Date:         Tue, 20 Jul 1999 00:28:31 EDT
Reply-To:     JKrevnov@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Rico Sapolich <JKrevnov@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: [84GL cutting out]
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Gary:
I too had an '84 that intermittently would respond to throttle input with
that flabby feel of a clogged fuel filter.  Occasionally, if left to run at
idle for a few minutes, it would stop running.  Although the malfunction
occurred sporadically (unlike any clogged filter I had ever seen ) ,
hard-earned experience has taught me to check the obvious things first, so I
plugged in a new filter.  Obviously that was a waste of manpower.  I then
proceeded to earn my Ph.D. in Digijet Fuel System Operation.

I could go on for pages with the travails that ensued once I became provoked
to resolve this problem, but I'll spare you the tedium and cut to the chase.
You may have pinholes on the top of your gas tank which are allowing water to
enter the fuel system either directly or as water vapor which condenses out.
If the van has spent any time in the Rust Belt, this is even more likely.  If
undisturbed, any water in the fuel tank will eventually form into a bubble.
Once underway, there is enough constant agitation to break up this mass of
water and disperse it throughout the fuel so that its effects are minimal.
The symptom comes and goes because it depends on the attitude of the vehicle
(which, of course, determines where the H2O bubble is with respect to the
fuel pickup) and the amount of time the H2O has had to amass.  Even stopping
at a long light is, with the right gradient, enough time.

If all else fails, this may be something to check.  It was my experience that
all else did fail.  If you find this needs to be checked, the surefire,
pain-in-the-ass procedure is to drop the tank, plug all the penetrations (if
I remember correctly, there are 6), then put some pressure to it.  If the
tank is perforated, it will not require very much pressure to show it.  You
might be able to test it in situ if you can pinch off all the hoses.  All
Vanagon owners know how to crimp-off a hose (that is "crimp-off" as a
pipefitter would use the term which means to stop the flow from a hose
without the benefit of a valve).

Richard