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
In-Reply-To: <004f01c0810b$56ed75c0$046fa8c0@Brent>
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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"