Vapor Lock, Your thoughts? Options

[dcheek]

I took my 914 out for a ride on a very hot and humid day last week. I came back and parked in my driveway which has a slight incline. A few minutes later I had trouble restarting to move the car into the garage. I noticed a girgling sound coming from the tank on the initial spool up of the fuel pump before engaging the starter. The engine would fire but would not continue to run. It sounded like it was not getting fuel. I finally got it to run, and promptly pulled into the garage. The next day I started the car with no problems. My only conclusion was some type of vapor lock situation or a clogged charcoal canister?? Or, maybe the oxygenated fuel?? I've never experienced this problem before. The fuel is fresh. The fuel pump has been replaced, along with the fuel filter. And, my car has the updated (at the factory) fuel pump location up front.

Any thoughts as to why this would happen?

Dave

[iankarr]

To me, the incline and gurgling noise suggest low fuel level. For vapor lock you need a heat source which “boils” the gasoline into vapor and keeps the pump from pumping. With the pump up front that’s unlikely. The charcoal canister is only to keep vapors from the interior and fuel will leave the bottom of the tank regardless of the condition. I suppose it’s possible that the gas in the fuel rails around the engine could vaporize, but after a few seconds of pumping, fresh gas would make its way in. Another thing to check would be the coil. Heat has been known to make marginal ones worse.