Date:         Sun, 31 Jul 2016 22:40:38 -0500
Reply-To:     Skip Laubach <skiplaubach@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Skip Laubach <skiplaubach@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Bad fuel?
Comments: To: OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@comcast.net>
In-Reply-To:  <5F38004A-D2E5-415E-A393-384B684BB343@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Right, 82.  I was at the second closest to Chicagoland, and it is more than 30 miles beyond the farthest suburb. The closest, other than small airports is 20 miles beyond the closest suburb, and is $4/gallon, 90 octane. BTW, my previous fill, prior to this, I bought in Iowa at $2.59/gal and we achieved an uncharacteristic 20.3 mpg (normal is 16 mpg). I do normally run premium with 10% EtOH, with no problems, but I like the "pure stuff" when convenient.  Kudos to Iowa and Wisconsin for having readily available, reasonably priced ethanol-free gas.

With the van home (28 mile tow), I can now carefully test fuel quality ( thanks ORR for the tip on feeding known good gas before draining the tank), check coil (thanks Stan) though coil is relatively new (we know what new means sometimes...), and also QC'ing the FP and filter.  

I'll report on root cause and permanent fix. 

Meanwhile, I was just contacted (coincidentally) on Vanagon Rescue Squad by a transcontinental traveler who is having issues with rpm surges at highway speed. We'll be putting an eye and ear to that tomorrow night. 

Skip

Sent from my iPad

> On Jul 31, 2016, at 7:32 PM, OlRivrRat <OlRivrRat@comcast.net> wrote:
> 
>    & JustSoYaKnow ~ There are 82 EthanolFree Gas Stat's in Ill according to > http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=IL
> 
> 
>> On 31 Jul , 2016, at 5:56 PM, Skip Laubach wrote:
>> 
>> Most likely. I filled up with ethanol-free gas (a rarity in Illinois). I drove 1/2 mile and the engine turned off. No start, just cranking over and over. Getting AAA towed in about 25 minutes. I suspect bad gas as it looked like a pump that does not get used much... and the van died after a very short while. 
>> 
>> '84 Westy. 
>> 
>> Question. OK to drain the tank, add 5 gals of normal gas, maybe some Sea-Foam or MMO?  Any other measures that I should take?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Skip
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>