Something from the porsche list...

And Ralph Ricks thus wrote:
> From porschephiles-request@tta.com  Sat Dec 23 07:02:37 1995
> Date: Sat, 23 Dec 1995 06:59:47 -0800
> Message-Id: <199512231459.GAA29887@ix3.ix.netcom.com>
> From: rickydik@ix.netcom.com (Ralph Ricks )
> Subject: EFI - Caution - dangerous fuel pressure
> To: porschephiles@tta.com
> 
> This story applies to all 914's, 912E's and others with high pressure 
> fuel systems.
> 
> My son's '81 Vanagon with Ljet EFI has had a string of fuel leaks over 
> the past months, and finally died.  The cheap Asian oil pressure gauge  
> I had installed in the engine room to monitor fuel pressure even 
> developed a leak and died before that.  
> 
> Yesterday I installed a good 0-80 psi gauge and started to find the  
> trouble.  The gauge pegged at well over 120 psi!  
> 
> First I looked for a kinked fuel return line as we had tilted the 
> engine to replace the clutch last summer, but it looked okay.  The fuel 
> pressure regulator was the culprit.  It was frozen.  I have never seen 
> one fail before, so naturally I didn't bring a spare the 350 miles from 
> home.  After all, it's just a spring-loaded valve.  It makes me wonder 
> if the corrosives in the "oxygenated" fuels aren't the culprit.
> 
> It didn't matter that a new one is pressure regulator is $80, because 
> dealers don't stock them.  I found one in a pickyourpart yard for $5.
> 
> It is now my guess that the regulator was sticking sometimes before it 
> died, causing the fuel leaks.
> 
> I have a fuel pressure gauge in the dash of my '76 914 and one in the 
> engine room of my '73 914.  One is going into the dash of each of my 
> EFI cars right away.  Marshall's in Anaheim makes a nice 1 1/2"  0-60 
> psi mechanical gauge that I bought at a local bearing and racing supply 
> house for my '76.  It cost $25, and has already saved that much in 
> fuel, as the car ran fine, but I found when I installed the gauge that 
> the pressure was 20% too high.
> 
> Ralph
>     Every electrical failure is due to a mechanical problem.
>                                                          rickydick
> 

Thom
--
> Frank, the Sun never shone on our love before - Tom sings
Thom Fitzpatrick 
'56 sunroof kombi
tfab@netcom.com - ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/tf/tfab/index.html
thom@calweb.com
http://www.calweb.com/~thom