Date: Sun, 2 Sep 2012 13:21:52 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Running The Van Low On Fuel
In-Reply-To: <571997964.1339322.1346604825017.JavaMail.root@sz0063a.westchester.pa.mail.comcast.net>
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Their response was really correct unless the plugged filter failed and some dirt broke through it. Now maybe you got some bad fuel (rare these days) or something else happened. Maybe you injectors have been bad for while even leading to the demise of your last engine!
Yes the fuel is always pulled for the same place but in addition the fuel is continuously being recirculated with each pass though the filter removing more debris. The return goes back near the pick-up point to keep the sump area filled so that even at low tank levels there is some fuel for the pump to get even turns and hills and other causes of sloshing the fuel around. Injectors really go not get clogged from dirt in the fuel. They clog from carbon deposits caused by the fuel vaporing from the tips and leaving deposits behind. These are just like the deposits in the intake valve chambers. Worn valve guides and missing stem seals add to this as some oil gets sucked into the intake valve and injector tip area. These are the deposits that detergent gasoline and Techron type cleaners address. Not sand and grit or other thoughts of nastiness. Really fine dirt and water that passes through to the injectors can cause them to erode and wear. This wear at some point can affect the spry pattern and make for leakers. The larger fuel filter used after the pump can filter out much smaller particles and trap more water. This is a great upgrade you can do for an earlier Van. You may never need to deal with injectors again.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of J Stewart
Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 12:54 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Running The Van Low On Fuel
Wow, folks, I just had to pass on this response I got from my earlier post about having my fuel injectors cleaned. Here is my story first, then the response. Heading home from Everybus in 2008, Sunday morning in Lynchburg, VA. I should have known in Jerry Falwell country no gas stations would be open! I kept going and going,fuel gauge dropping so low I wasn't sure how the engine was still running. I FINALLY find an open gas station and fill up. Hit the highway, and then just below Charlottesville VA. it starts: every once in a while a brief hesitation, that gets more frequent. By the time I'm past Charlottesville the van is barely able to make it to 55 mph. I still have another 90 miles to go. By the time I am 30 miles from home I am limping along at 30 mph. It's pouring down rain and I really don't want to mess with the van but I have no choice. I thought at first my cat was plugged, so I unbolt the exhaust:slight improvement but not much. Continue to limp home, and make it without being towed, but last few miles were on the shoulder at like 10-15 mph. Once home I swap the fuel filter. Boom! Able to do 55 again, but the van just doesn't feel "right". I live with it like this for a while. Back then, this Westy wasn't a daily driver for me, so it got little use. I had bought this van ('84) with a seized motor, and put a 2.1 in it and got one of the Euro spec ECU's from Boston Bob. This set up was quite nice, and the van had always had plenty of power, even when towing a trailer with my motorcycle on it. After the Lynchburg incident it was never the same, even after swapping fuel filters a coupe more times. Then, I read here about folks getting their injectors cleaned by WitchHunter. I pulled all 4 and sent them in. Got them back a week later and installed 'em and took the van for a test drive. I was blown away! The van effortlessly hit 75 mph. All the power was back, just like it was the DAY BEFORE I RAN IT LOW ON GAS! I always assumed it was crud sucked into the fuel line from the tank that was fine enough to pass through the filter and then partially clog the injectors! I guess not! Here is the reply I got:
ww common' J, you should know better than that. I get so tired of hearing that the fuel got low so it was sucked from the bottom of the tank along with some trash. Truth is the fuel is ALWAYS taken from the same place, the bottom of the tank....no difference. And if trash was sucked into the fuel flow it would never make it through the filter, that is what the filter is for....plug it maybe but not pass through. Sorry dude, your conception of the situation is not correct, sort of an old wives tale sort of thing that people seem to hang onto.
SO, what was it? Was it like the season on the TV show "Dallas" when Bobbie Ewing got killed? Did I dream it?
Seriously, if my assessment isn't correct, what was it?
Jeff Stewart
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