Hello! Log in or Register   |  Help  |  Donate  |  Buy Shirts See all banner ads | Advertise on TheSamba.com  
TheSamba.com
 
HELP! GAS leak! no start! I'm stranded at school!
Page: 1, 2  Next
Forum Index -> Vanagon Share: Facebook Twitter
Reply to topic
Print View
Quick sort: Show newest posts on top | Show oldest posts on top View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:30 am    Post subject: HELP! GAS leak! no start! I'm stranded at school! Reply with quote

This morning the syncro started up well enough, it did need a bit of gas to get going. Then i drove it up to school and parked it. I was going to run home before my Thermo 3 class but the van wasn't starting, sounded like the battery could be dead. So I pulled the battery and charged it in our shop for a while. Threw the battery in and tried to start up the van again. The engine just kept cranking but not turning over. After a few tries at that i went back to pop the hatch and I noticed that there is a gas that is leaking out of the fuel pressure regulator. Shocked What should I do? Will replacing the FI clamps (I've got some of those) fix it? Or is this some thing else? Of course this happens right at the beginning of another Salt Lake storm Evil or Very Mad
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
TheBlueTurtle
Samba Member


Joined: July 03, 2007
Posts: 353

TheBlueTurtle is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

replace the fuel lines?

regardless of your problem
_________________
84 Westfalia (Goldie)
GoWesty 2.2
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Instagram Gallery Classifieds Feedback
wavanagon
Samba Member


Joined: September 17, 2007
Posts: 400
Location: Everett, WA
wavanagon is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Obviously, you've got a fuel leak. Stand at the back of the van, while someone turns the key to the on position (or whatever that position is called), this will engage the fuel pump, and you will be able to tell where the fuel leak is coming from (more than likely). No need to crank and needlessly drain the battery again. This will tell you where the leak is coming from, and you replace the offending line/clamp. Then, make sure that all of your fuel lines are in tip top shape. That's what I would do.

A few meters of fuel line, some good SS clamps, and a Saturday afternoon are cheap. Imagine if you were driving, the engine was at full operating temp, and you had a big fuel leak like the one you described? Not fun.

Just say NO to crispy vanagons.
_________________
1988 Vanagon GL - For Sale
1987 Westfalia
2008 Audi A4 2.0T
http://wavanagon.googlepages.com

Dirty from working on your Vanagon? Buy soap from my wife!
http://www.teatreesoap.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Classifieds Feedback
PDXWesty
Samba Member


Joined: April 11, 2006
Posts: 6235
Location: Portland OR
PDXWesty is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is where I call AAA and use one of my three free tows to get me home where I can fix it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do know that the leak is coming from the fuel pressure regulator. Would the leak cause the van not to start? I'll see if I can't get a clamp on it tonight to try and fix it and get it running. Gonna be real fun in the dark and snow! Rolling Eyes
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
wavanagon
Samba Member


Joined: September 17, 2007
Posts: 400
Location: Everett, WA
wavanagon is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

goskiracer wrote:
I do know that the leak is coming from the fuel pressure regulator. Would the leak cause the van not to start? I'll see if I can't get a clamp on it tonight to try and fix it and get it running. Gonna be real fun in the dark and snow! Rolling Eyes


Well, if your van is not getting the necessary fuel to fire, then yes it would not start. You need to track down the source of the leak, more exact than the regulator. Either a specific hose or a clamp, I would start with the supply line. There is a chance that the regulator has failed or cracked, but I've never heard of it.
_________________
1988 Vanagon GL - For Sale
1987 Westfalia
2008 Audi A4 2.0T
http://wavanagon.googlepages.com

Dirty from working on your Vanagon? Buy soap from my wife!
http://www.teatreesoap.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, after class I'll get a better look at it. I should be more clear, the fuel is leaking from the hose connection so I think some new clamps will fix it. The fpr itself isn't leaking.
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
GWTWTLW
Samba Member


Joined: April 22, 2008
Posts: 2174
Location: Portland, OR
GWTWTLW is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think Ben (or somebody) posted recently that the regulators do go bad and leak pretty regularly...
_________________
89 Syncro Westy - GW 2.5, now with a double knob job
@gwtwtlw
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Instagram Gallery Classifieds Feedback
westynova
Samba Member


Joined: December 14, 2008
Posts: 209
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
westynova is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thermo 3! Are you doing Mechanical Engineering? I hated Thermo. I was the only course that I had to write a supplemental exam in in over 7 years of Post Secondary.

