Recall Work (Long, rambles a bit...)

["Christian Els" <tiAn@usiw.net>]

Yesterday I got a new fuel tank in my 1987 Scirocco 16V, courtesy of VW. I
did have to drive two and a half hours to the (nearly) closest friendly VW
dealership, and hang out from 7:30a.m. ("Three hours, Mr. Els") to about
4:45p.m.("That should take care of things, here's the bill for 7 hours
labor...")

I also had them replace all the fuel lines in the car, and the accumulator
while they were at it so that I might have a completely shiny new fuel
system. I just put the pumps (internal and external) on about a month ago,
and my freshly serviced injectors from Jaw's VW's are supposed to be here
tomorrow (despite being expected for the past three weeks, Joe has promised
to make good this go round, we'll see.) so I can finish this process.

The day started badly; I got up at 4:45a.m., showered and assembled all the
things I needed to kill a day in the waiting room (book, laptop, magazines,
Quaaludes, er...) and to get the car prepped for the trip. I topped off the
oil, checked the coolant and brake fluid reservoirs before shutting the
hood. Hit the road and notice an odd noise as I accelerate onto I-70. The
oil pressure buzzer goes off and I know right away what the odd noise is --
I forgot to put the %@$#! oil filler cap back on. Shite. Fortunately I
happen to have a case of oil in the trunk, it drinks 3+ quarts, and the
engine bay is dripping. Figures this is the day I take it to a shop to have
a "mechanic" climb under it. Ah well.

After that delay I hit St. Louis rush hour despite my precautions and end up
about 45 minutes late for the appointment I had scheduled. The service
manager was a nice enough guy and after all is said and done, he did right
by me. I got a new fuel tank, supply line (to filter) return line (from
distributor), accumulator, brake flush/fill/bleed, and primary fuel pump
bracket,  all installed for one hour's labor cost to me. Not bad for a 13
year old car that never sold well for VW anyway.

On the drive back I noticed that:

a.) The hot start problem is better but not gone - I hope the injectors cure
that.

b.) The fuel smell is gone (no headache, but can smell last years french
fries under seat now...)

c.) Mileage is up. A lot. Like from ~26 hiway to ~38 hiway. Yahoo! Why?

d.) The motor acts different now. More pull all over the tach, but also more
of a drone which makes it less fun to wind out, sonically. Exhaust (gutted
stock pieces) didn't change before/after. Anyone care to speculate?

e.) There is no e.) That was a trick response.

cheers,

tiAn
87 16V
stuff...

P.S. Shame I missed Cincy this weekend, sounded like a good time. Maybe I
can get all you coastal folks to meet in the middle one of these days and
get the _whole_ clan together...gnaw, what was I thinking - I'd have to hide
my sisters ;)




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