Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:22:56 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Oil/gas leak from passenger cv joint
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Hi Zach...
there is a place on the fuel line arrangement on a stock gasoline vanagon ..
right above the starter roughly ..
that WILL leak eventually ..
guaranteed, if it's the original from-the-factory fuel line set up.
it's hard to see some ...
if yours is original you'll have a plastic fuel line fitting in the
firewall...
near the air flow meter, hidden behind main coolant hoses on an 85.
the problem is on the forward side of the firewall there.
what VW did was ....nicely clamp a short hose on the forward part of that
white plastic fitting ..
with a hose about 1 1/2 inches long ..
the forward end of that hose is just 'crimped' with a metal band where that
hose goes onto the black plastic line coming from the fuel pump.
that is THE spot that leaks ! .guaranteed .
on ALL water-cooled gasoline vanagons as they come from the factory.
If it has not started a fire .............it WILL start a fire ..
unless you fix it there.
I recently just pulled on one ...the black plastic line just pulled right
out ..
that metal crimp type clamp just doesn't cut it after 20 years.
the proper repair, in my world anyway ..
is bypass the entire white plastic fitting ..run the hose on the engine
directly to the black plastic fuel line ....right through that big space to
the right of the bell housing ..and screw clamp it to the black plastic
line.
why VW put three hose connections in the space of 4 inches of so
..........just totally dumb.
When done with this critically important mod, you'll have just one junction.
( btw...I see zero reason to run the fuel hose through the hole where the
white plastic fitting was, with a grommet ...........totally silly ...just
run the hose through the large space to the right of the bell housing. Put
the clamp where you can see it easily anytime you are looking at the engine.
You do have to undo one small white clip 'way' up in there so the black
plastic fuel line can run more directly to the engine hose.
Number Two comment..
It is very, very bad practice to start up and engine and let it sit
'warming up.' !!
It creates unnecessary wear in the engine .........it wastes fuel, and it is
polluting.
There is no load on the engine ...
so it can't warm up very well.
it puts acids into the exhaust system that eat the muffler.
it puts acids in the engine oil that eat at the engine bearings. And it
wastes fuel and pollutes.
it's a really, really bad practice.
what you should do is .....get all ready to drive off..
start the engine gently ....let it run 30 seconds to a minute max, then
drive off gently ..
and drive gently the first couple of miles....and then engine warms up
'under load' that way .....
After a couple miles or so ....then drive normally.
Raw gas has a very distinct smell.
Even one tiny drop you can usually smell. And you never should smell that
smell..
unless it's at the front and you just filled up ..common for grommets on top
of the 2WD gas tank to leak on a full, full fill-up .........not a big deal
by itself at all. If it's bad, should be fixed, but a 'little' fuel smell
at the front after filling up is not right, but it's also not 'usually' of
desperate concern.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Zach Hale" <zach@ZACHHALE.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2011 7:55 AM
Subject: Oil/gas leak from passenger cv joint
> Hello all,
>
> I'm at a bit of a loss for what to do right now as I'm at a campground
> intending to drive a full day so any help is much appreciated.
>
> This morning I checked my oil and coolant as I normally do and all
> looks good. Start up my 85 vanagon and noticed a slightly louder than
> normal clicking noise (normal to hear but it got my attention) so I
> went to listen in while it warmed up. Then I noticed something
> dripping from around the passenger side rear axle boot. I can't tell
> whether it's oil or gas. It smells like gas, but it sometimes does
> when I start the van up. The cvs are only about 6000 miles old and
> seem to be in good shape. The liquid stopped dripping after I turned
> the van off and has since (20 min) dissapeared almost completely from
> around the boot. Based on that I'm thinking its probably gas and I
> only thought it was oil from scraping the ground where it was dripping
> and would have mixed with dirt. I really don't know. Smells like gas.
>
> I doubt the clicking is any worry and is just the van warming up. The
> oil level is full and it seemed to be warming up like normal before I
> stopped. Gas tank is almost full as well. I did notice that after my
> last oil change a month ago the oil level was a little bit above max
> for what that's worth. Seems a normal max level now. At least while
> cold.
>
> Any thoughts/worries? I appreciate any help as I'm eagerly ready to
> leave this camground. :)
>
> Thanks,
> Zach
