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Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:00 pm

So I open up the deck lid on my 74SB to adjust the idle now that it is getting down to freezing and I notice that my fuel filter is half full and has bubbles. (not foam) And I notice that the bubbles are coming in thru the fuel line that comes from the fuel pump. Could the pump be bad?

Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:09 pm

that is a common phenonmenon and it does not mean the pump is neccesarily bad. Does the car still run fine, no stalling at high speed due to lack of fuel?

The filter does not always "fill up" and sometimes is even lower than half and sometimes near or full.

I would keep an eye on it or if you not worried about spending the 25 bucks or so, get another pump to have on hand or replace it if it worries you that much.

Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:38 pm

Thanks for the reply. The filter normally stays half to three quarters full depending on how much is in the tank. When I got home from work and backed it into the garage it started idling funny for a second. At first I thought It was the idle adjustment .(running 2BRL progressive carb) I havn't seen it blow excesive bubbles. I'll score a new pump just in case it decides to go south.

Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:03 pm

with the bigger carb why not just switch to an electric fuel pump.....not much more expensive and always gets the gas where you need it....just a thought

Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:49 am

shmobbin-a-baja wrote: with the bigger carb why not just switch to an electric fuel pump.....not much more expensive and always gets the gas where you need it....just a thought

A stock pump can handle a progressive weber just fine.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:20 pm

I know it can i was just suggesting an easy way to stop the stock fuel pump headache....they just dont seem to last long .....atleast in my experiences

Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:21 am

i just changed the fuel filter on my 74 sun bug and found that it doesn't fill up at all ... it appears the fuel is going through it as fast as it is needed .... EVERY other vw i have ever had is usually 1/4 to 1/2 full ... anybody have any ideas as to why this is happening? btw, it isn't stalling at all ... just takes a little bit to get it started sometimes ...

Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:29 pm

My 65's fuel filter usually is between half and completely full when running, and empty when stopped. I also saw the bubbles in the fuel line but that was when my coil was dying so it could have been due to the engine running poorly.