"Larry Alofs" <lalofs@gmail.com> writes:

> The problem with a permanent line going straight across between the > two high points is that the line needs to go above the shift linkage > rod. Hence VW's "clever" approach where you are supposed to get the > tank up there nearly in position and then put the line across and > pop the fittings into the grommets. This calls for a rather strong > but also rather skinny arm and hand.

Or install the shift linkage rod after the tank is already in? Or use flare fittings so a metal line could be attached to metal fittings?

Sorry I think they could have come up with something better. This just seems like a half-hearted attempt to solve a pretty simple problem, using cheap materials, with potentially catastrophic results 10 years later.

> The last time I had my tank down, I switched to a crossover tube > that is FI grade rubber hose long enough to go down and around the > shift linkage etc. so that I could connect it all before raising the > tank. The only complication was positioning it so that the parking > brake cable would not rub against it. Seems to work fine; the tank > fills normally.

If the tube has a low point in the middle where it passes under the shift linkage, won't that act like a trap for liquid fuel, negating the cross-venting function that the tube is supposed to provide?

Allan