I'm unclear about a few parts of your story...

Was the van DRIVEN with the crankcase full of gas? Or did you "push it
out of the way" (as you say) at the gas station where your numb-skull of
a friend did the deed?

Also, HOW MUCH gas did he put in? A half gallon should be no-big deal,
if you changed it out within a mile or two. Two gallons would be bad.

Finally, what was the temperature outside, and how long had the van been
driven just prior? If you live in Saskatchewan, and the van was cold,
probably no harm; many older planes had crankcase flooding valves to mix
gas with the oil when shutting down in very cold climates. The gas would
thin the oil temporarily for easier starting, then boil off as the plane
warmed up.

If you live in Baja, and just climbed mountains with the van... then
went for a spin with 2 gallons of gas in the crankcase... well, sorry.

As someone already asserted, if you drove around like this, and it was
hot out (etc.) your rings could be shot, or some other major wear. If
you simply pushed this thing to the mechanic, drained and flushed the
crankcase, then your problem is a mystery. Compression check would be a
smart first step.

From historic, walkable Mount Olive, NC,

G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett
Corporate Communications
Business: www.bulley-hewlett.com
Alliance: www.ntara.com
Home: www.MountOliveNC.info

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of scott bumpus
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 8:24 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Gas in Oil fill

I recently allowed someone to test drive my '90 gl.
The guy took my van down to the gas station and
decided to put in a couple bucks.  It only took a tiny
bit and he couldn't figure it out so i pushed it out
of the way.  Turns out he filled the oil fill with
gas.
i had it all drained out and the oil was changed a few
times and i am not sure what else.  The van has much
less power than it did before this.  I don't really
use it now because of the lack of power but it is a
great van that has always gone the distance.  Any
ideas?
Scott B.
91 Westy
90 Vanagon
62 Beetle
00 Passat

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