Freakin' Fuel Lines

[meldred@vermontmedia.com (Mike Eldred)]

Cory,
Thanks, that's a big help.  And a relief, too.  I was under the impression =
that clamps wouldn't withstand the high pressure of FI lines, but if =
you've had success I'm certainly willing to give it a try.=20
Of course, now I wish I hadn't cut the old lines so close to the ends.  I =
guess I'll have to cut the new metal line I got.  Still a lot cheaper than =
putting it in the shop, though.  And you know, I just want to do it =
myself.
Speaking of cheap, I just did my first cheapass performance mod:  I =
"swiss-cheesed" a spare airbox and put it on my '86 8v. (summerocco)  I =
don't know if there's any real difference in driveability, but it sure =
sounds cool.  Reminds me of the way my father's '54 MG TF sounds.  Maybe =
now he'll trade cars with me.  NOT!
Thanks again,
-Mike


Mike Eldred
Staff Reporter
Deerfield Valley News
MikeE@vermontmedia.com
P.O. Box 310
West Dover, VT 05356-0310
(802) 464-3388, ext. 16
(802) 464-7255, fax
www.dvalnews.com

>>> "Langford, Cory" <Cory.Langford@icbc.com> 04/19/02 11:11AM >>>

Had the same problem on my old '82.

Unfortunately, if you want to run the VW stock metal lines you end up
pulling everything to run those (engine, steering rack, etc). =20

I talked to my mechanic.  He pointed out that BMW makes a very nice high
pressure rubber line and they use that in older cars.  So that is what I
did.  Cut out a huge rusted out section under the car.  Bought a good =
length
of the BMW fuel line and connected it up to the good portion of the metal
line.  Just make sure you use connectors that will not crimp or cut the
rubber.  I used the crimp on ones with the sleeves in them (like VW uses),
the typical screw down type for water hoses, etc you get at your local =
parts
store will actually bite into the fuel line and you could have a possible
problem later on.

As for the fuel pump and accumulator. VERY common problem.  The rubber =
parts
of the mounts rot out.  I believe any 8V A1 uses the same system so if you
head down to a wrecking yard you can pull just the casing and replace =
them.
Not too hard.

Hope that helps.

Cory

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Eldred [mailto:meldred@vermontmedia.com]=20
Sent: Friday, April 19, 2002 7:17 AM
To: scirocco-l@scirocco.org=20
Subject: Freakin' Fuel Lines


Ok, anybody have any experience replacing Scirocco fuel lines?  The
front-to-rear metal fuel line in my '82 finaly rusted through.  -Spewed =
gas
all over the place, and died.
Foolishly, perhaps, I thought that it looked like a repair that I could
easily enough myself.  After all, I have a fairly decently equipped =
garage,
I'm fairly mechaincally inclined, and I wasn't in any hurry to get back on
the road (The '82 is the Winterocco).  Needless to say, I was sadly
mistaken. =20
First, when I went to pull out the broken main line, I ended up breaking =
the
other line which runs next to it.  Back to the dealer to order the second
line (dealer-only part, of course.)
Then, the line that I got from the dealer was a one-piece, pre-bent metal
line that goes from the accumulator to the fuel filter.  It's supposed to
run from the accumulator, along the floorpan, up behind the passenger-side
axle, along the firewall and come up in front of the master cylinder.  The
other one follows the same path, but comes from the gas tank.  How the =
hell
are you supposed to get those in?  It appears to me that you'd have to =
pull
the engine and/or yank the whole front end. =20
And just to put a little icing on the whole sweet deal, while I was under
the car, I noticed that the accumulator mounts and the fuel pump mounts =
are
rotted out.  They're just kind of perched there now.
I'm about ready to take it to a mechanic, but then I don't know if it's
worth it to repair the thing, it looks "labor intensive."  I had planned =
on
spending a few $$ on bodywork and a paint job, but I don't know now...
Are there any alternatives to the factory metal lines?  If there was some
way to use a plastic line it would make the whole deal so much easier.
Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.
-Mike


Mike Eldred
Staff Reporter
Deerfield Valley News
MikeE@vermontmedia.com=20
P.O. Box 310
West Dover, VT 05356-0310
(802) 464-3388, ext. 16
(802) 464-7255, fax
www.dvalnews.com=20


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