Date:         Wed, 14 Jun 95 9:55:47 MDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         aburczyk@dres.dnd.ca
Subject:      Re: my first adventure

Well you survived which is the most important thing.  I talked about this a 
month or so ago.  So here goes again.

1.  Put an on/off ball valve in the fuel line between the tank and the filter or 
pump.  The valves are cheap ($5 at a farm supply place) and very effective.  You 
can sut off the fuel to work on the pump or carbs and you won't dump the 
contentsof the tank in your face.  Beleive me I've been were you were and there 
is a very high probability of dying.  This is well worth the effort.  If you 
have to drain the tank with the valve in place you shut off the fuel, rig a hose 
to a jerry can and then turn it back on to drain.  There is also the advantage 
that you can turn off the fuel under the van and the van will go about 30 feet 
before the fuel in the carbs is gone.  This really stops someone from driving it 
away that isn't familir with the van since you can hide the valve where ever you 
want.  Personnally I'm trying to find one of those electric fuel cutoff valves 
that they like to use on race cars.  This would allow me to kill the fuel from 
inside the van as a furthur car-jacking/theft deterent.  I know that I'm 
paranoid but paranoia has killed fewer people than a laizssez-faire approach.

2. Replace all of that 20 year old (or more) fuel line with high pressure stuff 
for fuel injection systems.  Mine has a reported rating of about 90 psi or so 
but you can get higher.  Trying to use the old hoses (carbs or fuel injection is 
very false economy).

3.  The transaxle on the '73 like mine is a magnessium alloy.  If you light it 

with gas while you are underneath the van your family will not have anything to 
bury.  Enough said?

4.  Mechanical fuel pumps suck.  They cost too much and are a real pain to get 
in and out.  Theya also seem to go completely without warning and at the most 
inconvenient times.  To get at the pump on the '73 you have to undo the lower 2 
screws on the carb heater duct and unhook the vertical tin at the front (clutch) 
end of the engine.  This lets you slide the offending duct out of the way so 
that you can get a ratchet in there.  Add to that the fuel pump screws on mine 
are held on by those 12 point bolts used for CVs but are somewhat shorter that 
the CV bolts.  Personally I put a blank plate on over the hole in the block 
where the fuel pump was and installed an electric pump in the engine 
compartment.  It was one of those box like units and I didn't know it it could 
stand water under the van.  I ran into some vapour lock problems in summer so I 
put a sealed diaphram pump under the van hooked to a switch.  I use it to prime 
the engine or when vapour lock problems occur.  You can hear the pump in the 
engine compartment loose suction.  I don't use the diaphram pump all the time 
because of the noise. It runs to maintain pressure and then shuts off.  It then 
starts again when the pressure goes down below a certain value.  The effect is 
something like a stuttering sound that is somewhat annoying.  Also if one pump 
fails then you have a fall back position.

Sorry about preaching but I consider this stuff to be important.

