Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 15:05:57 -0600
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1-1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Gypsy is gone...
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I had an engine fire in my 1983 Westy.
It took two 5 pound fire extinguishers to put it out.
I'd estimate the damage at $500.00 if I'd paid someone else to make repairs.
I had a spare FI wireloom and spares on all the plastic parts that got
smoked and deformed.
I was 10 feet from my extinguishers when the fuel flashed and the whole
flaming process was less than one minute in duration.
When I got my 76 one owner 912e Porsche with 58,000 miles on it, the first
thing I did was replace the FI lines and every other rubber, plastic hose in
the engine bay and up front on the fuel pump.
It had the original lines and the car was running on borrowed time or better
described as a TIME BOMB.
It smelled of fuel but the only way I could see fuel leaks was to shine a
very bright flashlight at the lines and I could see sparkles at the leaks.
It was evaporating so quickly it didn't leave a trace that an un trained
person might even find.
If you neglect everything else try not to neglect checking your fuel lines
at least once a month even if they are new.
I've had clamps to slip and hoses to slip on the steel fuel connector
manifolds.
I've had new PepBoys hose to split and crack after just a few months use.
The thing that surprised me most was that the PO of the Porsche bragged
about how his favorite mechanic always watched out for him and saved him
money by catching things early. Well 27 years on the original fuel line is
just ridiculous.
Stan Wilder
Engine Ceramics
214-352-4931
www.engineceramics.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Darren Lastfogel" <dlastfogel@PLYFORMS.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 2:31 PM
Subject: Re: Gypsy is gone...
> I volenteer to be the chair person to lead the (replace your fuel line
> cause)lets unite.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Detroit Bus [mailto:detroit.bus@GMAIL.COM]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2004 2:23 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Gypsy is gone...
>
>
> Perhaps the "best" possible response to Deb's sad misfortune would be
> the upgrading and replacement of fuel lines on old VWs all over the
> world during the next several weeks. We could make this a joint effort
> of sorts. Obviously there are other factors that cause vehicle fires
> but as Ben convincingly states fuel line problems are the primary
> instigator. (Can't wait to visit your shop next time I drive up to
> Montreal, looks fun!)
>
> Last month I bought several meters of the correct high-pressure fuel
> line and FI clamps from one of the list's vendor members, and have
> been planning to retrofit my new Vanagon right after New Year's after
> all the holiday obligations have ended, and while I have access to a
> garage in Michigan (assuming I make the 700 mile journey from NYC to
> Detroit without event!) In the past the *very* first thing I did to
> any of my air-cooleds was to replace the fuel lines and clamps, even
> before changing the oil. As no doubt hundreds of people on this list
> will attest, there is scarcely a more miserable experience than
> watching an engine fire devour months or years of work and care. My
> brother once lost a fine Beetle convertible like this, just an hour
> before he was supposed to finalize its sale for several thousand
> dollars--in fact he was driving it to the new owner's house! The next
> day he sold it to a junkyard for $50 (this was a while back...).
>
> Anyway, if anyone else has been planning to re-do the fuel lines on
> their VW, perhaps we could all do this at the same time, say the
> weekend of Jan 1-2, after you sleep off that hangover? That way if
> anyone has questions or problems (I myself have never done this on a
> Vanagon engine) there will be a lot of combined activity concentrated
> on the same job simultaneously; as they say two heads (or fifty) are
> better than one. For instance, I'm sorry to say that my fuel line
> clamps look like little crusty brown barnacles so I'm already
> anticipating some issues with removal, it would be great if I could
> talk to someone who had encountered the same problem just minutes
> before while every little detail is fresh in their head. Maybe we
> could even spread this effort to other VW lists (vintage buses,
> beetles, etc.) and make it a one weekend fuel line mass effort?
>
> This also gives anyone who wants to participate a week or two to order
> and receive the correct hoses and parts (don't just use cheapo hose
> clamps!!). If we get even ten or twenty classic VW's outfitted with
> new fuel lines that weekend, it will be a great tribute to Deb's lost
> Vanagon, and almost surely prevent a disaster somewhere.
>
> Any interest? I'll post again in January when I am in a dry garage
> looking down at that first fuel injector...
>
>
>
> --
> Garrick in Queens, NY
> '87 GL Weekender
>
> *****
> With fond remembrances of:
> '77 Beetle
> '67 Bus
> '59 Pickup sn# 460440
> '67 Beetle
> '76 Camper Bus
>
>
> --
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>
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