| Author |
Message |
teej
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2010
Posts: 903
Location: Seattle
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:09 am Post subject: Tanks-To-Pans replacement fuel tank review |
 |
|
Just installed a Spectra Premium replacement fuel tank from tanks-to-pans.com. http://www.tanks-to-pans.com/site/823208/page/305723 The part number is VW3C. These are my impressions.
Summary:
Pros:
1. tank has 11mm outlet
2. $210 including shipping and sales tax
3. Decently responsive customer service
Cons:
1. Poor packaging--shipping damage
2. Poor quality control on the machined grommet holes
3. Too many links in the supply chain, unclear what entity I was actually dealing with
4. Not as robust internally as the OEM tank, dimensions may not be exact
The details:
Old tank was resealed by a shop when we bought the van in Dec. 2009. Two years hence the sender seal failed (discovered pinched O-ring). Old OEM tank with 11mm outlet was rusty so decided to replace. Based on info gleaned from this thread http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=277727 and others I wanted to make sure the outlet was 11mm, that and price led me to choose this supplier.
First tank arrived having been banged up in shipping. On the tanks-to-pans website description of the tank, they state that the tanks would be foam wrapped, stretch wrapped, and then boxed. That helped sell me. Alas, not so; tank was loose in the single box, with no edge protection.
Decided I did not want to install it, so contacted them for a replacement. That went OK, but be prepared for dealing with second and third parties. Apparently tanks-to-pans is owned by coast2coastwheels.com, aka coast2coastinternational.com, aka a division of LKQ corporation, aka LKQCorp.com. There was also an email from Spi Distribution Center in the mix. That said, they were responsive to the damaged tank, I ended up talking to a customer service guy in Florida. It seems tanks-to-pans is a new acquistion, they are still trying to get the warehouse packaging and shipping correct, and I was told I am not the first person reporting a shipping damaged tank. They covered return shipping and sent out a new tank before receiving the damaged one.
Anyway I used the wait to do extra stuff: treat underbody rust, fix the sender ground, check brake lines and make sure they were not chafing anywhere.
Second tank arrived one week later. I would suggest inspecting the rolled edges of the grommet holes: One had a huge sharp underside burr that prevented proper grommet seating. The pic is blurry but the burr was roughly half the circumference of the hole, and extended down approx. 2mm.
Couldn't afford to wait anymore, so did some fussy Dremel surgery. The cutoff wheel was larger diam than the hole, so had to reach in through the filler opening and poke the shaft of the wheel through the bad hole and chock it from above. Vacuum nozzle then poked through filler hole, taped in place, and running during the operation to catch debris, that sort of deal. Repeat with small grinding wheel to dress the cut. Seemed a decent fix, here is the after pic:
Prepared, primed, undercoated tank, then installed with new seals from van-cafe (if you care about getting OEM VW seals call Peter first, he sent me aftermarket ones, I asked after the fact and he did verify that they are Viton. He may be switching back to VW. ) They matched the 2 year old VW ones that are now spares.
Tank went in reasonably well, it is a tight fit. Reinstalled the OEM rigid plastic crossover assembly, new 2 years ago, which I had left in place on the hook. It seems the distance between these crossover grommet holes may not be exact to OEM. I did not think to measure first to compare to the old tank, but there is some strain suggesting they are slightly further apart. Probably not a concern for those running soft rubber fuel hose for the crossover balance line. This is what I am wondering about:
I say wondering because it was late, cold, dark, raining, I was spent, and if it leaked on full fill-up I was not prepared to deal with it so I have only put 8 gallons in so far. I will do the full fill up probably today for the true test, hopefully no issue here but there it is. There was no such strain on the old fittings when I removed them.
So that is my experience with tanks-to-pans, hope this may be useful to someone.
_________________
1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans
Last edited by teej on Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:40 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Vanagon Nut
Samba Member
Joined: February 08, 2008
Posts: 10491
Location: Sunshine Coast B.C.
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for doing the research and posting.