Andy Burczyk
'73 Van
'88 Fox

> 
> 
> Well, I took my first "shakedown" trip in my 73 Westy. (I used it to
> travel about 500 miles one-way to visit my crazy family....)
> 
> Anyway, I feel that I'm an official member of the group now as I had a
> roadside adventure or two...
> 
> On the way down, about 37 miles out, the van suddenly deaccelerated and
> died. Thank god it was daylight and the road was wide enough to get off.
> I could smell gas, and I found that the copper line had popped out of my
> fuel pump (a 73 IV, under the car.) I jammed it back on and got back on
> I-5 near Red Bluff. Two miles later, it happened again. So, this time I
> got some wire and WIRED the thing on by lashing it to the pump.
> 
> Oh, the cleverness of me.
> 
> Now, we're making pretty good steam. Traveling at 70-75 mph loaded to
> the gills. Funny thing was the gas mileage seemed a little low at about
> 15 mpg. Must have been the speed.
> 
> We go along, and it gets a tad chilly. I go to use the heater, and it
> about stinks me out with gas fumes. Drat, must be leaking a little, yet.
> Oh, well, those in the car who are awake (6 in all, about half of us
> asleep....) put on blankets.
> 
> We get into Fresno at 1 a.m. to take on fuel. I pay for the stuff and
> walk out to see a puddle stretching from rearwheel to rearwheel and
> about half way up to the front of the car. Uh-oh. I look under and see
> that it's pretty wet under there.
> 
> So, I make a decision (the second stupidist one on the trip, as we'll
> see). I reason  A. it has made it about 300 miles with no problem  B.
> I'd have to wake up most of the sleeping children to work on it or stop
> and get a room  C. I don't have a lot of money to deal with this now.
> SO, we move on.
> 
> Wonder of wonders, we arrive in Bakersfield at about 2:30 a.m.
> 
> The next day I look under it again, doesn't look so bad. I resolve to
> buy another pump as soon as possible. I drive about 10 miles to visit
> another disfunctional relative. I get there, and man oh man, the puddle
> under the car is HUGE. Definintely not drivable anymore, a wonder we
> weren't all incinerated.
> 
> I park the thing, and my dad takes me to a local parts shop. Choices are
> A. $40 for a Brazlinian pump  or B. $150 for a German pump. Well, I
> can't afford either, so I opt for the Latin American flavor. (Oh, yeah,
> "C" is $300 for a dealer-supplied German pump. Guess it was a tough
> choice, huh?) Turns out that buying Brazlian was the third stupidist
> decision I'd make on this trip.
> 
> I call the dealership and get a flat rate to get an idea of how hard it
> will be to change the pump. $55, one hour, subject to inspection. What
> does "subject to inspection" mean? It means, they say, "if it has air or
> some other accessories, it could be more. Well, I don't have air or
> anything other than the westy setup. So, I figure, no big deal.
> 
> I get back and go under the van in front of dad's house. Man, what a
> bugger. The lower bolt, allen headed, is easy to get to , but the upper
> one has a piece of tinwork in front of it. Bummer. So, I try to pull the
> tinwork. I can get MOST of the nuts off, but one remains "way up there."
> 
> I'm due for a meeting with other family members in an hour. So, I decide
> to use some force. (No, this isn't the stupidist decision. Stay tuned.)
> I pry the tin away enough to get to the upper bolt. But it takes an hour
> to change the pump out. Now comes the really stupid decision.
> 
> I reason, hey, this fuel line could be 22 years old, probably ought to
> change it. So, I buy some new, German fuel line (I splurge  :) ) and
> hook it to the new pump. Old pump is still hanging there. I then undoor
> the line at the tank, overhead and proceed to have gas go everywhere. I
> had expected some, but oh-la-wee. Put new line on, and oh-oh, the work
> clamp jams. I try to leave the line on, but the tank is full enough it
> blows the new line off. So, I'm laying under the car with a clamp that
> won't tighten and a line that I can't get to stay on. Meanwhile, gas is
> going EVERYWHERE, running all over me, all over the blank I'm using as a
> creeper, down the gutter. I hear cars whizzing by and wonder if anyone
> is about to throw a butt out the window. (Remember the scene from The
> Great Waldo Pepper? I sure did?!)
> 
> All this is going on, and my dad had stepped into the house to get
> something. About 20-30 minutes later, he reemerges, horrified (and I
> though he didn't like me!) He gets me another clamp. I STILL can't get
> it on properly, but at least it allows the host to stay on.
> 
> I get out from under the car, I was NEVER so glad to get out of a place,
> and we push the car out of the huge puddle.
> 
> We manage to get it up partially on the curb to give me more room. About
> 15 minutes and lots of gasoline later, I get it on tight.
> 
> Thank God, I go into the house, shower and change clothes. My skin is
> hamburger from having gas on it so long, but I'm glad to be out of the
> ordeal.
> 
> But the fun isn't over yet. We fire it up and look for leaks. POURING
> out of the right carb is a huge gas leak. Ah, yeah, dad. I didn't
> actually check to see if it was the PUMP leaking gas. Well, we
> tightended the brass nuts on the float bowls on both sides. No more gass
> leaks. I prepare to leave to get cleaned up and go to a wedding. My
> father looks more worried than I've ever seen him in his life. (I forgot
> until later that his father was seriously burned and his kid brother
> burned to death.) He offered me a ride back to my sisters....but no, I
> trust this big ole van to get me home...
> 
> Now I wish I could say that this WAS the end of this story, but it gets
> better. We marry my brother off, with whom I barely speak.... And I
> proceed to head back upstate, again late at night. (Gotta travel when it
> is cool and when the kids sleep.) About 35 miles down the road, the van
> begans to cough and sputter. What gives? Probably a batch of bad gas,
> couldn't be a NEW pump failing. Pull over, put in some STP and a fresh
> tank, pull on the road again. Works fine. Another 35 miles and the van
> struggles to do 65. Well, I DO have all that stuff strapped on top. At
> 50 miles, 85 total out of Bakersfield and almost to Fresno, the van
> won't do 55. So, I keep on trucking at 50-45-40-35. We reach Fresno at
> 25 mph and know we've got to stop.
> 
> I rent a room and we get the kids to bed. I can't sleep (wonder why),
> then, from deep inside my brain I recall the converstation at the part
> house.
> 
> Me: What's this little hose here. The extra one.
> 
> Parts guy (AKA HIM): Oh, it's a vent.
> 
> Me: A VENT?
> 
> Him: Yeah, they had some problems with the pump building up pressure and
> this is supposed to fix it.
> 
> Me: Oh, OK.
> 
> So, I go out to the van and dig up the old pump. I get out the toolbox,
> find a file and a tube of locktite, and spend the next hour cleaning and
> refitting the copper line to the pump. (Squirting gas in my face for
> good measure. Seems like I can't get near gasoline without getting a
> faceful.)
> 
> Next morning, I arise at 6 a.m. and have the new/old pump in by 6:45.
> Only a drop (in the eye, ouch) this time.
> 
> IT WORKS. No gas leaking. But will I have a power problem (no snickering
> I mean any more so than usual?)
> 
> Nope. All well.
> 
> I now reflect on the difference between a German pump at about $110
> extra. I guess the extra cost is due to one small fact. The GERMAN PUMP
> WORKS! The kicker is, though, I read the manual AFTER all this, and it
> says: "Engine must be pulled in 73-74 ..."  Glad I hadn't read THAT!
>