Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 07:06:13 -0700
Reply-To: Timothy Hannink <tjhannink@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Timothy Hannink <tjhannink@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Fuel Tank
In-Reply-To: <57.109a99f3.2a9cdb6b@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I dropped and replaced all of the vent, supply and
return lines on my fuel tank last weekend because the
van would smell like gas when I filled it up. I
assumed that the crossover tube would be cracked like
it was on my '91 Carat, but to my suprise, it was
still intact. The only sign I saw of tank leakage was
from the top left side grommet for the crossover tube,
but the grommet was in good shape as was the hole in
the tank.
The first suprise I had was when I disconnected the
supply line from the bottom of the tank, I got out
about 1/2 cup of fuel. I new I had run it low, but
didn't think it was that low. After I got the tank
out, stood it on end and syphoned it through the fill
hole, I got another 1-1/2 gallon out.
The tank itself was very clean inside. I used
compressed air to blow out the supply line backward
but didn't get much sediment out. I also took the time
to clean the outside of the tank and the hold-up
straps. The straps had the waxoyl overspray on them,
so I cleaned all of that off and waxed them. Why?
All of the grommets were in excellent condition except
for the ones on top of the vapor recovery tanks in the
wheelwells, one of them had turned to mush. I finally
figured out an easy way to re-install the vapor tanks,
by slipping the front mount over the stud, loosely
fastening the washer and bolt, pushing up on the rear
of the tank, then smacking it with a rubber mallet.
They pop right in.
Anyway, I got everything back together and headed for
the 7-11 for gas. I filled it up and got out on the
road. At the first light, I started smelling gas again
and started wondering what the **** was going on. I
pulled in the driveway and felt around all of the tank
connections but couldn't find any leaks. I opened up
the sliding door to find my 2 gallon gas tank for my
lawnmower that I had just filled sitting there with
the vent cap open. Doh!
Anyway, dropping the tank was a relatively simple
process and worth the time I spent on it.
I do have one question though, why does the tank have
the big saddle in the middle of it? My guess is that
it was originally made that way to provide a space for
the heater duct on the air-cooled Vanagon to reach the
front of the vehicle. There is a recess in the tank
for the heater and radiator hoses that isn't 1/2 as
deep as the middle one. Does the SA tank have the same
big recess in the middle? Anyone interested in making
a tank without the big recess for the watercooled
vans?
You should be able to get at least a couple more
gallons of capacity by making the level of the tank
the same all the way across and just providing a
recess for the cooling system hoses.
Anyway, have a great day.
=====
Tim Hannink
Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
Winter Park, Florida
http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink [Vanagon] Album
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