I realize the tank is in etc., but is the crossover tube running over top of everything? Thinking cockeyed crossover might be due to it being pushed down ~ mid point by e brake cable or ?
Just a thought. Great of you to take pics of tank flaws and fix.
Neil.
_________________
"VW gas I4 Conversions" Google Group is being shut down.
1981 Westy DIY 15º ABA
1988 West DIY 50º ABA
VE7TBN |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
SCM
Samba Member
Joined: January 26, 2011
Posts: 3317
Location: Bozeman MT
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:11 pm Post subject: |
|
|
FYI for anyone who is interested, Van-Cafe is now offering tanks with 12mm outlets for the later vans. I just ordered the last one they had in stock to give to my wife for an xmas gift 
_________________
'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine
Last edited by SCM on Sat Nov 26, 2011 10:21 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
teej
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2010
Posts: 903
Location: Seattle
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 6:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Vanagon Nut wrote: |
Thanks for doing the research and posting.
I realize the tank is in etc., but is the crossover tube running over top of everything? Thinking cockeyed crossover might be due to it being pushed down ~ mid point by e brake cable or ?
Just a thought. Great of you to take pics of tank flaws and fix.
Neil. |
Thanks Neil, yep, crossover tube is routed correctly, I had read about the need for this. It was actually never removed from vehicle, it is routed correctly and in it's hook. Over e-brake cable, etc.
Filled to about 15gal. today, but did not allow auto-shutoff to engage. So far so good as far as leaks. I can also report that the fuel pump seems a little quieter now. I also went through the EEC system and installed a new charcoal can as part of the service. I am thinking that rusty old tank plus old slightly compromised charcoal can was leading to a bit of fuel pump noise.
SCM: thanks for the van-cafe update, they are a preferred vendor for me, always package things well, ship promptly, and I would have paid a bit more because I like dealing with them, but I did not want the smaller diameter outlet. I wish I had asked them about the larger outlet tank.
_________________
1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dubbified
Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2010
Posts: 1454
Location: Redmond, WA
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 7:01 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| SCM wrote: |
| FYI for anyone who is interested, Van-Cafe is now offering tanks with 12mm outlets for the older vans. I just ordered the last one they had in stock to give to my wife for an xmas gift |
I wish I could get my lady to be more jazzed about giving/receiving westy parts/upgrades.
*Sigh* not enough time out in it yet.. sadly. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
randywebb
Samba Member
Joined: February 15, 2005
Posts: 3815
Location: Greater Metropolitan Nimrod, Orygun
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 9:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| dubbified wrote: |
I wish I could get my lady to be more jazzed about giving/receiving westy parts/upgrades.
|
wrap them in sexy lingerie and drizzle diamonds over the whole thing
_________________
1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
teej
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2010
Posts: 903
Location: Seattle
|
| Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thought I'd add one more pic showing the manufacturer marking:
This trademark is the same one I've seen in other posts for tanks purchased from van-cafe and bus depot. It seems bus depot is correct in their assertion that all of these aftermarket tanks are made at the same factory (Taiwan, I think I read somewhere) and just sold under different brand names.
That being the case, it really comes down to vendor choice, price, shipping practices, and getting the size outlet you want. Seems the quality control issues would exist across the board, so ability to quickly resolve a bum tank might also be a factor.
_________________
1986+ Wolfsburg Weekender Pop-Top 2.3 WBX Manual Trans |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
bluebus86
Banned
Joined: September 02, 2010
Posts: 11075
|
| Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:44 am Post subject: |
|
|
| you may want to replace the vapour hoses (the ones that go to the plastic over floow tanks) with lined 30R9 hoses. the new fuel formulations will rot out the standard non-lined hoses even though they are not regularly immersed in gasoline, they will still rot out, cuasing fuel smells and eventually leaks. the cloth wrapped hoses you have in the photos are likely not lined. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
djkeev
Samba Moderator
Joined: September 30, 2007
Posts: 32979
Location: Reading Pennsylvania
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
