broke and he fried his engine! He was
interested in my conversion and said he would look up my webpage when he got
home to Port Townsend, WA.
Then he took off and a bit later we hit the road. We soon saw him trundling
along and I decided to blow past him at 90 mph! Only in the interest of
Science - you know! Just as we passed him my engine started stumbling and I
lost power. I coasted off to the emergency lane and he pulled in behind me.
He asked me what the trouble was and I told him I didn't know - outside of
being a wise ass. I told him to go on. We would figure it out.
My engine would start but it would only idle around 800 rpm and when I would
step on the gas it would die. I started it again and went around to the
engine compartment and opened the lid. The Soob was idling very rough. I
checked all the vacuum lines thinking I had a massive vacuum leak. Then I
wiggled all the wiring connectors. Again, when I tried to advance the
throttle it would die. Hmmm!
I started it again and noticed the gas gauge was on or near empty. There
was an off ramp to a gas station about 1/2 mile ahead. We pushed and pushed
as far as we could along the edge of the freeway but finally arrived at a
bit of up hill and couldn't push any further. The engine would not help at
all. Then a Highway Patrolman showed up and he pushed us to the gas pumps.
I filled the tank. The engine started and died. Oh no! I tried it again
and it fired right up!! I noticed I had gone 245 miles on the previous
fill-up. Normally I can get around 300 miles per tank.
Well, I had been pushing hard through Oregon. Averaging around 75 miles per
hour against a strong headwind. Plus we had two sheep fleeces, in garbage
bags, strapped on top in the luggage area. I did the math. Yup! 15.6
miles to the gallon! Note: On the return trip with a tailwind, no fleece
bags on top and averaging 65 mph, I got 22.3 miles per gallon!
I guess the moral to the story is.... Don't be a wise ass... speed
costs gas!
What really had me worried and concerned was the fact that the engine would
run, though on one cylinder. That's why I thought it was a vacuum leak or a
sensor problem. That's why I didn't think I was out of gas. The engine did
finally get to the point where it would not start at all. I guess the very
last of the gas was finally cleared out of the fuel rail. I was very happy
to discover it was only a lack of gas problem!!
So, currently, 25,000 miles of trouble free motoring except for the idiot
behind the wheel!
Okay, back to your regular programming,
Ron
Vanaru
ROADCOW
http://www.mcn.org/b/roadcow
