Date:         Tue, 29 Jun 2021 20:43:38 -0700
Reply-To:     "Richard Smith (Smirby)" <smirby@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Richard Smith (Smirby)" <smirby@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      [Almost] a tow truck home
In-Reply-To:  <432D6816-6CC7-4AED-8134-8B3920DD49C6@icloud.com>
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This story has a happy ending, so I thought I would share it, in case people think we encounter breakdowns all the time…

I left Vancouver on Thursday evening, hoping to get up into the mountains (up behind Princeton - about 1100 meters or 3600 feet) for some fishing. The forecast was for hot weather but I was hoping for cooler evenings in the mountains, especially at night. I was (mostly) right about that.

The van is a 1987 GL, with automatic and 250,000 km. Original engine and transmission, but in good shape. The trip up to Link Lake went smoothly and we were there by 1am (about 5 hrs driving for the 300km or so - I take things slow, we stopped for gas).

We left Monday morning after a successful fishing trip and had a smooth trip down to Princeton, which is about 700m above sea level or 2300 feet. We filled up with premium (a clue?) gas, and headed onto the highway to begin the climb to Sunday Summit (1300m or 4200 feet - another clue?), which begins with a long hill leaving town and then more or less uphill for 20km or so.

The initial climb was normal - slow but I’m used to that. But then, after a slight downhill and some bends, the next climb was not happening. The engine faltered, stumbled, and finally stopped. Not a misfire, just a gradual loss of power. If I “feathered” the gas pedal, shifted down to 2 or 1, I could keep it going for a while, but it would finally stop and I would be on the side of the road.

This happened three or four times, and I was getting resigned to making “the phone call.” I started to calculate the distance back to Princeton or the distance to Hope (further but closer to home). I was sweating bullets, not just because it was hot as blazes. 

I figured the heat must have something to do with it, although the engine wasn’t much above the normal operating temperature. When it ran, it ran smoothly, so I figured it wasn’t ignition related. It seemed to be fuel related. Did I get bad gas in Princeton? Was the gas extra cold and it was hitting the hot fuel pump with bad effect? Was the elevation resulting in some kind of vapour lock (or cavitation - something that has been mentioned on this list)?

I finally made it to the top of Sunday Summit, which thankfully has a large area for trucks to pull in and check their brakes. Not much in the way of shade, though, and because the van stalled just as we entered the parking lot we ended up pushing it to the side of the truck lot and edging into the “shade” of a billboard. There was about 3 feet of ‘shade’ in the 2pm sunshine.

Of course the van was full of camping equipment and my tools were at the bottom. Finally got them out, and started removing the shield that protects the gas heater (Canadian vans have gas heaters, mostly) and blocks your view of the fuel pump. The fuel pump looked pretty original, though the fuel filter was new(ish), from 2016 - helpfully written on the side. Replaced when I replaced the fuel tank that year.

I can tinker with my van but I am no mechanic, so beyond looking for obvious leaks or lack of action (turn key on, listen), it seemed OK. I tapped on it a few times for good luck, and then - after perhaps 15 or 20 minutes - tried the key. It started right up and idled smoothly! I threw everything into the van, and headed down the mountain.

Amazingly, the “fix” held. There were a couple of very minor stumbles in the first 40km or so, but it more or less ran perfectly for the remaining trip home.That trip was somewhat hellish because the temperature continued to climb (the PNW “heat dome”) and by the time I was at sea level it was 43C outside and 49C inside my non air-conditioned van. And, to top it off, we landed into a 10km traffic jam between two exits that had us crawling or stopped for over an hour. 

Despite the heat, the van ran perfectly. I did run the rear heater (thankfully no one was sitting back there) to serve as a secondary “radiator” for the engine.  

So… what is the explanation?

I am inclined to think it wasn’t the heat OR the elevation but some combination. And, while the pump/filter worked perfectly before and after, there may be something going wrong with that pump that made it susceptible to those conditions. I should add that this same van made that same trip 4 X (across the rockies and back, 2X) last summer and fall.

I have to admit to myself that there have been a couple of (very minor) “stumble” incidents in the last six months. Should I have paid more attention to those? Could this be a “weak” fuel pump? Is that even a thing?

While I am not a “parts cannon” kind of guy, I think I can easily afford a new fuel filter after five years, and I suspect that a new fuel pump after 34 years - assuming it is original - is a reasonable thing to buy anyway. But, I am interested in any comments on the incident.

The larger point being that my van, which has never left me stranded (it did strand my son once, but the two of us were able to effect a roadside fix - voltage regulator - on our own), seemed to “heal itself” with a bit of patience and believing that it might right itself. 

Why did I decide to keep trying, rather than just call the tow trucks? It was kind of crazy, in a way, because I was just getting further and further from the nearest town. 

Not only that, but I never even considered turning around and going back to Princeton. Why didn’t I do that? I don’t know. Somehow I believed it would work out. And it did. One for the trip log, for sure. And, something to share with you folks.

Have a great week/weekend. Canada is having a birthday (marred by shameful events in the past) and so is America. We all deserve a break from this dreadful pandemic. Enjoy yourselves. And believe in your van.

…r