Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 23:49:21 -0500
Reply-To: John Anderson <janderson@IOLINC.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Anderson <janderson@IOLINC.NET>
Subject: Re: Are Vanagons more fire oriented than any other old car?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>> Vanagon, mainly because of their age. So, does the same apply to all old
>> cars that the lines should be replaced? What is it about the air cooled
>
>yes. and no. it appears that the american rubber hoses SEEM to
>last much longer than the German ones. why, i don't know. but
>British hoses also seem to have the same troubles as the German
>ones: short life.
Wow, I'm differing with Joel for the first time nearly ever in 5 years. I
think German FI hose lasts spectacularly. Lets think a minute, yeah buses
burn, when they are still on their origional FI hoses 20+ years later. Very
hard to truly compare as most US FI systems started in the what mid 80's at
best. Air cooled buses and Vans are of course VERY prone to failure at the
firewall whether it is rubber or steel (depending on year) passing through.
Now some wasserboxers have always seemed a bit overprone as well, probably
cause they had a string of clamp related problems that should have all been
caught in recalls, but also due to the boxer design a lot I think. The damn
ring running back and forth all around the engine makes for a lot more
connections and a lot more mechanical stress then found as most American
cars, and most others bracket fuel lines fairly rigidly to the engine and
flex between it and the frame, on all the VW T2 installs the ring just sort
of floats there self supporting. I still personally prefer to delete the
steel lines on '78-'83 vintage air cooleds that came so equipped and install
good rubber line with less connenctions and less stress from steel forcing
the rubber to bend at bad angles. I sleeve such conversions in the standard
German sleeving material salvaged from junkers. As VW returned to this on
wasserboxers makes sense to me. I recently replaced the lines on a friends
'84 which were origional and as a matter of course slice them open to look
at them, not bad considering age. But some I've seen have been horrid, my
'87 for instance. I think a lot has to do with the type of gas,
particularly additives and the reformulated oxygenated crap. And another
thing, the FI German line sold today really isn't quite as good as some of
the stuff VW installed over the years, the initial striated stuff after the
braided fabric covered far as I can tell was better; then some years have a
drastically superior fabric covered smooth which is like the smooth covered
rubber with a thin fabric covering impregnated in the rubber. So all in
all, I don't know my point, I know most US manufacturers don't have products
that have been in service so long. Something to caution everyone professing
the wonder of the CIS lines, yep them stainless lines last forever, but
carefully inspect what feeds the stainless lines, the ones to the pump and
around the filter. They are often rubber, ugly, and with severely rusted
fittings, or even worse dreaded VW cad plated steel, gauranteed in a salt
belt to be really really unsafe. So as always don't wonder if they are
prone to fire more than others, expect it and take precautions like
replacement every 5 or so years. Something I'm interested in is if anyone
has ever seen the hard plastic line from gas tank to firewall, also used in
many of the later FWD cars degrade. I never have but on the '81 I worry.
John
janderson@iolinc.net
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