Hi All, hands up how many of you have installed a fuel filter on an upright vw motor between the fuel pump and standard carb? if so, go to the back of the class!! ha no. just go to the back of your vdub, and look at that filter and then try to imagine if that filter ever leaked, where would the petrol drop onto?? YEAH the bloody distributor!! maybe pay to get some new longer fuel line and re-instal your filter by re routing it away from a potential disaster, how many vws have had an engine fire and 99% of the cause was exactly what I have described! I guess there will be a shortage of fuel hose over the next few days Hmmmm cheers Frank
Adventure Before Dimentia
+ big fire extinguisher carried n easily accessable at all times
fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse
Fantasy
http://seventhchronicle.com
Z = Z2 + C1/r = 1/0 = infinity
Barrels
www.barrelman.com.au
VW Workshop - aircooledgarage.com.au
allcooled.com.au
First thing I did lwhen Ibought my bug last month was have the fuel filter relocated too under the pan after a recommendation from fellow dubber Peter H
Saw a very nice Orange 76 Bug out at the Bug-In Show n Shine on Sunday... and yup, it had the dreaded plastic fuel filter sitting there above the dizzy.
Nicely gave the owner the tip to shift it elsewhere... ideally forward above the trans away from heat etc., but basically just get it out of the engine bay. Seemed a good bloke and took it well, and being an ex-firey said he'd wondered about it sitting there like that...
VWDCQ vice pres & web dude - vwdcqinc.org.au
Join a car club - get car peeps
My toys
'70 Hillclimb Bug 'Jezebel' w/- Haltech EFI -
http://bit.ly/VwTNtQ
'60 KG Coupe - resto kinda started
01 New Beetle - gf's car, but I turn the spanners
VolksVair wrote:Hi All, hands up how many of you have installed a fuel filter on an upright vw motor between the fuel pump and standard carb? if so, go to the back of the class!! ha no. just go to the back of your vdub, and look at that filter and then try to imagine if that filter ever leaked, where would the petrol drop onto?? YEAH the bloody distributor!! maybe pay to get some new longer fuel line and re-instal your filter by re routing it away from a potential disaster, how many vws have had an engine fire and 99% of the cause was exactly what I have described! I guess there will be a shortage of fuel hose over the next few days Hmmmm cheers Frank
I dont believe so. I know its an often passed around piece of banter. Of the 3 burnt cars I have seen (actually seen with my own eyes, not heresay) have been the carb fittings falling out. Also had a fitting comeo out of my kombi engine but didnt start a fire. I've seen a few potential fires from shitty fuel hose. Not saying they dont exist, but I've never seen a leaky fuel filter. Would have to be a shitty filter, theres only a couple of psi pressure in them.
My gut feeling is that the odd drip on a distributor wouldnt cause a fire. Its not that hot, the drip would have to get where the sparks are, under the cap. If it was just a drop and did ignite, it would just phhht and be gone. you'd need more fuel to get a fire going.
Does anyone know if VW fitted fuel filters and where were they put? A 36er has metal fuel lines so obviously if a fuel filter existed, it wasnt in the engine bay in those times.
On a similar subject, Does anyone
This topic just goes on and on
cant speak for other models of vws but the only bugs that used external plastic inline filters were 73-75 Lbugs and possibly 76s??
they were installed in the hose coming out the bottom of the tank
my blue Lbug still had the factory one with the original crimp on clamps and 34 years of grunge inside
original german fuel pumps have a mesh filter in them, but 99% of replacement pumps dont.
all bugs other than Lbugs there was also a mesh filter on the tank pick up
on standards its fits over the fitting that screws in the bottom of the tank but in Sbugs its a filter sock that sits over the end of the pick up tube and is accessed thro a bung in the bottom like so
I agree with you chris, its not normally the filter itself that starts the fire, it would have be 200 years old to be brittle enough to explode.
all the ones ive seen burned have had either no hose clamps on the filter, leaky hose or the main one is the weight of the filter hanging off the hose pulls the barb out of the carb or the fuel pump on the early bolt togther types
Found this on wiki
"This is usually caused from fuel lines in the engine compartment cracking or coming loose, spraying fuel on a hot engine. This can happen if the engine condition gets neglected. If you take care of your fuel lines by replacing them when they wear out and attach them properly, you should not have this problem. "
i have seen a handful of filters split including some of the top brands. ive personally seen a couple cause fires in the engine bay. not nice.
