Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 11:29:22 -0500
Reply-To: eric.henning@US.ABB.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Eric Henning <eric.henning@US.ABB.COM>
Subject: Re: gas tank leak - long
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
JOhn wrote:
>I think I have a hole in the gas tank. :( Naturally, its 10 degrees
>outside and snow all over the place. I know that the fuel lines,
>especially the ones that go to the overflow resevoirs, are in bad shape,
>but as I look underneath, I see gas dripping from the tank, more towards
>the rear, and center of the tank, than the outside edges.
>RMM says $150 for a new tank. Is that a fair price? Should I even try to
>have the existing one repaired?
>How much fun is it to replace the fuel tank in
>an 81 vanagon?
Your tank may have rust holes but could also be rubber leaks.
I did mine this past summer. Dropped the tank, wire wheeled the tank and
coated with extends then Kool PAtch (brass wheel), replaced every piece of
rubber
on the tank (got the grommets, crossover tube, fuel sender gasket, and fuel
filler
grommet from dealer - couple bucks for grommets, $25 for crossover). Bought 3
meters
of high pressure fuel injection (7 mm) hose from Bus Depot, bought 40 stainless
steel
f.i. clamps from NAPA, bought 4 feet 6.3mm (?) non-pressure fuel line from local
parts store
(this is used on gas tank expansion tanks).
GAs tank is easy to drop. First, drain tank by pulling off fuel lines at lower
back of tank.
Might be pressurized so watch out for squirting fuel. Undo gas cap and remove
three screws
holding filler neck in place. The rubber will probably be fused to filler neck.
Careful
prying will loosen. May want to get new one. I disconnected as many expansion
tank hoses as I could reach (makes dropping tank easier). Next under the van
uses a
floor jack and a piece of wood to support tank. Un-do the two metal straps that
hold
the tank up. The will come completely out. Lower the floor jack slighlty and
reach ontop
of tank to disconnect gas sender gauge wires. These slip right out.
Next work the filler neck loose from the tank and try to get it out. You may
have to take the
passenger side expansion tank out. One bolt and the expansion tank pops out.
Lower the gas tank noticing all the fuel lines on top of the tank. I used chalk
marks
to keep straight which lines went to which fuel lines. The cross over
pipe will have to be popped out of the two grommets on either side of the
"saddle"of the
gas tank as it goes above the center floor heat vent. The front of the gas tank
lies on a lip towards
the front of the van. Slide the tank off this lip and out it falls.
Pop out the old grommets and pop in the new. Replace the expanion tank lines w/
the non-pressurised fuel line.
Good time to swish out your tank to get any crud out. May even want to get tank
professionally treated (boiled).
INstallation, as they say is reverse of removal. Use some type of rubber
lubricant to assist in putting pipes back in grommets.
The crossover pipe is a b*tch as you have to install the new over the heater
vent, then as you raise the
tank reach in the wheel wells (oh yeah, remove the front wheels) and blindly pop
back in. Don't forget to hook up the gas gauge.
To replace gas gauge gasket, turn the locking ring, then remove whole sender
unit. I used a brass punch and slowly
tapped the locking ring so it unscrewed. The tank pretty much must be in place
to put the filler neck back in.
Put a new gas line filter in.
Fuel line replacement is pretty straight forward- slip off old, slip on new (use
new clamps). Only tough part is if you want to replace the short piece of hose
going to the
injectors. The injectors pop right out (remove wires first by prying open the
small metal wire clips - injector plug
will pull off then) by removing the nuts holding the injector bracket. This is a
teardrop shaped bracket with a circle in the
big end that claps the injector into the cyclinder. Once the bracket is
removed, the injector just pops out. Each injector has
two o-rings. I replaced these as well (Bus Depot - couple bucks). To remvoe
the hose I carefully used a very sharp pointed exacto knife
to work my way under the cup clamp (don't cut anything but hose). Once the hose
is cut, you can pull off the hose and cup. You can try to re-use the cup
but i used fuel injection clamps. Good time to gently clean injectors.
Good luck.
eric h.
80 westy
