fuel filter

[greg press]

Today i went to a car show and got to talking to a vw teck who had rebuilt 3 vw’s there.I told him about what i believe is a vapor lock that happens on hot days when my car gets hot.He said i should move the fuel filter back behind the engine or put it where it comes out of the tank.I have looked at pictures of engines and most show it next to the carb. He said that he has heard of the plastic filters melting and engine catching fire.He also said that i shouldn’t burn gas with ethynal because it buns hotter .Whats your guys take on this He said he would be more than happy to check out the engine after cruise season. 

[greg press]

correction up above it should say with out ethynoll instead of with ethynol

[edward ericson]

Common advice. If the fuel filter comes unglued for any reason gas rains down on your sparkelator & you get a fire. That’s why most V-dubbers advise putting the filter in-line in front of the shroud (front is front–meaning toward the front of the car). There is some soft hose on that side & putting the filter there gives you a good reason to crawl back there once per season and check the grommet surrounding the line that comes through the tin. Those fail too, and then the fuel line gets cut, and then there’s a fire.

The plastic ones don’t really melt so easy. I believe it was Wobby did the test on that a couple years back.

And, really, they don’t often come loose from the spot under the carb there. But it only has to happen once.

[Marc Lipsius]

Ethanol is how it’s spelled.
Vapor lock occurs inside the fuel pump, NOT inside the fuel filter, (especially if the filter is after the pump). It occurs because the pump doesn’t work, because it can only pump liquid, not vapor). Here is just one simple reference – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_lock . A contributing cause is ethanol in the fuel which lowers the boiling point or temp at which this occurs. A bad fuel pump with low pressure also doesn’t help.

If those plastic filters melted and caused fires you could be sure they would be outlawed or taken off the market, and I would bet nobody on here, or anybody anyone on here knows, has ever heard of that happening. That’s a made-up story. I believe the melting temp of that plastic is somewhere around 300  degrees F or more. If the fuel filter or the fuel line is not pressing or rubbing up against a hot engine block or other part, the filter will withstand the temps in the engine compartment and is made for that purpose.

Here’s another totally different reason I’ve heard of in more than one place for a hot VW engine not to run  –  the rod pushing up and down on the fuel pump getting stuck because of the heat – and the fix, explained in a video — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU6aVBW71Es

mrlmd2012-09-10 12:25:30

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