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Mon Mar 10, 2003 9:33 pm

I'm looking at purchasing a '78 westy and I wonder if there are any typical problems that are associated with the fuel injection systems in the late busses? I have had lots of busses in my time but have always been weary of the F.I. ones. Is there anything to be scared of? I was hoping that you could give me some personal accounts of their reliability and common problems to help me in my decision.
thank you.
busnerd.

Mon Mar 10, 2003 11:54 pm

My 77, god rest her soul! would burn out the the heat sensor on the #3 cylinder. CHECK THE FUEL LINES CHECK THE FUEL LINES CHECK THE FUEL LINES.

Jeffro

Tue Mar 11, 2003 9:09 am

I too was leary about F.I., then I did some research. I found the Bosch manual on the jetronic and realized, with only a few tools, you can check out the whole system. If you have a basic understanding of electricity and some good troubleshooting skills, the F.I. does not seem so mystical. I am redoing the fuel system on a 76 right now, so I you have any questions...Oh yea, CHECK THE FUEL LINES!
Chris

Tue Mar 11, 2003 9:18 am

I've got a 77 that was carbed when I bought it and I put it back to fuel injection. Havn't had a days trouble in 3yrs.
The Bently manual explains each part of the system to give a greater understanding of how it works.
It's pretty much fool proof, no adjustments needed other than dwell, timing, and idle speed. Valves only if they're solid lifters and the 78 should be hydrolic.

good luck Justin

Tue Mar 11, 2003 8:46 pm

I switched to a progressive set-up myself. I'm all too familiar with every Bosch manual on the subject of the L-Jetronic and understand their simplicity. My problems with fuel inj is that it relies mostly on electricity to operate and those wires, unless all new, have been subjected to lots of heat, vibration, etc for a long time. Not to mention the many other sensitive electronic parts involved, any one of which could fail from fatigue at the worst possible time. I like simplicity, and although FI is more effecient, and fairly east to diagnose, who wants to chase down electrical problems on the side of the highway? The expense and bulk of spare parts was also a problem for me. So I got a progressive and put away my multimeter. I'll never go back, but that's just me. Dave