Good luck with the van and Thermo
_________________
84 Westy
2010 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2009 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, Lifted and Locked
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Gallery Classifieds Feedback
candyman
Samba Trout Slayer


Joined: December 20, 2003
Posts: 2694
Location: Missoula MT
candyman is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dude, from the class you are taking you sound like a smart guy. just cut that hose back where it is leaking, then reconnect it to the pressure reg (there should be enough line to do this) reclamp it, go home, then replace all your fuel lines.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Gallery Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the replies, yeah I'm a Mechanical engineer. This is actually the first car I've worked on Embarassed . I'm more of an aero propulsion and strengths guy. These actual engines are a tad bit more complicated than theeretical models on paper Very Happy . I just made it home, I'll grab my spare fuel line kit and bike back to campus to get some new lines and clamps on. Conviently I decided to take that stuff out of the van last week. Hopefully it's just the clamps and lines leaking not the fpr or some thing worse.
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

well I got the clamps the fpr re-clamped and cycled the fuel pump a few times then turned on the ignition, then ... nada Mad It sounds like the engine just isn't getting fuel,air, sparks or all of the above? i was searching around on other threads with similar issues and some folks have talked about being hydrolocked. Could my van be hydrolocked somehow? The starter cranks but the engine won't start.
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
VanagOnly
Samba Member


Joined: September 04, 2007
Posts: 81
Location: NYC,NY
VanagOnly is offline 

PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It would seem the fuel pump is OK and if the injectors are getting current,I would consider that the fuel pressure regulater has failed.When they go they do so often with little warning.Which line was it leaking from?The regulator may be locked up squirting fuel out from a weak point.Anyone else agree?
_________________
87 Wolfie
Past rides:72 Bus- RIP
72 Volvo 145 wagon-RIP
76 Jeep Wagoneer-RIP
67 Bug Dad's Daily-Project
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
westynova
Samba Member


Joined: December 14, 2008
Posts: 209
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
westynova is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know what you mean about the complexity of these engines in comparison to theory. You have to remember that it was designed by Germans.

I am used to diesel engines the size of small houses or boiler plants the size of large house or a gas turbine the size of a bus and yet my little 1.9L VW engine perplexes me more than all of them combined. Brick wall

Once you master your VW (If that is at all possible) it will make you a much better engineer. Plus most Aero engines have never been drive over 20 year left out side to rust and still be expected to perform like the day they were built.

As for your fuel issue, I proposed the injector lock up question to Ben a couple of months ago. This is a common issue on diesels generators and requires fuel line bleeding. Ben indicated that bleeding the fuel lines was not required.
_________________
84 Westy
2010 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2009 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, Lifted and Locked
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Gallery Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with you Westynova about the size being inverse to complexity. Personally I'm a huge fan of gas turbines, would make a great conversion Twisted Evil less moving parts and runs on anything! It looks like the storm is passing and the weather will let up a bit, so for now I'll pull out the commuter bike, besides my gf rides to school all winter, she is starting to think I'm getting to be a softy Very Happy I bled the fuel lines and still couldn't get a response. Today i'll check the injectors for current, and see how they are spraying. If you didn't love it you'd hate it!
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
ftp2leta
Samba Member


Joined: October 11, 2004
Posts: 3271
Location: Montreal
ftp2leta is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:19 am    Post subject: Re: HELP! GAS leak! no start! I'm stranded at school! Reply with quote

goskiracer wrote:
This morning the syncro started up well enough, it did need a bit of gas to get going. Then i drove it up to school and parked it. I was going to run home before my Thermo 3 class but the van wasn't starting, sounded like the battery could be dead. So I pulled the battery and charged it in our shop for a while. Threw the battery in and tried to start up the van again. The engine just kept cranking but not turning over. After a few tries at that i went back to pop the hatch and I noticed that there is a gas that is leaking out of the fuel pressure regulator. Shocked What should I do? Will replacing the FI clamps (I've got some of those) fix it? Or is this some thing else? Of course this happens right at the beginning of another Salt Lake storm Evil or Very Mad


Your not clear as to where the leak was ON the regulator!

