Itinerant Air-Cooled

My son was driving his bus this evening. Called from the side of the road. The bus acting like it's out of gas. He's near the bottom of a steep hill sort of out in the country & I'm thinking he killed & flooded it. Not far away, so I grab the gas can (just in case) and head out. I get there, smell raw gas and check the engine compartment first. Thank goodness. The fuel line had come off the side of the carburetor. Not only that, the fitting was still attached to the hose. What's the right way to fix this? I have a fresh batch of JB Weld, but not sure if it should be used for this. Particulars: '69 bus with bone stock 1600.

Knurl the brass fitting up rough with pliers, vice grips whatever. Rub a bit of super glue cyanocrylate stuff around, then tap it into place with a small hammer. Good to go.

Then safety-wire it in place. Look up Bob Hoover's sermon on the pitfalls of installling an aftermarket fuel filter between the pump and the carb: http://bobhooversblog.blogspot.com/2006 ... lters.html

SlowLane wrote:Then safety-wire it in place. Look up Bob Hoover's sermon on the pitfalls of installling an aftermarket fuel filter between the pump and the carb: http://bobhooversblog.blogspot.com/2006 ... lters.html

As importantly, note that the brass fitting gets loose in the carb due to manhandling the hose when trying to get it off.
A) People overclamp the clamp.
B) The hose gets majorly stuck on the brass nipple.
C) Then people jerk and twist the hose and that tears the brass out of the potmetal.

We should be putting on only correct 5mm hose and either not clamping it or only clamping it lightly. Then, if the hose has to come off, a light twist only to break it free, or slice with a razor blade and replace.

Once a repair is necessary, knurl the brass with visegrips, clean the hole in the carb and the nipple with a good grease-stripper cleaner and superglue as Hambone mentioned, clamp lightly, and tie with wire that is anchored under a nearby carb screw, like SlowLane mentioned. Don't be overtightening stuff ... it will not help prevent fuel leaks caused by a myriad of other prior screw-ups

I am so glad a fire did not ensue.
Colin

Once again, Colin provides the Full Answer, Compleat With Rationale, In Easily Digestible Format.

I'm not being facetious. Hats off to you, sir. You are the consummate educator.

Just worked on a Type1 dual port TODAY with a loose brass fitting into the carb. It could be spun around like a loose fuel hose.

hambone wrote:Just worked on a Type1 dual port TODAY with a loose brass fitting into the carb. It could be spun around like a loose fuel hose.

What can you tell us to edify the readership as to your repair technique of this dangerous issue?
This is not a show-and-tell blog.
Forum Manny
(did I hit the "strong personality" thang just right?)

Show and tell blog? What the hell, this was a reminder of a dangerous issue. This bus would have caught on fire within a year.

From 2011 above
Knurl the brass fitting up rough with pliers, vice grips whatever. Rub a bit of super glue cyanocrylate stuff around, then tap it into place with a small hammer. Good to go.

-Realtime Ron

hambone wrote:Show and tell blog? What the hell, this was a reminder of a dangerous issue. This bus would have caught on fire within a year.

From 2011 above
Knurl the brass fitting up rough with pliers, vice grips whatever. Rub a bit of super glue cyanocrylate stuff around, then tap it into place with a small hammer. Good to go.

-Realtime Ron

So you are saying that it was a public courtesy "bump".
Colin

(if it was really loose, I would not rely on our knurling and cyanocrylic sauce. Are there any "oversize" brass nipples that might require a move up to 5/16"s hose? This bus, is it a customer's? Then you want to be solidly certain. And you do not want to crunch the fuel clamp onto the hose that is gripping the nipple. Damndest thing here, is we know that the 5mm hose knew exactly what to do with the provided nipple. What happens if you have to put in an oversize nipple? Then, it is a guess . . .

Ron, do you think you can thread and tap a threaded fitting with a suitable fuel hose nipple?
Colin

Did I do something wrong? What am I missing here?

I have had good luck with this on many different Solexes over the years, with good long lasting results.

hambone wrote:Did I do something wrong? What am I missing here?

I have had good luck with this on many different Solexes over the years, with good long lasting results.

How loose was it in the carburetor? I have never used a carburetor that had an actually "loose" brass nipple. I have had carbs where I was most likely the first person to rip it loose of the pot metal, and in those instances, yes, a first repair of knurling and loctite type sauce seemed to work (with a baling wire wrap around the fuel hose clamp and over to another carburetor screw to make extra-cautious certain.
But if I was dealing with something that was clearly loose, then do not think a nice tap that makes it stick in the back of the bore is going to hold up through temperatures and vibrations and knuckleheads ripping at hoses.
Colin

I DID make a knurly mess of the brass fitting, and it took considerable tapping to get it to seat.
It's a fairly new carb even...I will safety wire too.
That Gorrilla Glue Cyano is pretty powerful stuff. Purportedly contains RUBBER!!!!!!!

The following is perfect for such task:

http://na.henkel-adhesives.com/industri ... -13227.htm