To Whom It May Concern,

I) Thanks so much for your very informative web site. I can only imagine how much time it has taken you to put together this web site. I for one would like to thank you for all your effort!

II) I recently purchased a 1987 Cabriolet out of state. I drove to the owner's house, drove the car around town for about 15 minutes and the car operated great and I was very pleased. It has low mileage and I felt comfortable with the car and the purchase price (I had been looking for a car for over a year).

III) I purchased the car and started to drive it home and about 30 miles down the road, it just stopped at a stop sign. I could not get it to start. I had the car towed to the nearest town who just happened to have a great foreign car/VW mechanic. In fact I talked to two different mechanics in this town. One I just verbally described what was going on and the other visually inspected the car, to include taking the in tank fuel pump out and checking the fuel pressure in front of the fuel distributor. They both suggested I just haul the car home because there could be many causes of the failure of the car to run. The mechanic who physically looked the car over found the fuel pressure at the fuel distributor more than adequate but the CIS Airflow Sensor/plunger and body very dirty. Both mechanics asked if the car had been sitting around and I said I did not know. They implied that if the car had been sitting around with gas in the tank and rust and gunk had built up in the tank than that could very well be the cause of not starting/running.

Both mechanics suggested that I start at the fuel tank and make sure the system is clean all the way to the motor. Their expierience is that if the tank is rusty and full of gunk than until it is cleaned than I could be creating more problems in the future because according to them the CIS SYSTEM IS VERY TEMPORMENTAL AND SENSITIVE TO THE SLIGHTEST CONTAMANENTS.

Here is what I have been able to see so far. I took the in tank fuel pump out and found it hanging by its electronic connection....the pipe between the pump and sending unit was very rotten and gummy...as rubber is prone to do when submerged in gas for long periods.VW s....and the pump had fallen away from the sending unit body/lid. Today I was getting ready to pull the gas tank and clean the rust and any sludge inside that I found but when I looked inside the opening where the fuel sending utit is attached, I could not see any rust but I did see a light coating of a brownish substance on the bottom of the tank that can be wiped clean with a rag. I also determined that the tank was fairly new with hardly any rust on its outside as well. I believe it has been replace recently for I also found the legible VW part stock sticker still attached to the outside as well.

IV) Here are my questions to you:

1) How tempermental is this CIS system? I mean can I leave this fine film of smudge in the tank and simply run maybe a Premium gasoline through the car for a few tank fulls? If I change the fuel filter, will this be enough to keep any contamanents from damaging the fuel pumps, fuel distibutor, etc.? Again, according to the mechanics, water, rust and anything else can cause problems. What do you think? My goal is to keep this car for ever if possible so I don't want future problems. But I must say that having grown up on a farm and become therefore a very good personal mechanic, I have never known a fuel system so tempermental. I have always cleaned smudge like what I am seeing with diesel fuel and not worried about it. I have even wondered if putting a couple of gallons of diesel fuel in the tank and swishing it around would clean it up enough. Again, this is my first CIS system I have worked on. But I do not want to do any more work on it than is necessary to get it running and in order for it to be a reliable car.

So again, my question is how tempermental are these CIS systems? Do I have to be always paranoid and in order to keep moisture and water whatsoever from building up in the tank and therefore system, run HEET or some other product through the system almost weekly to prevent and remove any possible water and future possible rust?

Maybe the big question is this: Would you pull the tank to clean away any possible film?

Thanks ahead of time for your answer.

Dennis McCrea
Laredo, TX
cell: 956-324-8875

To Whom It May Concern,

I) Thanks so much for your very informative web site. I can only imagine how much time it has taken you to put together this web site. I for one would like to thank you for all your effort!

II) I recently purchased a 1987 Cabriolet out of state. I drove to the owner's house, drove the car around town for about 15 minutes and the car operated great and I was very pleased. It has low mileage and I felt comfortable with the car and the purchase price (I had been looking for a car for over a year).

III) I purchased the car and started to drive it home and about 30 miles down the road, it just stopped at a stop sign. I could not get it to start. I had the car towed to the nearest town who just happened to have a great foreign car/VW mechanic. In fact I talked to two different mechanics in this town. One I just verbally described what was going on and the other visually inspected the car, to include taking the in tank fuel pump out and checking the fuel pressure in front of the fuel distributor. They both suggested I just haul the car home because there could be many causes of the failure of the car to run. The mechanic who physically looked the car over found the fuel pressure at the fuel distributor more than adequate but the CIS Airflow Sensor/plunger and body very dirty. Both mechanics asked if the car had been sitting around and I said I did not know. They implied that if the car had been sitting around with gas in the tank and rust and gunk had built up in the tank than that could very well be the cause of not starting/running.

Both mechanics suggested that I start at the fuel tank and make sure the system is clean all the way to the motor. Their expierience is that if the tank is rusty and full of gunk than until it is cleaned than I could be creating more problems in the future because according to them the CIS SYSTEM IS VERY TEMPORMENTAL AND SENSITIVE TO THE SLIGHTEST CONTAMANENTS.

Here is what I have been able to see so far. I took the in tank fuel pump out and found it hanging by its electronic connection....the pipe between the pump and sending unit was very rotten and gummy...as rubber is prone to do when submerged in gas for long periods.VW s....and the pump had fallen away from the sending unit body/lid. Today I was getting ready to pull the gas tank and clean the rust and any sludge inside that I found but when I looked inside the opening where the fuel sending utit is attached, I could not see any rust but I did see a light coating of a brownish substance on the bottom of the tank that can be wiped clean with a rag. I also determined that the tank was fairly new with hardly any rust on its outside as well. I believe it has been replace recently for I also found the legible VW part stock sticker still attached to the outside as well.

IV) Here are my questions to you:

1) How tempermental is this CIS system? I mean can I leave this fine film of smudge in the tank and simply run maybe a Premium gasoline through the car for a few tank fulls? If I change the fuel filter, will this be enough to keep any contamanents from damaging the fuel pumps, fuel distibutor, etc.? Again, according to the mechanics, water, rust and anything else can cause problems. What do you think? My goal is to keep this car for ever if possible so I don't want future problems. But I must say that having grown up on a farm and become therefore a very good personal mechanic, I have never known a fuel system so tempermental. I have always cleaned smudge like what I am seeing with diesel fuel and not worried about it. I have even wondered if putting a couple of gallons of diesel fuel in the tank and swishing it around would clean it up enough. Again, this is my first CIS system I have worked on. But I do not want to do any more work on it than is necessary to get it running and in order for it to be a reliable car.

So again, my question is how tempermental are these CIS systems? Do I have to be always paranoid and in order to keep moisture and water whatsoever from building up in the tank and therefore system, run HEET or some other product through the system almost weekly to prevent and remove any possible water and future possible rust?

Maybe the big question is this: Would you pull the tank to clean away any possible film?

Thanks ahead of time for your answer.

Also, in case you are too busy to answer the questions of this email, what internet forums/chat groups would you recommend to me for this and other questions about the Cabriolet ?
Dennis McCrea
Laredo, TX
cell: 956-324-8875
email: kimden85@gmail.com