Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:49:30 -0600
Reply-To: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike South <msouth@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Does this look like a fuel leak?
In-Reply-To: <D8F62156-2D18-4A24-A13E-81DC68AC4E42@peterkrogh.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
When I was starting the test runs of my Bostig conversion, I smelled the
dreaded scent and figured it must have been something in the connections I
had just made. All of them checked out, so I crawled around under the van,
feeling along the whole path, and it turned out the hard plastic line that
runs from somewhere around the fuel pump to the firewall was leaking. I
replaced both hard lines with fuel injector line.
On Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 7:40 AM, Peter Krogh <peter@peterkrogh.com> wrote:
> I've noticed the smell of gas in my engine compartment, and it looks like
> I may have multiple fuel leaks back there. I suppose it's also possible
> that what looks like fuel stains could have come from some penetrating
> solvent used in the fuel line repair over the summer. Or perhaps the stains
> have simply been lingering around since the repairs over the summer.
> Wondering the wisdom of the list.
>
> Here's a movie showing what I see:
> https://vimeo.com/58572336
>
> Background
> The van sat in the driveway for several years undriven. Last summer I
> hired a work-from-his-house vanagon-only mechanic to do some basic repairs
> - brake lines, brakes, shocks, gas tank breather, and fuel lines as well as
> a few bushings. You can see the new fuel lines and the crimp-on connectors
> in the video.
>
> There have been a number of other issues I'm slowly working through on my
> own as best I can.
>
> Next step
> After 28 years, I really don't want to lose the van to a foreseeable
> engine fire. Does this look like a fuel leak? I can't really see how the
> leak could be happening - lines are new, connectors look tight (as best I
> can tell). Do the rails ever crack and leak?
>
> Should I spray down the engine compartment with engine cleaner and see if
> the staining comes back? Should I stop driving it immediately?
>
> I tried leaving the car ignition turned on (car not running) for a half
> hour or so to see if any fuel seemed to leak further, but could not find
> evidence of that. (I assume that the fuel lines are pressurized when the
> ignition is turned on.)
>
> I've been driving the car a couple times a week, nothing longer than 20
> miles for the last 5 months. At this point, I need to put the car into
> local service on something like a daily basis, so I'd like to resolve the
> safety issues ASAP.
>
> The guy who did the work is 60 miles away, so driving to have him look at
> it only works if this is not a dangerous condition. I have sent him a link
> as well, but not yet heard back.
>
> Thanks for any insight.
> Peter
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