“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.” Bill Hicks
the chaos project - click me
after a first few month i got my car i snapped the very old belt and it slapped the filter that the old owner put between the pump and the carb.
i heard the snap and saw the gen light. opened the decklid and fuel was pouring out all over the tinware. but no there was no fire
also one of the other common place is under the back seat on the battery, electrical fire
VolksVair wrote:Hi All, hands up how many of you have installed a fuel filter on an upright vw motor between the fuel pump and standard carb? if so, go to the back of the class!! ha no. just go to the back of your vdub, and look at that filter and then try to imagine if that filter ever leaked, where would the petrol drop onto?? YEAH the bloody distributor!! maybe pay to get some new longer fuel line and re-instal your filter by re routing it away from a potential disaster, how many vws have had an engine fire and 99% of the cause was exactly what I have described! I guess there will be a shortage of fuel hose over the next few days Hmmmm cheers Frank
Hi Frank
I have always placed the filter either under the fuel tank or approx above the rear axle... where the pipe comes out of the chassis...
I have seen where some VW owners actually drill out the carburetor and screw in a fuel supply hose fitting..
or tying the hose clamp to the carby with steel wire, so it can't come out... as per aircraft..
its very common place to see the small or large plastic fuel filters in the engine bay...
also, many people are unaware that they need hose clamps on fuel hoses...??
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
jsheppard64 wrote:after a first few month i got my car i snapped the very old belt and it slapped the filter that the old owner put between the pump and the carb.
i heard the snap and saw the gen light. opened the decklid and fuel was pouring out all over the tinware. but no there was no fire
also one of the other common place is under the back seat on the battery, electrical fire
Hi,
I always replace fan belts long before they are about to break..
and always carry two spares...
I also use alternator belts on My alternator.. these belts don't stretch like the old original belts.... and are wider..
Batteries need to have a large piece of rubber over the top of them...
if someone puts their knee on the seat, it can short circuit the battery...
a very dangerous situation....
usually resulting in a fire....
You can now buy EXIDE batteries with recessed posts...
at a reasonable price.. at BIG W...
I have noticed that car batteries prices are escalating....
LEE
-
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
Okay folks, go out to your dubs at night, start the engine, and in total darkness, see if you can see any electrical shorts & static jumps from ignition leads, or if your dizzy cap has a light film of dust on it, watch how the high energy voltage tracks across it! all you need is poor maintenance, old dizzy caps or leads, some over tightening of fuel hose clamps around pissy plastic inline filters and good night Irene!! Most vigilant grease monkeys keep an eye on their electrics, constantly keeping all clean from dust, replacing leads and dodgy caps, restraining any loose wiring to lesson chances of shorts, I can go on and on, plastic filters dont split, and normally they dont get a chance to get hard and brittle as eventually they get clogged and the bloke behind the wheel wonders why he aint getting full throttle hense they get replaced, but it is usually the fitting of these fuel filters that causes the dramas, "A" the old condition of the original fuel line gets over looked & someone cuts and shoves an inline filter into it, wont be long before the ends of the old fuel hose start to split either side of the filter, the old fuel line would have been alot safer intact as the only leakage would be from either end at the fuel pump or carb which would have only evaporated from heat and any droplets of fuel would have landed away from any ignition source, but as I said previously, the main cause for fuel leakage from inline plastic fuel filters is caused by heavy handed grease monkeys over tightening hose clamps crushing the plastic end fittings. and No the sparks are not contained to the inside of a distributor cap. You guys that have installed filters under the car have the right idea, hope I havent upset anyone with my reply, cheers Frank
Adventure Before Dimentia
Oh, while on the subject of fuel,, how many people try to tune their cars, go through all the normal proceedures to get the motor purring and only get a marginal improvement? or they manage to get the car running sweet but still every once in a short while it runs shitty then comes good? most engines have some sort of vibration, vibrations cause things to get loose, next time your tuning that dub engine, grab a spanner and check your intake manifold mounting nuts, and those with twin port standard intake manifolds, carefully inspect the flange of your rubber manifold couplings for fine hairline cracks, I'm only new in here, and maybe yous have allready touched on this but thought I might stick my two bobs worth, cheers
Adventure Before Dimentia
Definitely do not have a fuel filter between the fuel pump and carby. If it is plastic, then just wait until it cracks and fuel goes onto the distributor and starts a fire.
Better to have the fuel filter under the car before the pump. Original VW's had no filter.
The battery is definitely recommended to be a recessed terminal type as fitted to many vehicles like BMW and Mercedes. There are about many brands available, so you have no excuse. You make the choice whether you want a poor type of battery that has a chance of fire, or a correct type battery.
we;ll the shell we bought had an electrical fire inside
it caused by the +ve wire that goes to the front feed everything.
that wire got caught under the backseat steel frame.
that's one more thing to look out for...
