Dear Tom and Ray:

I am 73 and have been trying to call your radio show for the past 20 years (well, it seems like it), and all I get is a busy signal. Before I die, I need an answer to the question I've been trying to ask. I own a 1987 VW Quantum station wagon (the one with the 5-cylinder Audi engine). It has only about 39,000 miles on it, and when I recently replaced the air filter, it was full of gasoline. I replaced it with a new one, and now, a few months later, it smells of gas again. What can cause this? My local dealer has no idea. Send me an answer before it's too late. -- Chris

Ray: Wow, Chris, you sure are a patient chap. Our internal surveys show that most of our listeners give up after only eight or nine years of busy signals.

Tom: I think that gasoline is dripping onto the filter from the fuel distributor. The fuel distributor runs right above the filter on this car. And my guess is it's leaking.

Ray: Take it to your dealer and ask him to check the fuel distributor for leaks. By the way, we checked and he's currently got a four-year waiting list for an appointment. You don't mind, do you?

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Don't get stuck with a lemon. Be an informed shopper. Read Tom and Ray's guide "How to Buy a Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanic Knows." To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1999 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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