Well, let's skip the physics lesson for a minute and consider something different;
keep in mind that I don't know exactly what kind of pump is actually used in our
vans, but certain kinds of pumps wouldn't really care too much what was coming
through upstream and wouldn't necessarily be damaged by big old pieces of rust and
other crap coming down the pike.  They would, however, start to whine if the
pressure built up too much from a clogged filter down the pike though.  I suspect
the VW engineers probably didn't use fuel pumps that would freak at the first sign
of dirt coming down the line, but hey, that's mere supposition, conjecture and
speculation on my part.  :^)  Of course, I did helped build and run an ethanol
fuel plant where we used all kinds of different pumps . . .

Fun, fun, fun . . . now if only my van had it's new engine in it so I could go out
and look at it when this kind of thing comes up . . . sigh . . .

Cheers everyone,
Marc Perdue

Gnarlodious wrote:

> That is very unlikely unless it happened in the dead of winter. What is more
> likely is that the pump would be pumping vapor as I already explained. But
> maybe the laws of physics are too obscure for some people and I am wasting
> my time.
>
> If you don't want your fuel to vaporize in a vacuum, use a heavier fuel
> (diesel).
>
> -- Gnarlie