Hurrah!!

[Joe Elliott <jelliott@domain.elided>]

  If this works I'm the happiest guy on the digest right now.  I've
been subscribed for a few months, and only just recently reached
Richard Welty to get it fixed so that I could post.  Anyway, before I
was sure that my messages weren't getting through and that it wasn't my
fault, I tried sending a few messages, and I saved the important ones. 
So, if anybody cares here's what I had to say.......




REGARDING FUEL STANK, ETC:

  Firstly, in response to Carl Chen's post about a gas stank in his
164, my GTV6 stunk pretty badly, and I discovered a vent hose between
the filler orifice assembly and the fuel tank on which the hose clamp
had loosened and fallen off and the hose had ruptured.  So I replaced
it with some cheap hose I had lying around my garage (hasn't dissolved
yet!).  You'd be amazed how much easier it is to convince girls to get
into your car when it doesn't stink!

  My dad's '87 Jag on the other hand has stunk intermittently for
something like five years.  One mechanic tried to tell us that it was a
worn out catalytic converter, but when we replaced the whole exhaust
the stank remained.  Then we discovered a leak in a gas tank, and
thought we'd found the obvious answer, but replacing the tank didn't
solve anything.  (For some reason gas stank doesn't scare girls away
from that car...)  Good luck with the 164!


  As for my fuel problems:  There's a lot wrong with my GTV6's fuel
system I'm afraid, but I'm thinking I have a serious vent problem now. 
Last night, first going up a hill and then not, the engine lost power
and seemed to pulsate what power it had, vibrating the car pretty badly
at a certain point.  I don't know how accurate the fuel gauge is, but
I'd gone 170 miles on what I assumed was a full tank of gas (bad vents
prevent full fillage?).  Then it lost power a third time and completely
died this time.  It started again, but with considerably more
difficulty than is usually provided by my screwed-up airflow meter.  So
I dumped a half gallon of gas in it and headed for the gas station.  At
this point (after turning around and going uphill) the low fuel light
came on!  I also noticed that revving the engine in neutral would make
the catalyst overtemperature light come on, although gradually.  So I
went to the gas station and it took 14.5 US gallons.  Here's the real
weirdness: I forget whether it was when I put the approx half gallon in
or when I filled the tank, but there was a hissing when I took off the
cap, like a relief of pressure or vacuum in the tank! Do I have a
totally messed up return-air system?  Would this explain the buzzing I
hear in the tank sometimes after I stop the car? (is there an in-tank
pump?)  Am I actually getting 10 miles per gallon?  After filling up I
went out and drove around the village (totalling 12 miles) at about
75MPH, and it seemed to run fine.  Was I just out of gas or do I have a
serious problem here?




REAGARDING ABS:

  There was a time when I used to be involved in ABS discussions like
this all the time, but then I actually tried ABS and determined that it
was 100% crap, and actually rather *unsafe.*  I live on top of a hill
in Ohio, and in winter I have to contend with a *very* steep driveway
and three rear-drive cars.  It's a circus.  Anyway, none of our cars
have ABS, and despite all the usual arguments, I thought it was a
feature we could use on our next car.  So when a relative came to visit
in her (then--'94 or '95--last year for that Taurus/Sable) new Mercury
Sable and got snowed in I was eager to try out the ABS.  Going down our
driveway (a sheet of ice) at 5mph I tried stopping (challenging but not
impossible in the Volvo or the Jaguar--I didn't have my Alfa at the
time).  I didn't stomp the pedal abruptly, but didn't pump it or
anything either--just pushed it like I would to stop if the pavement
were dry.  The ABS came on, all right, and pulsed like crazy, but when
the brakes were actually being applied they were locked--like there was
no computer involved, just Tigger the Tiger inside the master cylinder.
 This pulsating on-and-off of the brakes not only failed to stop the
car as well as I could have, but it shimmied the car sideways right
into the neighbor's yard!  Front-wheel-drive got me out OK, but I'm
going to steer clear of ABS in the future!  Talk about no control upon
loss of traction--FWD and ABS, there's a deadly combination.



Joe Elliott

'82 GTV6

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