Date:         Wed, 9 May 2001 01:30:46 EDT
Reply-To:     Oxroad@aol.com
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeffrey R <Oxroad@aol.com>
Subject:      SoCal, Heat, Condensation, & Gasoline?
Content-Type:  text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

I'm fairly newly relocated to Burbank, CA in the SanFernando Valley (6
months). I'm wondering if a problem with my bus can be due to climate
conditions and if there's an easy solution.

The problem:

Occasionally and very sporatically my bus will stumble as if for a moment
it's getting no fuel. Sometimes I'll be cruising at 3,000 RPMs and just get a
slight stumble as if I've taken my foot off the gas pedal momentarily. ( I
have a 4 speed manual trans). Sometime maybe with this scenario the RPMs are
a little lower.

Then sometimes, and this has only happened about 2 or 3 times in the last few
months, It seems the engine will cut out completely. Long enough to stall the
engine. Although I think it only stalls if when it stumbles and then I come
off the gas pedal completely. If I keep the pedal depressed I think the
stumble will pass.

When the bus has stalled the bus always starts right back up with no problem.
Now usually on the rest of that journey it will occassionally stumble
slightly.

As near as I can tell this stumble goes in waves. Meaning it will do it one
day, then not do this for a while like a few weeks. "Ah," i think, "problem
fixed itself." Maybe it was just bad gas. But I haven't actually been able to
monitor it tank by tank. So I don;t know if a clean fill up will solve the
problem, or if it's linked to certain tanks of gas.

I'm not sure if it only happens on real hot days because I can't remember
back--and like I said it's sporatic. But today was pretty hot. Maybe
mid-nineties. But it sure seems hotter than that here. Everything bakes all
day in direct sunlight. There's not a lot of shade. I even got a blister on
the bottom of my foot from walking bare foot on some black top. (stupid?
sure. but who knew?) Anyway in this heat today my bus started to stumble
after about 5 miles on a maybe 10 mile round trip. then it stumbled and
stalled. Then it started right back up with a turn of the key.

I'm curious if it could be getting bad gas from one gas station. Or if the
wicked condensation condition could create a problem either in my tank or the
tank at the station. During the cooler weather a month or so ago in the
morning soup cans I had stored in my cabinet in my bus (it's a Westy) would
be soaking wet on the outside in the morning. And there would be a puddle
under my bus and my room mates cars --and yes just from condensation.

Could the heat of the day and the much cooler temps at night cause
condensation in the gas tank and could that be the cause of my trouble? (Am I
that lucky??) I don't even know if "water in the gas" is actually a reality,
but I remember back east in the winter we used to sometimes use "dry gas" to
take care of what we called water in the gas.

Is dry gas a possible solution for this milder climate or is it just for
freezing temps? Are there bad side effects from Dry Gas? Would keeping the
tank full and not letting it run low help ward off the problem? And finally I
don;t think my gas cap seals completely--as the gas cap failed the suction
test at the Smog Test. Would the loose cap exacerbate condensation in the
tank?

(I just installed a new fuel filter--the one before the fuel pump-. Is there
another? Oh and a new air filter for what it's worth. The spark plugs seem
fine. Slight carbon on the base of the plug, but the electrode is clean and
white--the Bosch 4 electrode plug)

Any info will be appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff
83.5 Westy
NYC