TheSamba.com :: View topic - Metal Fuel rails.. GoWesty? VanCafe? Others?

Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:39 pm

jlrftype7 wrote: ehh, my Passenger side leaked until I tightened the end plug, took twice to get it fully leak -free-

Ugh.. :( Do you know when you bought yours?

Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:21 am

I just delivered a bunch of fuel rails to Van Cafe. I have switched to Permatex High Performance thread sealant. I also torqued the plugs to a higher setting after doing some more research on the subject of torque settings for aluminum NPT fittings.

This run was the best yet. Usually we have a few that fail leak testing the first time. We pull the plug out and chase the threads by hand and reseal them. This time all of the fuel rails passed the leak test the first time through.

Those two minor tweaks seem to have made a significant difference.

Mon Sep 30, 2019 5:12 pm

Aha! Progress. :idea:

Mon Sep 30, 2019 5:42 pm

A week late for me. I bought fuel rails from Van Café and installed a week ago.

Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:41 pm

kiltedhiker wrote: A week late for me. I bought fuel rails from Van Café and installed a week ago. You'll be fine, The most I had to do , to one rail only, was a light tightening of it. Drivers side was always fine. If there had more of these, I think we'd see more posting of it. Just check the end plug before you apply fuel pressure to the rail, then after that, keep an eye on ALL the new rubber hoses AND the Fuel Rails.

Tue Oct 01, 2019 12:44 pm

The Machinist wrote: jlrftype7 wrote: ehh, my Passenger side leaked until I tightened the end plug, took twice to get it fully leak -free-

Ugh.. :( Do you know when you bought yours? mmm, the earliest would have been late Sept 2018, and latest would have been November. Don't worry about it, it's fine now. Even new cars show up from the Factory with leaks of all kinds. And as I noted, the VC rails were SO MUCH better than the scary fuel rails that I had in the Vanagon when I first bought it.
Just about anything would have been an improvement.

Wed Dec 04, 2019 2:19 pm

fuel rails from a 914 car are all metal, no pipe threads to leak. Other type IV and Type III injected cars may have simular fuel rails. Leaking fuel rails are unacceptable.

link...

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php...ton=Search

I use the type IV 914 rails in my wasser boxer vanagon.

Unfortunately Van cafe seems to have gone hill since they moved to colorado. Phone service recently was vague, like they guy didnt know about standard vanagon stuff, far cry from the experts at the old van cafe. Even their website had errors I caught, what happened? Phone service was so bad, I took my business elsewhere, too bad, they used to be great. Maybe they have a bad employee now :cry: It only takes one.

Update.... The company contacted me asking how to improve service, this a good sign, perhaps this was a one time problem I had. I suppose everyone has a bad day once and a while, errors happen They seems to want to improve customer service, So I will try them again.

Wed Dec 04, 2019 3:45 pm

Hmmm...

I've ordered a ton of stuff since the transition, got great advice, and have had no issues.

I'd call Mike and discuss it with him. They lost two longtime employees this fall and one has to think replacements take some time.

Wed Dec 04, 2019 4:15 pm

L jet beetle rails or T3 would work. Type 4/2/914 are WAY too wide of port spacing.

Wed Dec 04, 2019 4:52 pm

The Machinist wrote: Snort wrote: Here is a side-by-side.

Interesting. These don't even look like they perform the same function, though. The black plastic rail has a larger volume chamber. Does the 2.1 run OK with the type 4 rails? It seems like they would mess with the fuel injection flow.

As far as the orientation of the ports, the outer angled ports would complicate machining considerably.

been running the 914 type rails in my vanagon for over a decade. Got a big bore 2.2 liter wasserboxer in there. No problems. Also run them in my 914, a 2.1 liter type IV. No flow problems.

Wed Dec 04, 2019 4:55 pm

Steve Arndt wrote: L jet beetle rails or T3 would work. Type 4/2/914 are WAY too wide of port spacing.

port spacing is not an issue, a rubber hose to the injector takes care of it. I think the injector spacing on the 914 motor is about the same as that of the wasserboxer.

Thu Dec 05, 2019 5:20 pm

why haven't these been 3D metal printed yet?

Fri Dec 06, 2019 10:00 am

Steve Arndt wrote: L jet beetle rails or T3 would work. Type 4/2/914 are WAY too wide of port spacing.

Too wide?

fits fine

Thu Dec 12, 2019 1:47 pm

Merian wrote: why haven't these been 3D metal printed yet?

3D metal printing is good for prototypes, but not so good for production. The machines that make good quality parts are very expensive and/or the process is slow.

Thu Dec 12, 2019 4:38 pm

bluebus86 wrote: fits fine
if your definition of "fits fine" means: "looks like shit", then sure. i agree.

i've often thought that that late beetle fuel rails would fit like they were actually made for the van. but alas, i've never had even the slightest issue with my dangerous OG plastic ones in the nearly 100k i've put on my current van or any other van for that matter :roll:

Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:11 am

Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:27 am

The Machinist wrote:

I have to ask, how much time do you have in those? Nice execution.

Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:31 am

MarkWard wrote: I have to ask, how much time do you have in those? Nice execution.

These are the same ones I have been making for years, but I have moved to welded plugs to get rid of the blue NPT plugs that were giving me problems.

Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:35 am

Ok, let me rephrase my question. How much do you sell them for then? I don't see them in the classifieds.

Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:36 am

MarkWard wrote: Ok, let me rephrase my question. How much do you sell them for then? I don't see them in the classifieds.

These are the Van-Cafe fuel rails.