Date:         Thu, 22 Apr 1999 23:44:54 EDT
Reply-To:     KGGILBERT@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Kevin Gilbert <KGGILBERT@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: fuel lines replacing
Comments: To: ksull@mbari.org
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

My recent experience, with help from Karl (thewestyman@mindspring.com)
1. get the right hose; I used 7 mm fuel injection hose made for high pressure
2. get the right clamps; it took 10 trips before I found a local supplier of
the solid band fuel injection clamp; it has rolled edges, and a
screw-tightened band; I avoided the worm-style screw clamp, because I was
trying to avoid anything which would cut into the line
3. be methodical; I tried to work on small sections at a time, making sure to
unclamp, remove, attach new, and tighten new clamp one at a time; this is a
bit less efficient work pace, but I did not want to get ahead of myself and
forget to tighten a clamp
4. beware plastic fittings; mostly I used a razor knife to score the hose to
remove it, so I did not overly twist brittle plastic fittings
5. to remove the short hoses from the fuel injectors: I was advised to use a
hacksaw or Dremel tool to cut the (impossible to get to) clamp on the fuel
injector; Dremel tool would probably work great; I managed with metal-cutting
blade in jig saw - be careful with fingers!; it's just tedious; also, replace
fuel injector seals - FLAPS kit - this is easy
6. reuse the plastic covering found on some of the hoses
7. at startup, look closely for leaks: I traumatized a short connection
behind the firewall which I had not replaced, and it sent a fine squirt; this
was probably getting ready to go anyway, but getting to that bugger added
another 2 hours to the job; also, SEE #4 above; this little fitting is
plastic, and real hard to get fingers and tools onto.
I also needed  to replace the fuel expansion tank beneath the passenger seat.
I got lucky at a junkyard.
Be methodical, take your time, and don't try to do it all at once. It is the
biggest job I've done to my VW that didn't improve its perfomance, but worth
it. You can do it, too.
Kevin
'84 Westfalia w/ 300 leak-free miles