Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (January 2001, week 3)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Thu, 18 Jan 2001 01:10:09 -0500
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Help for a guy in Belgium
Comments: To: Brent Christensen <brent@VANAGON.COM>
Comments: cc: Rettigj@650mi.shape.army.mil
In-Reply-To:  <004f01c0810b$56ed75c0$046fa8c0@Brent>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 11:58 PM 1/17/2001, Brent Christensen wrote: > to identify why it won't run. Here's the history: On an almost empty tank, > the engine began to sputter,

Thought -- maybe crud in fuel system?

then made a nice big white cloud of smoke. I > pulled over, stopped the engine, and looked to see if I cracked a block or > lost a head gasket. Not being that smart, all I could do was look for > coolant leakage on the ground or under the heads (none), check for coolant > in the oil (none), and inspect the level in the radiator reservoir (good).

Thought -- check overflow tank for hydrocarbons with emissions sniffer. Yes = cylinder leak into coolant. In context, probably not an issue

> Immediately I noticed two things - I'm no mechanic, and the joint between > the catalytic converter and the muffler was glowing bright red.

Ok, this means that the cat was eating and burning raw fuel. The can cooled below red while you were headed for the back, but the big heavy joint was still hot.

I thought > maybe a blockage of the converter could have caused all of my problems,

Not these problems...

> Unfortunately, when I tried to restart the engine after about an hour, it > wouldn't even cough. I dropped the catalytic, and tried again, but no luck > -- all I noticed was a LOT of gasoline dripping out a hole in another > section of the exhaust (which I also later replaced, since I was bored and > could not drive anywhere).

Ok, dunno how much a LOT is, but of course there shouldn't be any. Any FI engine will flood if you crank it long enough, but why didn't this one start first? Umph. What did the plugs look like when you pulled them? Tan? Black? Wet? Oily? Carbony?

First impression, too much fuel around here -- suppose burst/punctured fuel filter let crud into injectors? Might jam one or more open, which would give a rapid flood condition. But if it really is a LOT of fuel, obvious guess is a punctured fuel pressure regulator -- that will feed mass amounts of fuel into the manifold. Test by pulling vacuum hose off regulator, then turn on ignition and watch for gas squirting out of the regulator.

If that's not it, unplug injector leads from all injectors -- then remove injectors from manifold while leaving connected to fuel system. Turn on ignition and watch for squirting injector. To actually test/observe injector working, plug in one at a time. Crank engine and look for proper behavior, i.e. regular squirts with complete shutoff in between. Incidentally, all injectors fire at once, so it doesn't matter which plug they get hooked back to.

I then pulled out the spark plugs, dried them > off, and let the cylinders dry out. A neighbor checked the plugs when I > turned over the engine, and saw all four spark.

Doesn't *prove* that they'll fire under compression, though certainly suggestive. Now that they've been out, have to bear in mind possibility of wrong hookup order (but obviously not initial problem).

I bet it's a punctured fuel regulator...assuming your idea of lots is similar to mine.

david

David Beierl - Providence, RI http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/ '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage" '85 GL "Poor Relation"


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.