Date:         Tue, 2 Apr 1996 11:38:25 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         David E Most <most@gibbs.oit.unc.edu>
Subject:      fuel problem solved

Thanks to all those who wrote to me about the fuel problem I described 
last week.  I couldn't figure anything out, so I took off heading west on 
I-40.  Got some gas in Asheville, started up the engine, and I couldn't 
go more than about 5 mph.  I drove for a couple of miles, and it was 
getting close to 5pm, so I asked where the VW dealer was.  It was on top 
of a big hill, and I just couldn't make it up.  So I sat there parked 
illegally while these VW mechanics drove by on their way home.  I was 
able to get back on the main road...barely any power left...and I pulled 
into a camping store.  Of course, in the parking lot, there's a guy with 
a '78 westy attempting to install a GEX engine that he just received.  I 
didn't notice him until after I was committed to pulling into the lot.  
Unfortunately, he couldn't help me diagnose the problem, but he told me I 
could camp out there for the night (which I did).  The employees at the 
store were very helpful, and they let me use the phone for a while and 
gave me some recommendations for people to call.  At least one you 
mentioned the air flow sensor flap, and once I figured out where it was, 
I was hoping that would be the problem.  I pushed it and it seemed to 
move quite freely, and I was able to compare mine to the other guy's  in the 
parking lot.  I thought I'd have to get towed in the morning having only 
made it 220 miles on my trip.  

After spending a restless night thinking about what would happen, I 
decided just to try starting it up in the morning and see if I could 
drive it to someone.  Of course, it starts right up and drives very 
smoothly...going up hills and everything.  The mechanic says to me, "I 
can't fix anything if nothing's wrong."  Makes sense to me, and I knew 
that already, but I was hoping that I could figure out something.  The 
people at the camping store told me that I was crazy to drive across 
Kansas in a bus without AAA. 

After hanging around Asheville for a couple of hours trying to decide 
whether to turn back or keep going west, I decided to burn some fuel 
heading west, get some gas, and see if the problem would come back.  
Well, it started happening a bit outside of Kansas City (the slight 
burping.  Then I had to hold the steering wheel as if I was making a 
right turn for 2 hours while driving down I-70 in Kansas.  The wind was 
blowing consistently from the North and every time I would go under an 
overpass, my bus would veer toward the wall...reduced my mileage by about 
a third during that stretch.  Also, it was raining hard, 32 degrees, and 
cold water was dripping on my shoe.  I made it through though with all my 
muscles contracted from the cold.

By the end of the day, I was in Fort Collins, CO from whether this letter 
is being written.  The bus was cruising smoothly at speeds faster than I 
had anticipated, and it sounded nice at the high altitude.  I'm convinced 
that moving that flap solved the problem even though it didn't feel stuck 
at all, and I didn't have to call AAA.   I Drove about 1500 miles in 36 
hours, and everything sounds good.  

Just wanted to let ya'll know there was a happy ending.

david
'79 westy