Are you sure it was a hose? Which hose?

No way out now, do a fuel pressure test. Imagine that the reg is blocked, you are putting over 60psi in there. In general they don't break in the close position. But you never know.

Cheap guys test: Remove the 7mm screw slowly (see bellow), put a rag around it.... is fuel poring out before you even have the screw out?
This will tell you to thing, that you have fuel pressure or not.

Fuel pressure tester are cheap, you don't need a good one.

Here is where to plug the tester:
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

Green arrow.

Remove the small 7mm screw, put gage in, secure with clamp, if the gauge as a T junction, block one end. Don't start the van, just prime the pump (IGN key at ON position), go see in the back what the gauge read.

Ben
_________________
Working with rust, grease, dirt and dust is a sad truth.
------------------------------------------------------
FI part for sale: http://www.benplace.com/parts_sale1.htm
My site: http://www.benplace.com/vw2.htm
Subi conversion: http://www.benplace.com/vanaru_eng.htm
Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/ftp2leta
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Facebook Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Spinal Tap
Samba Member


Joined: August 01, 2008
Posts: 413
Location: Chicago IL
Spinal Tap is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

goskiracer wrote:
Personally I'm a huge fan of gas turbines, would make a great conversion Twisted Evil less moving parts and runs on anything!


GM or Chrysler tried that in the 50's or 60's. I think they didn't go to production with it because the turbines were expensive and the EGT at the tailpipe was high enough that a person wearing nylons walking past the exhaust would have said nylons melted to their leg. Which I can only imagine would be uncomfortable.

I'm sure there were other reasons as well though, like who outside of aviation and industrial facilities would know how to work on the things!

And good luck with Thermo! I had a choice between that and statics. I chose statics because I knew I'd made a mistake if I didn't get zero!
_________________
'85 Westy
'74 MG-B

RCB wrote:
Its called tact...and tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a manner that they anticipate the trip.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Gallery Classifieds Feedback
wasserbox
Samba Member


Joined: April 08, 2008
Posts: 533
Location: Durango, CO
wasserbox is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

goskiracer wrote:
Today i'll check the injectors for current, and see how they are spraying. If you didn't love it you'd hate it!


Don't forget the ground strap. Clean the connections...

I had a similar issue - Spark, fuel and air but no start.

Added another thick gauge wire grounding the LHS of the engine to the body and haven't had an issue since.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
jkeller
Samba Member


Joined: February 22, 2007
Posts: 123
Location: Medford, Oregon
jkeller is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are at the U? I graduated in ME from there!

Up until about 3 years ago I lived just below campus. Too bad I moved, I could have tried to help you out. Cool
_________________
1985 Weekender, Auto Trans.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
goskiracer
Samba Member


Joined: January 15, 2009
Posts: 339
Location: Oslo, Norway
goskiracer is offline 

PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I had to give in and pull the trigger on having the van towed to my mechanic Sad . There is another front moving through today and I have a senior design project and 5K level classes to do. I did have fuel pressure per Ben's advice (thanks Ben, I've got a copy of your fuel line replacement instructions to do after I get the van back to my apartment.). I will update for sure when I find out what the cause was, from my searches it sounds like this mysterious no start has many forms and is common.
_________________
86' Syncro 2.2 Vanistan, WBXhaust, ski-pole shifter for +11hp
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Gallery Classifieds Feedback
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Forum Index -> Vanagon All times are Mountain Standard Time/Pacific Daylight Savings Time
Page: 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

About | Help! | Advertise | Donate | Premium Membership | Privacy/Terms of Use | Contact Us | Site Map
Copyright © 1996-2023, Everett Barnes. All Rights Reserved.
Not affiliated with or sponsored by Volkswagen of America | Forum powered by phpBB
Links to eBay or other vendor sites may be affiliate links where the site receives compensation.