Tonight I dropped the fuel tank on our '88 Westy, which is troubleshooting
procedure #139 (give or take) in the elusive hunt for the source of it ailment.
(The ailment has undergone a very gradual increase in frequency since we
bought the van 7 years ago. It started as a very occasional hiccup every few
thousand kms. After a few years it was slightly more often, and could occasional
be a more violent bucking, but still could disappear for days or weeks at a time.
This past year, after sitting for its first outdoor winter, the problem got much
worse, and has been worsening weekly, progressing to full on loss of fuel for 3-4
seconds at a time.)

The last part seemed to point at possible rust in the fuel tank, so I decided to
drop the tank as soon as I could, expecting (hoping actually) to find layers of
crud in the tank to solve the puzzle for good. What do I find? A clean, almost
*shiny* tank viewed through the sender hole! Only a very slight amount of small
sediment dusting it, and NO sign of rust inside anywhere! Argh. I'm guessing
this *can't* be the original tank, given the amount of rust on the undercarriage
compared with the tank exterior. The tank appears so clean, I'm not sure if it's
even worth flushing it out.

Is there any way to see the screen for the fuel exit line? I see, through the gauge
sender hole, a large (3" diameter) mesh and plastic filter which appears to be
attached to the fuel return line by a hose. Others have mentioned lots of crud in
their tank when dropping it. How much is lots?

At this point the only other clue I have to my problem is an ECU which behaved
slightly erratically in Mark Keller's van a month ago, leading me to believe I also
have an ECU problem. But I was convinced the rapidly worsening problem was
something else, not the ECU. Has anyone experienced an ECU that failed with
these symptoms?

ps: Fuel pressure is good (at least normally, could not induce symptoms while
testing), new plug wires, cap, rotor, plugs ok, timing ok, hall sender ok, new
temp2 sender, new fuel filter, etc. etc.

Suggestions, comments, sympathy appreciated...

--
Shawn Wright
http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright
'88 Westy 375k
'85 Jetta D 263k
'85 Jetta TD 482k (retired)
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