Date:         Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:29:53 -0400
Reply-To:     craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         craig cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      CIS fuel injection, Inline 4 conversion.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Hello. In my attempt to pass on my new mechanical skills and help another
vanagon owner, I have been perplexed. A gentelman has just moved to town
from Washington (to Pittsburgh PA), with an '82 canadian model diesel westy,
that was converted to an inline 4 (Maybe a rabbit engine?) supposedly by
Smallcar Performance quite a few years back. Well this guy has no mechanical
knowledge, he'll hopefully be joining the vanagon mailing list soon enough,
but for now....his vanagon is "dead".
Somewhere along his move (He mentioned colorado) he realised that his fuel
lines were wearing through...
It turns out that the CIS (Or CIS-E?) fuel injection system that was used
mounts the fuel distribution block on the right wall of the engine
compartment, meaning there are solid (as in, brake line) fuel lines going
from the distribution block to the injectors way over on the left. The lines
run alongside eachother, and right over the alternator. Long story short,
the lines have worn on the alternator and now leak fuel, so he doesn't plan
on driving it (Good!). Today we spent our day trying to figure out
replacement lines.... and here is the problem...
We need the banjo fittings on one end, and the fuel injectior connectors on
the other, since our clearly custom lines are worn through, we thought of
using Rabbit GTI lines. So, we got a set of the flexible stainless steel GTI
lines, and they are much to short (Even the longest). What we need, is a
flexible line with the right connectors on each end, thats about 54inches
long.

Those of you that have CIS Inine 4's in your Vanagons, what did you do about
the lines? We can't even find a place to get something like this made, let
alone the fittings themselves. Due to the high pressure of CIS, we cannot
just "cut out" the center/worn through section of our custom steel lines,
and hoseclamp (Fuel injection clamp) on highpressure fuel line, we're told
it will just blow right off.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how to redeem this problem, and get custom
length CIS fuel lines, either soft (Preferably) or Hard (Steel) lines?

Thanks again!
-Craig
'85GL