Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2001 16:56:40 -0700
Reply-To: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Charles McGehee <chasm@ELLTEL.NET>
Subject: Re: Replacing the gas tank, the Bus Depot way....
In-Reply-To: <NEBBIPOEIKCENJNJJCPPIEOKEKAA.vanagon@busdepot.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
Mine has the plastic filter before the fuel pump (large output line) AND
the metal one after. Was that done at the factory or by a previous
owner? And is it necessary? Bentley says the plastic one is for
non-California cars and the metal one for California cars. Is that
true? In any event, does it provide better filtration or does it reduce
the fuel pressure?
Charles
'85 Westy
At 01:02 PM 6/17/01 -0400, The Bus Depot wrote:
> > I recently replaced my tank with a nice shiny
> > new one from BusDepot... The new tank arrived within 8 days
> > of date of my order. After ordering the correct gasket at the same time
>as
> > I ordered the tank, I am still waiting (over 90 days!) for a corrected
> > return for the wrong sized one I was sent by mistake. My advice: Call
>your
> > local VW dealer and get the VW 15% club discount on the rubber gaskets you
>need.
>
>
>Actually, I'd concur. We get the gaskets, grommets, etc. from VW anyway, so
>the discount if ordering from me or any aftermarket vendor will be minimal
>compared to the dealer price, since we all have to get them from there. On
>the other hand, the dealer can often get them for you faster, because they
>get deliveries from VW daily, and since these are low-dollar items, even if
>you pay 10 or 15% more the difference is negligable. Plus, since there were
>some variations in the fuel filler neck grommets, if you buy locally
>exchange is easier/faster.
>
>On the other hand, don't buy the tank from the dealer, since they charge
>about $700 and I charge about $150. :-)
>
>A couple of other comments regarding the tank:
>
>There are three versions of the original tank (excluding Syncro, which is
>not available aftermarket). Sometime in 1984 VW went from a tank with a
>70mm filler inlet opening to 50mm. The fiche is not entirely accurate about
>when this change took place. If your van is from circa 1984. your safest
>bet is to measure to ensure that you order the correct tank. Also, if
>someone replaced the tank in your Vanagon somewhere along the way, it may be
>different.
>
>The other change occurred was that VW went from a plastic fuel filter before
>the pump to a metal one after the pump. This involved a change in the size
>of the fuel line outlet on the tank, since the plastic filter neccessitated
>a different diameter piece of fuel line between the pump and tank. (As I
>recall, the fiche claims this change to be around 1990, but again I have
>seen some earlier vans with the "later" version.) So originally, there were
>two different versions of the post-1984 50mm tank, with sliightly different
>sized outlets for the fuel line However, the aftermarket tank assumes that
>you have the plastic filter in front of the pump, so its outlet is sized
>accordingly. The solution for this is simple: if your van does not have such
>a filter, just add one (which will add extra protection for your fuel pump
>anyway). The part number for the filter is 133 133 511, and it's only $5.
>
>- Ron Salmon
> The Bus Depot, Inc.
> www.busdepot.com
> (215) 234-VWVW
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