Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2018 18:44:16 -0800
Reply-To: Rick Cooper <rickdcooper@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Rick Cooper <rickdcooper@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Fuel pressure too high
In-Reply-To: <CAB2Rwfhq7cmbUThS7EudP-rvUD0ntsgSBWGaMqL4zGNUAKTPzA@mail.gmail.com>
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I'll take the pressure gauge back tomorrow and pick up a better quality one
-- it was $21 and I guess I got what I paid for.
You may be right Dan that both pressure regulators are faulty; I'll know
once I get a reliable pressure guage.
Neil, the '87 is an automatic (while the '86 parts van is manual). But I'm
not sure what you're gettting at in your first paragraph. I'll try your
gas cap suggestion, though I'll be surprised if the system is that
air-tight. I rapped the fuel pump to try to dislodge potential debris, but
I'll redo that again with compressed air (I don't think you can run these
things backward can you?). It's worth redoing for sure, since it was one
of the first things I did now a few weeks ago.
Rick
On Sun, Mar 4, 2018 at 5:18 PM, Neil N <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
> It sounds to me like there might be more than one issue.
>
> If no one replies to this, check the archives, but a drop in tach
> coinciding with power loss might be an important clue. e.g. it indicates
> there's a fault in the ignition system. That said, if the van in question
> has an automatic transmission, I'd be curious if that comes into play
> regarding the drop in tach during power loss.
>
> Next time the pump gets really noisy, and you get power loss or stall, if
> safe to do so, pull over and remove the gas tank fill cap. Do you hear a
> "whoosh" when you do that?
>
> It's normal for pressure to remain in the fuel system for some time after
> engine is shut off. In fact one test of the fuel system is the "residual
> pressure" test. If I recall, the system should hold pressure for about 20
> minutes.
>
> Did you clean the fuel pump inlet screen while cleaning the fuel tank?
>
> Neil.
>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 4, 2018 at 4:01 PM, Rick Cooper <rickdcooper@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> I've got an '86 Westy with a 2.1 waterboxer. I've been having no end of
>> fun trying to diagnose a fuel supply problem and I'm baffled. I've
>> searched the archives and tried lots of different things but, although
>> some
>> things improved the situation, I still haven't found a permanent solution.
>>
>> The key symptom throughout has been a noisy fuel pump which gets very loud
>> and sounds like a stuck pig when the situation gets bad enough that the
>> engine dies. That doesn't happen until after I've driven it 5-10 miles.
>> After driving say 3 miles, it's whining and after 5 or more, it is
>> starting
>> to die on acceleration, idle is okay for a while but eventually it will
>> stall.
>>
>> It's weird -- I'll be tootling along a 50kmh (30mph) and then no power,
>> the
>> tach drops back to 850. A short while (say 3-10 seconds), the tach will
>> take off and I've got power again. It repeatedly does this except that
>> the
>> intervals between the losses of power decrease until ultimately the engine
>> will simply not start and the fuel pump is screaming and growling when I
>> try to start it.
>>
>> I've got an '86 tintop with a 2.1 engine that I parked a couple of years
>> ago rather than repairing a serious coolant leak in one of the heads. I
>> swapped most of the Digifant components out of it and into my '87 (AFM,
>> throttle, idle control valve and fuel pressure regulator). Replaced the
>> plugs, checked the timing. Replaced the fuel filter. Nothing made much
>> difference.
>>
>> Did a fuel flow test and I'm getting about 750 ml in 30 seconds, Bentley
>> says 500ml is good.
>>
>> I first suspected rust from the fuel tank, so I pulled it off and cleaned
>> it out. Not rusty but the gas obviously had water in it. Discovered that
>> one of the plastic expansion tanks had a crack in it and the grommet
>> around
>> the valve at the top was shot; water was entering easily during our
>> current
>> rainy season here in Victoria. So I patched all of that up yesterday and
>> have new grommets on order.
>>
>> Today is warm and dry. Took it for a run and to pick up a fuel pressure
>> gauge. It was about a 15 mile run, started out much better although the
>> fuel pump still whined though less so. Just barely got home, it was
>> starting the loss of power cycle again.
>>
>> Tried out the fuel pressure gauge. At the fuel pressure test screw, I'm
>> getting around 100psi! (the guage only goes up to about 70). Pressure is
>> not affected by pulling the vacuum hose off of the pressure regulator,
>> though the idle speed picks up slightly. The Bentley says it should be
>> 29-36psi, depending on whether the vacuum hose is attached.
>> Pressure at the return hose is the same -- around 100psi. After shutting
>> the engine off, it takes a long time for the pressure to even begin to
>> decline.
>>
>> I suspected a blockage in the return line, but although it is has at times
>> seemed hard to blow through, today it was fine and I could easily blow air
>> into the tank.
>>
>> Anyone have any ideas what might be going on?
>>
>> Thanks, Rick
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *Because **I want my vote to count.*
>> *And I want my neighbour's vote to count too. *
>> https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/bc-referendum-vote-pledge
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Neil n
>
> Blog: Vanagons, Westfalia, general <http://tubaneil.blogspot.ca>
>
> 1988 Westy Images <https://picasaweb.google.com/musomuso/New1988Westy>
>
> 1981 Westfalia "Jaco" Images, technical <http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/>
>
> Vanagon-Bus VAG Gas Engine Swap Group <http://tinyurl.com/khalbay>
>
--
*Because **I want my vote to count.*
*And I want my neighbour's vote to count too. *
https://secure.fairvote.ca/en/bc-referendum-vote-pledge
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