Gas Tank re-seal (1984 westy) -- fuel line notes at end

[gt0954a]

More adventures.

During my coolant line replacement adventure. I decided since I was already there to R&R the seal kit for the fuel tank. I smelled gas during refills -- the 3 time since I've owned it. Examined the tank and thought sweet it already has RMS (vancafe) aluminum vent plugs.

So i ordered up some Gates Barricade EFI hoses of the correct size. -- Edit actual sizes --
cut hoses to match the ones that were already on it. used crimp clamps to secure .. Later to find out they are really not required, but I'm using them on the fuel lines.

so the adventure begins.
New Fuel sender, new bushings, test fit all looks good.

Side Quest: while shaking and checking coolant lines to make sure no interference. found that Vanistan heater valve was touching fan when spare tire would have been installed. Re-adjust and re-tie wrap.. Back to original mission.

Round 1: put new hose kit in. routing over and under the different lines, the throttle cable, parking brake, coolant lines. excellent.. lets jack up gas tank.. crawling around on my back and sticking my arms in the holes to push it down. I do the passenger side first .. pop excellent it is going well. change sides. try and push the other one in.. dammit its 1" to short and is interfering with the parking brake line. Must be the new hose that is stiffer than the old. I'll pull it out and give it a couple extra inches. (Round 1) Oh I forgot did you know you can unbind and rebind the crimp clamps when you forget to put them on first.

Round 2:
Remove clamp .. turns out grabbing them with crimpers and rotating is the best removal method. Attempt to remove hose.. nope. Where is my razor knife. There it is .. as is typical the van got the blood sacrifice... not bad. just oozing. Remove crimp --- the previously screwed up one. add a new hose that is longer. It is easier to shorten. Needless to say It was too long. Take tank in/out again.

Round 3:
Remove clamp, shorten hose, reclamp, test fit again. Take tank in/out again.
still too long.

Round 4:
Remove clamp, shorten hose, reclamp, test fit again. Take tank in/out again.
still too long. Notice that the new small diameter hoses are not as flexible, remove short pieces make them too long. so they can reach the vent tanks.

Round 5:
frustration is kicking in. Notice that if you droop the tank in the back and slide it back 3-5" I can route the vent hose in. Nice. Pop it in.. excellent everything is fitting. now for the filler neck. put it in.. Dammit This could have been all dropped to 1 Round. Put it in the wrong hole the first time. Its all in an waiting on the next steps.

Tank is in.

edit: Hope ya'll find this at least entertaining. ..

Serious note:
I've been dealing with mk1 vw's for a very long time. I've never heard of fuel lines going bad until vanagons. From what I can tell the difference is the MK1's had CIS (5 bar Fuel pressure) so they needed fuel lines that could withstand the pressure. CIS use exclusively metal lines with banjo fittings or stainless armored teflon lines. None of these are effected by modern fuels. Having to replace fuel lines every 5 years said to me that the wrong type of fuel lines are being used. So I looked up what was going on. and appearenly the modern fuels with ethanol and other additives diffuse through older designs. Gates Barricade meets a newer spec that has a much lower diffusion rate (keeps gas in line not in rubber). The diffusion of the fuel through the line breaks down the rubber and makes it self destruct.

Anecdote: the previous fuel vent hose all smelled of fuel on the OUTSIDE of the fuel line. It was the traditional VW fuel line with the cloth braided on the outside. It is easy to bend and install, but it is not rated for modern fuels. -- That is my 2 cents. I'm replacing all the fuel lines with modern fuel line that should last 20 years. the barricade has a teflon lining, and a few other layers. Not as good as the CIS, but closer.

[borninabus]

welcome to the aftermarket
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88 Van WBX, A/T - 13 JSW TDI 6M/T - 2012 Touareg TDI Sport

[SCM]

I like to remove crimp clamps by inserting a small flathead screw driver into the “ear” of the clamp and then twist it like a door key - the clamp opens right up.

It took me two attempts to reseal my tank too. Now I need to do it again about 12 years later as my evaporation hoses have degraded since I last replaced them.

The fun never stops!
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'91 Westfalia GL Automatic (GTA "Turbo" Rebuild w/Peloquin) and 2.3L GoWesty Engine

[MSGGrunt]

Seeing I am about to replace all the fuel lines on my newly acquired Westy and was thinking about going with the major kit from GoWesty, I have to ask, are the kits being offered by all the venders using barricade hose for all the hoses? I would think it would have to be with today's modern fuel mixtures, but you never know.

[zerotofifty]