Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:10:05 -0700
Reply-To: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Was: dead cat kills van- What About Bad Gas
In-Reply-To: <008a01c9aa70$523c9190$6401a8c0@PROSPERITY>
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Dunno about bad gas killing a van, but I nearly killed Mrs Squirrel a few
weeks ago with a severe case of bad gas.
Sorry. Not Friday. I'll shut up now.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
Bend, OR
KG6RCR
On 3/21/2009 2:59 PM Scott Daniel - Turbovans wrote:
> hi,
> I've had engines start and run nicely on gas that was two years old even
> .......
> so 'usually' gas that's 6 months old, is not 'the problem' by itself.
> Could be a factor, but I wouldn't expect it to be 'the problem' .
>
> any mice or squirrels make a home in the van over the winter ?
> I see that *VERY COMMONLY * in vehicles left sitting.
> Amazing the damage they can do.
>
> I sometimes hot wire the fuel pump to make super sure it's running.
> and in cases similar to yours, while I'm sorting through it I like a fuel
> pressure gauge hooked up too,
> all in the interests of making sure it's getting the fuel, and fuel
> pressure it needs, or 'to make sure that's not it.'
>
> A nice way to quickly test for a clogged cat or muffler, btw , is to remove
> the Oxygen sensor, so back pressure, if there is any , is relieved.
> You might have a muffler just packed solid with dog food or tree nuts.
> Not joking either. I just removed about 3 pounds of dog food pellets from a
> car part that was sitting in a van in the country for a number of years.
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
> one of the worst things you can do for any vehicle is let it sit. I
> wouldn't ever let a vehicle sit more than say about 6 weeks, without running
> it, and DRIVING it around some. And even that is rough on them, short
> periods of operation, but it's less evil than just letting something sit.
>
> and for SURE .......it would have been nice to put a fuel stabilizer in the
> gasoline when it was parked for winter non-use.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Peter T. Owsianowski" <pnoceanwesty@GMAIL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 7:22 PM
> Subject: Re: Was: dead cat kills van- What About Bad Gas
>
>
>> This Cat Story got me thinking!
>>
>> My brother's '85 with a 2.2 GoWesty in it won't start after sitting in his
>> barn most of the winter. It started on the first crank, ran for 4
>> seconds,
>> then died.
>>
>> It has gas, spark, and is turning over well. Won't even pop one or two
>> times. We put in new plugs turned it over, and nothing, then came out
>> really wet. Checked the injectors and they are spraying well. Connected
>> a
>> known good ECU and cranked - nothing. Pumped some of the gas into a glass
>> from two injectors and it had a really bad smell. We put the new plugs in
>> front of the heater, then sprayed starter fluid in each cylinder, put the
>> dried plugs back in, hooked up AFM and Viola! It started and ran
>> wonderfully for about 8 seconds, then died and wouldn't start. Checked
>> his
>> gas tank level and it looked like 1/4 tank. He swears he had a 1/2 tank
>> back in November when it started snowing here in northern Indiana.
>>
>> We plan on hooking up the fuel pump and draining out the gas in there and
>> putting in as new as we can to see if it starts.
>>
>> He has a brand new Cat (last year) so it can't be that - If it is bad gas,
>> can gas go bad in one winter?
>> --
>> Pete
>> '79 Westy "Aardvark"
>> '87 Westy "Joe's Van"
>> WWW.Busesbythebeach.com
>
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