Date:         Wed, 4 May 1994 10:12:17 -0700 (PDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Adam Ware <aware@willamette.edu>
Subject:      Re: Gas spillage & other oddities



On Tue, 3 May 1994, Jerry Huff wrote:
> fine but when I went to second it would just putt along, like it was 
> not getting enough gas.  At this point the gas gauge had moved up from 
> setting at dead empty and parked itself at about midway through the 
> red mark.  I was able to putt along for several hundred yards before
> I found a safe side road to exit on.  The van never did die, but I suppose
> it would have eventually.  I have never run out of gas in a pressurized
> fuel injection vehicle, so the behavior struck me as odd.  I should note

ok this is sorta like the problem I have. first of all, I need to get gas 
pretty soon after my gauge crosses the half way mark and if it gets near 
the red I'm pushing my luck, but I have only run out of gas 
once...waiting in line at the gas station:-) but anyway, here is my 
problem: my van will be running fine and shifting fine etc etc, but I'll 
get in a situtaion where I have to stop and go in traffic and the car 
kind of hits low rpms for a gear, usually 3rd and 2nd, but this has 
happened out of the blue a few times.  Anyway it will suddenly switch to 
its other personality: it will putter and cough in 1st and then I shift 
to second and give it some gas and... nothing happens, it coughs a little 
and smoke puffs out with each cough, its like the car is out of gas... I 
have found that at this point the best thing to do is pull over turn off 
the car and swear at it for 30 seconds and then it starts back up in its 
good personality. I figure this is some problem with my fuel line or fuel 
injector? but i know little about engines so if anyone knows whats up 
please help me out

now for this dilema:
> on my way without incident.  Stopping at my local gas station, which has 
> a sloping drive, I pulled up to the first empty pump which positioned my 
> van such that I would be pumping down hill, i.e. filler neck at the top of 
> the slope.  I was pumping the gas pretty fast but not wide open when it 
> clicked off at about 14.5 gallons.  At this point I heard the sound of a 
> liquid spilling onto the ground.  Looking under the van I saw gas dripping 
> off the far side of the gas tank.  The bottom of the tank was dry, as the 
> gas was obviously coming from the top of the tank and running off.  I would 
> guess from the size of puddle left that 8-10oz spilled over.  No gas came 
> out of the filler neck.  The only other time I have filled up I was on the 
> other side of the pumps so I was pumping gas up hill instead of down and
> this did not happen.
> 
> Is this a common experience?

for me it sure is, I have to crouch down and put my ear right by the tank 
to liseten for when it is almost full or it will burp out a about a 1/4 
gallon all over the car and the ground, it sucks I can't wash my 
windsheild or go the bathroom while I'm filling up :-)
what can ya do?
adam ware
'86 Westy 
but looking for a Syncro.... maybe