On Fri, 02 Jun 2000, Choreboy laid this bit of wit and wisdom upon us:
> John,
> Here's a source of a gas leak I encountered last week on my '84 WBX: The
> fuel injector rubberboots that connect to the fuel rail on both sides of
> the engine. I temporarily fixed that by slipping a piece of heater hose
> over it and clamping it down with worm clamps. It seems pretty much
> fixed. My fumes are gone and so are the little puddles (!!!), thank god.
>
> Just might be the case with your vanagon...

Whoa, that sounds like a dangerous jury rig to me.  Do not fool around with
this.  The fuel rail and associated lines are high pressure.  The last thing
you want is a tiny leak that sprays a fine mist of fuel around the engine area,
particularly since the fuel rails are awfully close to exhaust parts.

Just get the 7mm high-pressure hose from your favorite list.vendor along with
the _correct_  clamps (i.e. NOT worm clamps), depressurize the system, and go
at it.

BTW, I replaced the stupid ring clamps on the injectors with the flat band
clamps from Vanagain.

While you're at it, check the integrity of the fuel rail, especially the
press-fit ring on the end.  Make sure it's not loose or cracked.

-Karl

--
Karl & Kristina Bloss - vanagon@makarov.com
1987 Westfalia Weekender "Bev" - 197K Miles
http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw
VW Shop List: http://www.enter.net/~bloss/vw/vwshops