So I put more miles today on Murbella looking for a stupid fuse than I did all of last year.
There are many positives of having a convertible but what is really the most negative is the fact you are constantly hit with exhaust fumes while in traffic. It is disturbing because you can never tell if smells our sounds are coming from your own car or all of the ones around you. This is especially bad in stopped traffic at long red lights.
However, I noticed a fuel smell today that just kept lingering and it was not the old fuel smell that used to come from around her tank. I replaced all those seals and hoses and haven’t really had any issues.
I stopped at the grocery store and didn’t notice anything so I figured it was some other car.
However, once I pulled into the driveway and go out there it was again.
I opened the decklid and the smell was strong and there it was… clearly visible liquid on her 3/4 top cylinder tin.
Sure enough it was gasoline. What else could it be.
Now it is somewhat difficult to easily see where it is coming from but I suspect that it has to be one of the 40 year old fuel lines that feed the rail, or the rail itself.
I suppose it could be a clamp gone bad, and it is clear from the one photo that her 40 year old manifold boots have shrunk and need replaced.
Now this era of US Type 1 engine has manifolds that have the fuel injectors in them, different from most modern FI systems.
I have replacement seals, hoses, boots, heads, and other parts, including a new firewall but I really was trying to do my first full engine build first to learn all that I could on the simpler pre-75 carb engines than dealing with all of this very different FI stuff she has. Of course, I’ve run into delays on getting that done and I really need Żuczek with that engine being totally reliable to make him easy to move back and forth to the street.
I had planned on dropping Murbella’s engine after the new engine is in Z and Z’s engine is cleaned up, totally tuned, and put into Yellow so I can get him up for sale but now I don’t feel safe driving Murbella with this leak and these fumes.
Perhaps I can easily diagnose the source tomorrow but given the access I need for the new seals, hoses, and boots I really have to drop the engine to do that all properly with enough space to come at things from the side and rear.
I was not happy seeing (and smelling) this. Oh well.
There’s always a small chance it is minor, right?
Yeah. Never on a Beetle.