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Sun Oct 02, 2011 10:55 pm

I've never dropped an engine from a VW before, and hope not to any time soon - wishful thinking???

I did start from the other end this evening, though. I dropped the fuel tank expecting the worst, and I was happily surprised. The fuel lines were so badly cracked they nearly came apart on their own. I expect to replace them all anyway. Should I take this chance to replace the hard lines too, or is that overkill?

The lines coming out of the tank were full of gunk. There was no fuel in the tank, but there was still some fuel in the BIG A$$ fuel filter. I have V8's with smaller filters. The gaskets (grommets?) on the tank had long dissolved to mush and their replacements are already on the way. Looking into the tank I see lots of black gunk, but very little rust and I think that the tank is structurally sound. It came down so easily that I feel like an accomplished mechanic.

My worries - the fuel pump is probably toast. I should replace it. What would you expect the injectors condition will be? I know I'll need to replace the o-rings, but will the injectors need to be replaced? Any need to worry about the intake valves being stuck?

Thanks for the help. I know from reading here that y'all are very friendly to newcomers. One step at a time I'll get this old girl back on the road.

Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:39 pm

Larry Davick wrote: I've never dropped an engine from a VW before, and hope not to any time soon - wishful thinking???
It's something of a rite of passage. :wink: Don't worry about it just yet. I don't think you're at the point where you need to.

If (when) you find yourself thinking that you should pull the heads to have a look inside, and wondering if you can do that without dropping the engine... well, you can, but don't. It's a royal pain. Pull the engine and have it at bench level. An amazing amount of stuff has to come off the engine before the heads do, and putting it all back on afterwards is even more of a pain if the engine is in the car.

Larry Davick wrote:
My worries - the fuel pump is probably toast. I should replace it. What would you expect the injectors condition will be? I know I'll need to replace the o-rings, but will the injectors need to be replaced?

Test the fuel pump before blindly replacing it. Don't test it dry. It has to be drawing fluid (kerosene might be a good idea) in order to stay cool.
Consider sending your injectors to one of the injector cleaning places like Witch Hunter. That's a lot cheaper than buying new ones.

Larry Davick wrote:
Any need to worry about the intake valves being stuck?
You'll probably find that out when you go to adjust your valves. (another VW rite of passage).

Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:41 pm

Larry Davick wrote: This Westy's VIN is WV2ZA0251BH064146 for what it's worth.
M Plate Decoder

Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:54 pm

To clean out the fuel tank I'm thinking of pouring in some laquer thinner and then some acetone, sloshing each around as vigorously as possible before dumping. I'll follow this up with a rinse of alcohol, as that should blend nicely with any new gas.

Does this sound like a good plan or am I deluded?

Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:38 am

A few posters have suggested dropping a few marbles into the tank prior to sloshing.

Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:53 am

Radiator shops do the cleaning job too.......

Wed Oct 26, 2011 11:03 pm

Gave up cleaning the old tank and bought a new one. $136 delivered. The radiator shops I called wanted $140 and that wasn't even including re-coating the thing.

The new tank looks great. I have the grommets and the GoWesty vent crossover. Now to piece back all of those ridiculous hoses and lift the tank back up. Hopefully this weekend.

One more thing - is the GoWesty 7mm to 12mm adapter the only solution other than buying another goofy square fuel filter?

Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:03 am

Larry Davick wrote:
One more thing - is the GoWesty 7mm to 12mm adapter the only solution other than buying another goofy square fuel filter?

Those goofy square filters are half the cost of the cannisters.

After dropping my tank to do the lines I replaced the filter once when it clogged after less than 100 miles, again after 500 miles, 1000 miles and now when I do the oil change. Filters are cheap, pumps are not.

Thu Oct 27, 2011 11:15 am

Yup - just ordered a filter from busdepot.

Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:32 pm

I see a sticky post about gripes, but where do you post praise for a vendor? I just had the good luck to deal with BusDepot on a return and they were great!

I've had good service from many vendors when buying, and that's expected. When a vendor is helpful and reasonable when there is some kind of trouble I think this is a measure of their commitment to their customers.

I'm a fan of BusDepot and I'm not afraid to say it! =D> Is there a better thread for this?

Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:04 pm

Larry Davick wrote: I see a sticky post about gripes, but where do you post praise for a vendor?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=14

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=186591&highlight=depot

Venture out away from the Vanagon forum. :)

Thu Dec 01, 2011 10:59 pm

Here are the (very fast) injector results from Witch Hunter - THAT I NEVER WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT WITHOUT THE SAMBA!!! Two of these injectors were completely plugged and the van would never have started. This would have sent me into a diagnostic funk, but now they are happily off of my checklist. Remember - this van has not run in over 20 years.

I'm very happy. Thank you Sambanistas!