Pressed Tube Carb Problems....

[bugandcab]

On my drive this morning, in my 64 bug, I incountered some problems about four miles from the house. It started to putter out. I pulled into a driveway, turned around to head back home, and noticed a trail of liquid on the road. Strange, I thought......So I pulled open the decklid, and low and behold, the pressed tube into the carb had come out. Sprayed gas all over the place. THANKFULLY NO FIRE. I think there was no fire because it is my birthday....what a great gift.
Anyways, after pushing it back in, and driving carefully home with various check stops, I made it.
Now, how do I press the tube back in to keep this problem from reoccuring or do I just need a new carb? The carb is the original.
Thanks

[Air-Cooled Head]

A dab of JB Weld should fix this. Happy B-day!

[glandnut]

I always always always take a small center punch and peen 3 or 4 dimples around the inlet tube. Ever since a buddy's beetle got burned to the ground because of this, I've done it. In this case I might JB it too.

[[email protected]]

The best repair is to essentially replicate the way VW did it a long time ago (although VW used metal fuel lines at the time). To do this you need to have the carb tapped for a threaded brass fitting. The fuel hose is then clamped to the barb on the fitting.

A lower tech, cheap, faster and equally failure proof way is to use a clamp at the fuel hose/tube connection and then safety wire the clamp to a part of the carb. The wire hold the clamp from moving and the clamp holds the tube in place on the carb. Do this at both the carb and the fuel pump.

[j.pickens]

JB weld is great stuff, but you will need to remove ALL gas and oil residue before applying the glue. Remove and plug the fuel hose, take out the nipple, and wash it in acetone or mineral spirits. Use a cue-tip to clean out the socket in the carb where the nipple goes also with solvent. Let it dry out for several hours, or overnight. Peen the nipple like glandnut says, then press it in, and mix up and apply the JB weld around the seam between carb and nipple. Remember, the glue is for holding the nipple into the carb, not forming a seal. Form the glue bead accordingly. Let it cure 12 hours or more, then reattach your fuel hose. Put a hose clamp on the hose, and leave a couple of millimeters gap between the hose and the carb body to keep it from swelling and pulling out the nipple.

[bugandcab]

I'm not sure what "peen" means....are implying that I take a punch and slightly indent the outer part of the metal tube near the end to make it "less round" and thus making it wider? Or am I flaring it out by using the punch on the inside of the tube to "flare" out the end?
What causes the nipple to pull out? I think I pinpointed it to a slight bump in the road where it happened, if that would have caused it.
I appreciate all of the help....LONG LIVE SAMBA!!!!!

[j.pickens]

Not making it less round, just roughing it up a little to make stick in the carb, hopefully without making it leak.

[TimGud]

I have repaired this by putting a round tapered punch inside the tube and flare out the side that goes in the carb with some light taps of a hammer,then drive it back in.
Good luck
Tim.

[glandnut]

What I meant was to peen the body of the carb where the brass inlet tube slips in, in other words around the diameter of the tube already shoved back in. This spreads the metal, squeezing the brass tube.

[Aussiebug]

My foolproof fix for this problem is this...

Remove the brass carby inlet tube, and place it on a plastic or wooden board.

Now grab a large single-cut file and place the EDGE of the file on the tube - that part of the tube which went inside the carby top.

Pressing hard - roll the tube under the file - this will raise some small ridges around the tube - it's called Knurling. Using a plastic or wooden board ensures you wont re-flatten the ridges.

Don't knurl the end with the the rubber hose on it, and don't knurl right to the "inner" end of the tube, as this is what seals in the bottom of the hole in the carby.

Now tap the brass tube back into the carby top and it should be nice and firm.

One of the reasons we don't put a fuel filter between the pump and carb is this inlet spigot - after 30 years of fuel lines vibrating on it it CAN work loose and you don't want to encourage it with the extra weight of a filter. A toasted bug is not a pretty site :-)

Happy birthday.

Rob
Rob and Dave's aircooled VW pages
Repairs and maintenance for the home mechanic
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