[Vwdiesel] Leaky fuel lines (sucking air)

[Sandy Cameron]

At 01:50 PM 12/27/05 -0900, you wrote:
>I suppose it could be a shot IP..  Probably bubbles though.  I'ts just
>hard to motivate to work outside in an Alaskan winter!
>
>At least I can get it going with a prime.
>

The line leaks are insidious, and many an expensive pump job has been done
because of incompetent greasemonkeys not able to find the leaks.

For the winter, you could join a friend of mine who is running his golf on
10 feet of 5/16" ID vinyl fuel tubing run INSIDE the car (probably illegal,
but effective) from the tank pickup under the trunk floor (black cover about
10" dia. to the right of, and forward of the spare tire, through the trunk
bulkhead, down the passenger side footwell, through a hole in the firewall,
to the engine room, directly to the filter.

This bypasses several (many) leaky joints under the car.

Here is the litany of joints that can leak just getting to the filter.......

Rubber hose from the tank pickup in the trunk, to a short piece of plastic
tube to the input of the water trap (2 possible leaky joints)
from the water trap output, forward to just above and inside the wheelwell,
where it makes a joint with a piece of hose running to a tiny gizmo made of
plastic that is a check valve. ( 2 possible leaks at the plastic tube/hose
joint, and where it shoves on to the check valve.

The check valve body itself has been known to split in half, and pull apart
if disturbed. Can also suck air there if the joint has failed (happened to
me) If the check valve is not "checking", you can loose prime if the car is
sitting nose-up, or the tank is near empty, the line will drain (syphon)
back in to the tank over night. The check valve, IF available from a dealer,
is ridiculously expensive, and is a cheap plastic body with a rubber disk
inside, which sometimes gets hung up on a bit of crap and stays open enough
to drain.It is sealed/ plastic welded, and can not be taken apart UNLESS it
has fallen apart (ha ha).

>From the check valve outlet(another rubber hose joint) the hose goes to the
plastic fuel line,(next joint), then to the engine room where another rubber
hose connects (next joint) and then to the fuel filter.(last joint)

Many or most of the joints are made with a steel crimp ferrule, which rusts
away, leaving only the elasticity of the hose to seal the joint ....Air
sucks.....

A veritable nightmare...........

For the winter, run the clear plastic tube directly from the tank pickup to
the filter, with a portion of it visible from the driver's seat to watch for
bubbles. Use a small gear clamp at both ends to prevent air getting in, and
not TOO tight.as they can deform the plastic and CAUSE a leak.
 If you fear dirty (wet) fuel, remember there is a drain on the bottom of
the filter to get rid of any small amount of water. Works for Tony.

Fix all the other shit in the spring.....if you want to.

You may find the ferrules crumble to red dust if squeezed or disturbed. You
may have to eventually remake ALL the joints with gear clamps or similar)

Sandy
VE3AAC