Date:         Wed, 11 Aug 1999 18:07:00 -0700
Reply-To:     Otmar Ebenhoech <Otmar@EVCL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Otmar Ebenhoech <Otmar@EVCL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Fwd: Need help!
Comments: cc: gustavo@faro.ens.uabc.mx
In-Reply-To:  <v04011700b3d7ca1214c2@[209.220.56.144]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

>
>Hi!
> 
>I´m calling from Baja California, where nobody seems to be able to help me
>with my ´81 air cooled Westfalia Vanagon. The problem is that it consumes
>too much gasoline, about 1 liter each 5.5 kilometers (around 12
>miles/gallon). I rebuilt the engine with new heads, pistons, etc. two
>months ago. I had the fuel injection system double checked, and it seems
>to be working fine. Spark plugs are white, showing no sign of over
>combustion. Nevertheless, the gas consumption is still the same, too high
>to travel.
> 
>Do you have an idea of what can I do? Mechanics here don´t have a clue!
> 
>Thank you very much for any help you can give me. Regards,
> 
>Gustavo
>Ensenada, Baja California, México

Tire pressure? Alignment? Maybe the suspension is bent and not pointing the
right direction?
Is it leaking gas?
The plugs being white indicates to me that it's not a problem with too much
gasoline going through the engine in relation to the air.

Did your tank capacity suddely go up to 20 or more gallons? Maybe the gas
pumps are not calibrated.

Do you still have a catalytic converter? I've heard that unleaded gas is
not available in Mexico. If that is the case, the cat will be clogged with
lead. This would slow you down quite a bit, maybe it would kill your
mileage. It will have to be punched out and emptied for driving in Baja and
then replaced when you return to the land of unleaded gas.

HTH
 -Otmar-
82/86 Stretch Vanagon Westfalia Syncro GTI. "Power of two"
http://www.evcl.com/strvan/strvan.html
Several EVs (Electric Vehicles)
Electric Vehicle Components Ltd. (650) 494-9255