Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:04:39 -0400
Reply-To: "Jack R." <jack007@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "Jack R." <jack007@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Bad Fuel Pump?
In-Reply-To: <234436.68067.qm@web52704.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Jeff,
Check your ground straps, make sure you good contact at ALL points. Where
the battery ground connects in the battery compartment, the ground strap by
the starter, the one on the tranny, etc. Anything that is bolted to the
body, Un-bolt, wire brush, add di-electric grease and reconnect. Make sure
your battery is fully charged, and then try to start it.
Are you in a "rust belt" area? These connections often go un-checked. My
sister's 2003 Volvo wouldn't start yesterday, it was a corroded connection
at the starter which caused her problem. Our van's are much older!
Do the same with the connections to your fuel pump, just for kicks!
Jack R.
84 Westy Wolfie
N. of Detroit
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Stuart Jeff
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 3:49 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Bad Fuel Pump?
Hello Everyone,
Pretend my fuel pump is bad and I left my van sitting for four weeks without
starting it. Now say, I go to start it - what should happen?
Here's what I've actually experienced - pardon my limited wrenching
knowledge. My van is an 83.5 water-cooled Westy with a WBX engine that had
the heads done 60k miles ago. I've owned and driven it around 3000 miles
without incident. The only symptom of concern that I've heard is that there
has been a loud buzzing from the region under the sliding door for quite
some time. It is the sort of buzzing that one would hear if you left your
keys in the ignition.
About four weeks ago I was driving on the highway at 60mph when all of the
sudden my van starts to slow down. It was as if I was running out of gas
(granted I've never run out of gas but this is what I would imagine it to be
like). The van didn't stop completely but I couldn't go more than around 20
mph. The engine is still sounding fine but I have no power. I limped about a
mile to my office in first and second gear and parked the van. I noticed
that the buzzing had quit at that point. I left the van in that spot and
haven't touched it until today. Today, I went out there and decided to see
what happened if I cranked it. I turned the key, the dash lit up, buzzes,
and I hear a rhymthic clicking sound. I assume this is the starter. The
engine never turned over or seemed to make any attempt to crank. My interior
lights and stereo continue to work fine and as far as I know my starter +
starter battery is in perfect working order.
Now my thinking was that the buzzing was the fuel pump and that fuel pump is
now dead. The optimist in me says that if I just replace that fuel pump then
all will be well. The pesimist in me is afraid that my engine has gone and
died for real. The loss in power but still being able to limp another mile
has me concerned about a deeper problem. Also, this may just be from a
nightmare but I have a vague memory of brief black smoke at the point when I
lost power. I wouldn't swear by it but it is a fear.
So what would your next step be? Replace the fuel pump? Get on the waiting
list at Vanaru? Some other option I haven't thought of?
Thank you all for playing along at home!
Stuart
