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My sweet Stu is running great and the next morning I try to start it. I thought the battery was dead because I turn the key and clicked. The battery was wrong as a turn on the lights.

 

I saw quite a bit of gas coming out of the engine. He was told to my mechanics locally and they said Hydro lock with gas in the cylinders.

 

I saw quite a bit of gas coming out of the engine. It was towed to my mechanics locally and they said Hydro lock with gas in the cylinders.

 

It is fixed now and luckily no damage.

 

Any theories are there are you smart guys and gals

 

 

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What Mikelb said is spot on. Gas has some how leaked through your carbs and filled the cylinders and crank case. This happens when you have a bad float or bad or stuck needle valve. The needle valve can go bad on weber carbs when running higher than 3 lbs of fuel pressure. That is why almost all use a good adjustable fuel pressure gauge. I hope they fixed the original issue and changed your oil. I had this happen to me. I ran the first oil change for 100 miles and changed it again. it was fine after than. I have had this happen on a Corvair engine as well. Good luck fellow enthusiast.

If you still have the OEM mechanical fuel pump, the rubber diaphragm splits/deteriorates (especially with ethanol gas) and gas will bypass it directly into the crankcase.  Fix is to rebuild with new gaskets/diaphragm (newer ones aren't rebuildable) or go with a rotary electric gas pump.

Also if you park on an incline with gas tank higher than the fuel line/carbs, it can leak if needle valve/float is the least bit leaky.  Many add a manual fuel shut off valve up front under the tank to shut off all flow when being stored.  One from ACE HW for a lawnmower works fine. This will prevent fuel smell and fire hazard when parked for winter - if stolen it won't get far either.

I would drain and refill the oil shortly as one change won't get all the gas out of the engine.  Gas is not a good lubricant for bearings. Get a good fire extinguisher for peace of mind!

Image result for vw bug fuel pumpImage result for vw bug fuel pump

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