Date:         Mon, 12 May 2008 21:37:38 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      New to van ownership?..do the fuel lines..
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

By all means, do those fuel lines ASAP!
  I'd not paid any attention to that or perhaps missed the warnings. I'd
owned my van for about 4 months when on a trip into town, I began smelling
gas.  I was following a beater Camaro and thought.."boy, is that guy's car
running rich!" but then I noticed my gas gauge was visibly sinking as I
drove!  In a few miles, I went from 1/4 tank to almost empty...and it dawned
on me!!  Wow, I was spewing gas out as I drove...
  So, rather than just stop and jump out...(I've seen racecars burst into
flames as they stopped and the fuel leaks 'caught up') I planned it out and
stopped at a very wide downhill that I knew of, after reviewing where
exactly I was going to look, where my extinguisher was, what I was going to
try to save in case a fireball happened (I had my $5k race bicycle inside)
etc etc...
  So, when I pulled into the wide spot and leaned out, looking back under
the van...yep!  A huge puddle of gas under the motor and more pouring out as
the motor ran.  I shut it off quickly (as I'd planned to do), the flow quit
and I jumped out and rolled the van off the puddle to try (successfully) to
keep it from igniting...
  One of the old braided (original, I bet) fuel lines had split...
  I rode my bike into the FLAPS and got about 20' of fuel injection hose and
replaced them all right there..Took a few hours, but the whole time I was
telling myself how lucky I'd been...Sheesh!  I also have just found a billet
fuel rail to replace my plastic one..that will be done very quickly now as
well.  (My van has a Rabbit motor, with many aftermarket parts available)
  Don Hanson