[T3] Gas Leak and Followup

[Keith Park]

Its nice when its an easy one!
I still cant believe that rusty 73 I saw, what...  25 years ago is still
going!

Keith

Topnotch Restorations
topnotch at nycap.rr.com
http://www.topnotchresto.com
71 Squareback  “Hothe”
65 Notchback  “El Baja Rojo”
93 RX7  “Redstur”
13 Subaru Outback "Blendin"

-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org <type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org> On
Behalf Of Jim Adney
Sent: Saturday, May 6, 2023 4:34 PM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: [T3] Gas Leak and Followup

A few months ago, when there was still snow on the ground here, I smelled
gas around our cars on our driveway. A closer inspection revealed a very
slow drip coming from under the gas tank of my '73 Square. It was slow
enough, maybe a drip every 10 seconds, and the car is parked outside, that I
figured I'd leave it alone until our weather warmed up a bit.

A month later, things were warmer, the snow was gone, and I figured it was
time to tend to the leak. I got everything ready to deal with it, but
discovered that the leak was from one of the unpressureized hoses, which
meant that when I disconnected that hose, gas was going to GUSH out and into
my face. The good news was that this also meant that the leak would not be
any faster when driving.

It's a LOT easier to avoid gushing gas if you're on your feet, compared to
on your back.

A couple weeks later I called a friend who had a lift I could use and
decided to drive there to do the repair.That shop is about 22 miles south of
here, so it takes some time to get there. Once there, however, the hose
replacement went quickly and I was able to head home, after some car talk
with this always interesting friend.

The drive home was uneventful. The car drove well, and I was within a mile
or 2 of home, when I heard a "click" from somewhere in back, and then the
engine started to run rough. It popped, wheezed, and bucked. I nursed it and
it kept running, but poorly. I barely made it home, and figured that the
"click" 
was the voltage regulator and that it had failed in some way, making the FI
run rich.  

We've been having a lot of chill and rain, so I just put this new problem
out of my mind, waiting for warmer weather.

Warmer weather is here at last, so yesterday I went out and started the car
so I could  monitor the charging system voltage. The engine still ran
poorly, but the charging voltage was completely normal. Time to take a close
look at the engine. Since the charging system was okay, I was left with a
hose disconnected or a problem with the FI trigger points in the
distributor.

The trigger points in my '71 had acted up on our drive down to the Alabama
Invasion, so that was my next suspect, but lo and behold, I saw that the
hose had fallen off the MAP sensor. I reconnected it, with a little better
support this time, and the engine runs perfectly once again.

Love those simple solutions!  ;-)

--
*******************************
Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
*******************************

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