Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

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Amskeptic
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Re: Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

Post by Amskeptic » Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:08 pm

Responded . . .
Colin
(Amskeptical •Sep 12, 2017 12:08 am
This may be useless to the readership here, but classic VW owners, would you PLEASE replace your fuel hoses with only correct 5mm hose for carbureted, and 7.3mm reinforced hose for fuel injected models? Please? These cars are too wonderful to suffer these needless negligent deaths.)
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

Jivermo
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Re: Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

Post by Jivermo » Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:49 am

Great! Maybe it will remind someone out there.

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wcfvw69
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Re: Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

Post by wcfvw69 » Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:35 am

It would appear that my attempt at humor on my previous post was deleted. :(

My STRONG opinion is these fires on type 1 engine powered buses is caused the majority of the time by inlet/outlet tubes coming out of the pump or carb. I restore and resell the original German VW Pierburg fuel pumps. On a 1/3 of them, I find one or both of the inlets loose in the body of the pump. Why? Because people pull and yank the fuel lines off vs. simply cutting the hose at the inlet/outlet tubes to relieve the gripping pressure on the tubes. The other factor is the vast majority of the aftermarket carbs and fuel pumps tubes are not well installed in the carb or fuel pumps. It doesn't take much to loosen them. The Airtek pumps that most FLAPS sell are notorious for having loose inlets/outlet tubes.

There was also a recent thread on The Samba where a poster admitted stupidity. He had hung a plastic fuel filter on his fuel line between the fuel pump and the carb. The weight of the heavy fuel filter gradually pulled the inlet out of the carb which then sprayed his entire engine compartment with fuel. His engine quit but he was very luck in that it didn't catch fire.

Yes, people need to use the 5mm fuel line. Yes, they need to check the condition of the fuel hose every couple of years. BUT, don't overlooked the security of the inlet/outlet tubes on the fuel pump and carb either.
1970 Westfalia bus. Stock 1776 dual port type 1 engine. Restored German Solex 34-3. Restored 205Q distributor, restored to factory appearance engine.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

Post by Amskeptic » Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:57 am

wcfvw69 wrote:
Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:35 am
It would appear that my attempt at humor on my previous post was deleted. :(

My STRONG opinion is these fires on type 1 engine powered buses is caused the majority of the time by inlet/outlet tubes coming out of the pump or carb. I restore and resell the original German VW Pierburg fuel pumps. On a 1/3 of them, I find one or both of the inlets loose in the body of the pump. Why? Because people pull and yank the fuel lines off vs. simply cutting the hose at the inlet/outlet tubes to relieve the gripping pressure on the tubes. The other factor is the vast majority of the aftermarket carbs and fuel pumps tubes are not well installed in the carb or fuel pumps. It doesn't take much to loosen them. The Airtek pumps that most FLAPS sell are notorious for having loose inlets/outlet tubes.

There was also a recent thread on The Samba where a poster admitted stupidity. He had hung a plastic fuel filter on his fuel line between the fuel pump and the carb. The weight of the heavy fuel filter gradually pulled the inlet out of the carb which then sprayed his entire engine compartment with fuel. His engine quit but he was very luck in that it didn't catch fire.

Yes, people need to use the 5mm fuel line. Yes, they need to check the condition of the fuel hose every couple of years. BUT, don't overlooked the security of the inlet/outlet tubes on the fuel pump and carb either.
Well, that too. And what is your solution for re-securing the brass nipples in the potmetal castings? Gasoline/ethanol environment and all . . .
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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wcfvw69
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Re: Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

Post by wcfvw69 » Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:01 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:57 am


Well, that too. And what is your solution for re-securing the brass nipples in the potmetal castings? Gasoline/ethanol environment and all . . .
Colin
http://na.henkel-adhesives.com/product- ... 7931798529

I've also used JB Weld to re secure the tubes in the carb and pump bodies. With the tube out, I like to clean it well, then sand the area of the tube that goes into the body with 220 to put a 'tooth' on the surface. I also put a tooth inside the opening where the tube lives then flush the area well again with carb or brake cleaner. Apply just a very small smear of JB Weld or sleeve retainer on the tube and then insert it back in the body and tap it home.

As my Dad use to say "if that comes out, it deserves too". Of course, the tubes will not come out again. Others have installed threaded barb fittings for the carb inlet like Volkzbitz does when requested on his restored Solex carbs.
1970 Westfalia bus. Stock 1776 dual port type 1 engine. Restored German Solex 34-3. Restored 205Q distributor, restored to factory appearance engine.

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Re: Oh, man...do I ever get sick of seeing this...

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Feb 23, 2019 10:57 am

Posted on Facebook where all the cool kids hang out, but archived here 02/23/2019
Hello, please indulge my rant. I just saw another burned up bus over on the BayPride forum. Owner states he was "prepping it for sale" in some frozen wasteland of snow far away from a gas station in the background. There was nothing else around. Was it at home? No. Was it in a public parking lot? No. Prepping it for sale and it catches on fire? Was it in its "for sale" spot? How did gasoline come free of the fuel supply sitting in a field of snow and what ignited it? Was the fuel system poorly maintained at this moment of sale? Were the fuel lines crap to begin with, yet the car was for sale?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... k3vu&ifg=1

Here's the thing. My career and my travels bring me to many many many people who have just bought an air-cooled VW, and we often discover abysmal appalling atrocious dangerous irresponsible and utterly contemptible flaws. I go off on the sellers every damn time. Seriously, it looks like the seller got bitten on this one. It makes me heartsick to see another beautiful old Volkswagen die. There is no reason for a fire. There is no reason for a fire. There is no reason for a fire. There is absolutely no engineering vulnerability whatsoever in an old air-cooled Volkswagen's original engineering that makes them "prone to a fire". There are however, boatloads of excuses and rationalizations and blame games and fanciful nonsense about why my/your/his/her/their VW just burned up. If you feel the need to ignore the factory IGNITION WIRE and fuel system routing (including all grommets), then perhaps you should get a Blazecut fire suppression system. If you believe that your crap chromy EMPI air filter can hold back a backfire, you just go for it. Me? I stick with the factory air cleaner/air filters, and I route my every ignition wire exactly where the factory routed every ignition wire into each and every clip provided by the factory, and even if I do have a fuel gush all over my engine, there still will be no ignition source. Likewise, I use only the correct size and specified fuel hose 5mm braided Choline for the carbureted engines and 7.3mm reinforced Choline for the fuel injection. I travel every inch of the fuel supply, looking for abrasion risk, hanging risk, bumpy road risk, ask Ian! He sees me go all obsessive and we have caught nightmare oversights several times! Damn it, people, you burn up an air-cooled VW and not only are you destroying history, you are damaging my career. Please. No Fires! Please!
In this thread alone, are valuable tips for ensuring that the brass nipples in potmetal carburetor and fuel pump bodies are secure, warnings not to yank and twist fuel hoses off (cut them off! you wanted to replace them anyway!), and heck, replace your fuel hoses every three to five years. Hose is cheap! So is your time! So is my time!
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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