Date:         Sun, 7 Apr 2019 09:53:10 -0700
Reply-To:     Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Williams <sbw@SBW.ORG>
Subject:      Re: Vanagon fuel filter mod for my 84 Westy
In-Reply-To:  <BN6PR2001MB10421AB3243F1B0D609C17B7A0530@BN6PR2001MB1042.namprd20.prod.outlook.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Last summer my '84 Westy and I had lots of trouble from Utah to
California along I-80, high elevation and very hot, over 100F a lot of
the time.  Peninsula Automotive in Campbell diagnosed it as a fuel
delivery problem and replaced the fuel tank.  I was skeptical at the
time, but reading this thread, I think they got it right.

I won't actually know until the next time we try to climb a long grade
above 7,000 feet at 105F, but I'm hopeful.

The symptom was: At high power, like a long grade at full power, after
some time, the engine would start missing and eventually just crap out.
It wouldn't restart until it sat for awhile.  Coolant temperature normal
the whole time, thank goodness!

Along the way I replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, spark plugs, spark
plug wires, distributor rotor, everything I had with me.  (I didn't have
fuel injectors or a pressure regulator with me.)

For a while, I thought that improved the problem, but no.  At one point
I pulled off I-80 in an extremely desolate area and parked for a couple
of hours in the shade under the freeway to let it cool off, so I could
nurse the Westy into the next town.  I was very uncomfortable to be out
of sight under the freeway with no cell service, but I guess it was an
adventure.  (I got my amateur radio license this year, and I really must
get a portable rig and learn to use the relays!)

I was able to get back to California by driving over the Sierra with a
light foot, as slow as 45 mph.  Less demand for fuel, I guess, although
at the time I wasn't convinced that was the problem.

Of course, Peninsula Automotive couldn't reproduce the problem in the
cool SF Bay Area at sea level.  But they told me they could hear the
pump cavitating, and they suspected the original tank with the smaller
outlet just wasn't getting enough fuel to the pump.

Dennis Haynes's description of the engine adding heat to the fuel
recirculated to the tank makes a lot of sense, especially at high power
for an extended time.  And the hot weather made the fuel and the fuel
pump hotter.  GoWesty long ago replaced the forward square plastic fuel
filter with an adapter, but that's just changing a flow restriction, not
eliminating it.  And who knows how much rust was in the tank after 34 years?

So Peninsula installed the new fuel tank (and pressure regulator).  I
immediately noticed the pump is MUCH quieter than since I bought the van
in 2009.  I've climbed the Grapevine a couple of times since then, but
the weather was cool, so not a good test.

In any case, I now believe the tank with the small outlet and square
plastic filter ahead of the pump were always a bad design, as Dennis
says.  VW apparently knew that and made a big improvement, but my Westy
never got the full improvement until last year.  GoWesty recommended,
and I paid them to make a lot of good upgrades when I got the Westy,
including the updated cooling system.  I'll now encourage new owners to
upgrade the fuel tank, filters, and lines right away.  I don't want
anybody to be stuck under a bridge in the Nevada desert in 100F heat
ever again.

https://sbw.org/sbwsty/