On Tue, 14 Oct 2003, VWNut Hawk wrote:

> It has been posted many times but, CHANGE YOUR FUEL LINES.

Not just on Vanagons, either.  After test-driving a car I'm thinking of
buying, I complained to the owner about a pronounced gasoline odor that
seemed concentrated around the fuel tank area.  He later took it in to a
mechanic, who found about half a dozen gas leaks, including some pinhole
corrosion holes in the metal fuel lines.  The worst was apparently a leak
in a hose at the fuel pump, near the tank, where fuel was literally
spraying out.

Part of the danger here is that after a while, you become accustomed to
persistant odors -- even pungent ones like gasoline vapors -- and cease to
notice them.

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Diesel Westfalia
'94 Honda Civic Si