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Sun May 20, 2012 12:09 pm

Hey, folks.

Well, it's close enough to summer up here in Alberta to finally get the van out of storage. And with her having been parked since October, there are always issues. Last year it was a bum wheel brake cylinder. This year it's two things:

1) We have a drippy fuel line - driver's side, immediately over the header. At idle, it's puhing out four or five drops a minute. They fall onto the header with an ominous hiss and a puff of smoke that foretells doom. This is surprising to me, as we had every bloody inch of fuel line replaced last summer using the GoWesty kit and all the fancy-schmancy Euro-clamps, and thought we'd be free of this sort of drama for at least a couple of years. Guess not - the hose looks OK, but fuels appears to be oozing out from the area beneath the clamp.

2) There's a loud "clack" coming from the front-driver's-side cylinder. A buddy of mine who knows more about this sort of thing gave it a listen and says he reckons it's a stuck lifter. The van is a 4-year-old GW unit with fewer than 15,000 miles on the rebuild.

Plus the usual BS with mice, curse their dark little furry souls. Looks like I have a nice crop of mouse turds atop the engine block.

I'm 120 miles from home. There are no VW experten locally. I am inclined to eat the towing fee and get the van hauled back to Edmonton for diagnsis and repair. However, I am what modern science calls "extremely cheap". The main concern for me is the fuel line issue.

What do you folks think? Am I being overly cautious?

Thanks for the input,

Dan

Sun May 20, 2012 12:21 pm

Dark Alley Dan wrote: They fall onto the header with an ominous hiss and a puff of smoke that foretells doom.
You have to tow your van. You are playing with fire. Do not risk your whole van over this. Dont be cheapo on this one.

Sun May 20, 2012 12:26 pm

Don't worry about the lifter -- chances are very good it will unstick itself. If not, a little Seafoam or Marvel Mystery Oil in the engine oil does wonders.

The fuel line is a "must-fix-now" item. Maybe you just need to replace the clamp? Even a standard hose clamp from the hardware store will serve well in a pinch. Pull it apart, check the fittings and the hose, clamp it up. In any case, I wouldn't drive it until you are 100% sure of the fuel system.

Cheers,
-Bill
'89 Syncro

Sun May 20, 2012 12:30 pm

Or do what most here on TheSamba do, replace the fuel lines yourself....but, whatever you do, don't drive it until then. Seems to me that a recent GW engine installation would have included new fuel lines, either by them or by you......as far as a stuck lifter, do a search here. There is plenty of information on this. This is common after sitting for the winter. I suggest that, after you replace the fuel lines, warm it up and, if that doesn't pump up the lifter, drive it around gently a bit and it will pump up......my shop is never without a couple of Decon Wedges opened up here and there. The mice eat it, become very dehydrated and go outside in search of water, where they conveniently die. This ensures that they don't die inside walls, etc....good luck
Miguel

Sun May 20, 2012 6:02 pm

Thanks for the confirmation, lads. She's going home on the flatdeck tomorrow morning, straight back to the fellow who installed the all-fresh fuel line last summer. Surely that work should have lasted longer than this.

Good news on the lifter. She sounded pretty fearsomely clacky on startup, like a full-on rod knock. She's quietened up some since, for which I'm thankful.

This summer we're driving to Halifax. That's about 7K miles round trip, plus blasting around Nova Scotia and PEI whle we're there. I'm hoping to get 'er done with a minimum of drama.