I second the idea of bypassing the firewall fitting completely and running a continuous length of hose. I used a gromet and put the hose through the existing hole, but i also wouldn't be too affraid to just route the hose under the firewall, above the transmission. It doesn't go very far on the other side before it meets up with the hard nylon hose that it fits over. This is also a great time to replace all your engine bay fuel lines if you never have. Most of the suppliers sell a kit to do this, i can't speak highly enough of Ken Willford's. It's got all the necessary clamps and hose with enough hose to bypass the firewall fitting. My advice is bite the bullet (it's a small bullet anyway), do it all, do it right, and mark that off on the list of potential reasons your car will explode.

I have a friend up in Erie who's 90 multivan went up in flames and he suspects it was the firewall fitting. He's very adament about replacing all the fuel lines first thing on the next vanagon he buys.

-Craig '85GL turned WESTY

On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 12:59 PM, Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net>wrote:

> To make everything more or less bullet proof, I would rig a grommet > in the existing hole and then go to NAPA or your local hardware store > and buy an 1/8" NPT, 1/4" NPT , or 5/16" brass > union/coupler(whichever one looks like it will match the inside > diameter of the existing hose and has the female threads in it)and > then screw 2 male barb connections into it of the appropriate size > and slide the fuel hose over that and clamp as needed. If theres a > gap between the grommet and the coupler/union, then wrap some of that > stretchy heavy duty black 3M wire insulation around the brass part > until it fits snuggly into the grommet. Might cost $6 or 7, but soft > copper tubing is just that; soft!! You might be able to get > a 1-2" long brass 1/8" NPT nipple and use that if the fuel hose > will fit over it. I would think the threads would help hold the hose > on there if you used the non cutting fuel injection hose claps that > our vendors sell for like 60 cents each. Again, if you have a gap > that bothers you in the grommet area, use the 3M stuff or maybe a > large piece of rubber hose to fill the gap around the nipple. > > DM&FS > > > At 11:26 AM 1/5/2009, Tony Collins wrote: > >> Hi Jeff, >> >> I just dealt with this myself. Here is the info that I gathered at the >> samba: >> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=322968&highlight=bulkhead >> >> I opted to use a single line from the plastic fuel line on the other side >> of >> the fire wall all the way to the "T" junction on the engine side. I place >> a >> rubber grommet on the fuel line at the bulk head junction to prevent the >> metal from slicing into the line. Others just hang the line high under the >> area and avoid the grommet all together. >> >> I hope this helps, >> >> t. >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 12:00 PM, Jeff Lincoln <magikvw@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> > Ok, I'm back again. >> > >> > I am thinking that no matter if that plastic fuel line connection >> (connects >> > fuel line between the "fire wall") has failed or not I will be replacing >> > it. >> > I've heard others speak of replacing this with a bit of copper tubeing. >> I >> > searched but couldn't find the post. I'm wondering if anyone has any >> advice >> > on this: >> > >> > 1) What size copper tube will i need? >> > 2) Do I have to have something that is slightly barbed or will the fuel >> > hose >> > clamp tightly enought to a smooth pipe? >> > >> > Any advice and wisdom is greatly appreciated. >> > >> > -- >> > Thanks, >> > >> > Jeff >> > '90 Carat (Grover) >> > '86 (We call this one Parts) >> > '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> 82 Scirocco "Rodolfo" >> 85 Vanagon "Blubrik, El Guapo" >> >