Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:35:50 -0500
Reply-To: Neal Barrentine <vwneal@BLUEMARBLE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Neal Barrentine <vwneal@BLUEMARBLE.NET>
Subject: Re: fuel pump noise
In-Reply-To: <009e01c654db$df38cb10$6701a8c0@WordHomePC>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
On Mar 31, 2006, at 10:57 AM, AAG - Larry Word wrote:
> In Vanagon.com board you stated.....
>
> Removing the tank and cleaning out the scale .....
>
> Is this the gas tank....if so, how do you clean out the scale after
> you've
> removed the tank from the car?
>
> I did this once and found no good way to pressurize tank to rid
> debris.....I
> did flush w/ gas, air, etc. but
> I'm interested in your take on this job.....
>
> Larry
> Georgia
First, let me start with why I removed the tank to begin with. One of
the plastic fittings on top of the tank that connects to the balance
tube had broken, resulting in spilled gasoline when I filled it up or
cornered, accelerated etc. I didn't want to pay what the dealer wanted
for the parts, so I opted to JB weld the broken part. I also decided to
make it easier to put it all together by cutting the plastic balance
tube off of the fittings that plug into the tank, and replacing it with
the appropriate size rubber hose, fuel proof, of course. Also, the gas
gauge did not work, and upon removal I found that it was rusty enough
that it had frozen in position. It cleaned up easily, and has worked
great ever since. But when I drained the tank, I got a big surprise
with the amount of rust scale! I filled a one gallon paint can with
what I removed from the inside of the tank! The outside of the tank was
rust-free, so I figured I could clean out the inside by repeated
flushings with water. I had a length of heavy chain that I dropped into
the tank and then agitated the tank to break up the scale. After
becoming sufficiently tired, I rinsed the tank repeatedly with more
water, then mineral spirits, laquer thinner, and then gasoline. (I hate
working with gasoline!) Before re-assembling it, I cleaned and painted
the outside. I still have rusty fuel in my fuel filter, and
occasionally the fuel pump inlet will get clogged with scale, but it is
much better than it was previously. When it gets clogged, I find I
can't accelerate well, and I know it's time to replace the filter. Once
after replacing the filter I found that the fuel pump was still noisy,
but the van ran okay. When I had space in my garage, I pulled it in,
disconnected the fuel line from the inlet side of the filter, and blew
a little air into the fuel pump. It was, and continues to be quiet
since then. If this was a Syncro or Westy I would look to replace the
fuel tank or at least clean it with acid and recoat it. Have fun, Neal
Neal Barrentine
Bloomington, Indiana
1986 GL
1960 Baja Bug
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