Date:         Sun, 20 Oct 1996 20:12:41 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Garth Woolstenhulme <gwoolstenhulme@hidesert.com>
Subject:      Re: 86 GL - Gas Tank Problem

rpaverd@ibm.net wrote:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I have now owned this 86 GL for 10 months, including a fair amount of maintenance
> (head replacement etc.) but a problem which someone may have experienced before now
> needs to be addressed.  When I fill the gas tank, I am getting major spillage coming out
> of what seems to be an overflow somewhere.  I have had it into the local dealer; their
> comment was that they would have to drop the gas tank to investigate (apparently a 4 hour
> task at $55 per hour) and only then would they be able to determine the cause.
> 
> This seems to be quite a bit of money just to determine a problem - has anyone experienced
> this before - any suggestions would be much appreciated !
> 
> Thanks in advance
> 
> //----------------------------------------------------------
> // Richard Paverd
> rpaverd@ibm.net
Hi Richard,

In regards to your overflowing gas tank, I also had the same problem.  
The Vanagon gas tank has 4 grommets(Bentley calls them gaskets).  Two
grommets hold lines leading to your 2 expansion tanks, one grommet holds
a vent line to the top of the filler neck, and a large grommet that
holds the filler neck.  I had to drop the tank because the fuel tank
grommet that the fuel filler neck passed through had become hardened and
allowed gas to spill out when I filled the tank.  Its a pain to remove
and replace, but it should not take a good mechanic 4 hours to remove
the tank, replace all the grommets, and reinstall the tank. It took me 4
hours to do the job in my driveway.