replacing fuel filter...only 6 months old

[ValleyHappy]

Well, my van is hesitating like it did 6 months ago when I had to replace the fuel filter....acting the same way. Is this a sign my tank is full of crap?
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09 Suzuki SX-4 Crossover

[RCB]

Thats possible but the way gas is being sold and the stations tanks are being refilled Im wondering if its the stations junk crud and crap fouling your fuel filter.
Do you have both the small square filter and the steel cannister type filter?

[ValleyHappy]

I don't have the small filter. i know this is part of my problem. i have wordered about the gas quality. my van started to act up after filling up at the same UniMart....they use Mobil fuel I believe....but that doesn't say anything about the condition of their storage tanks.

the previous owner replaced the fuel pump (cheap aftermarket) and filters (he for some reason removed the small filter).
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09 Suzuki SX-4 Crossover

[bucko]

If the gas tank has never been down, then chances are strong that you have junk in the gas tank.

Either get used to replacing the fuel filters every 5 to 6 months, or buy the "kit" from GoWesty and remove the tank and have it cleaned and sealed.

You'll be good for another 20 years.
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Current VW drives: 1984 Westfalia

Past VW drives: 1967 Beetle, 1973 Beetle, 1977 Bus, 1971 Military Type 181

[msinabottle]

Reinstall the small plastic filter--it's easy, it's cheap, and overkill is way, way better than underkill. Replace the other filter... AND...

Get thou thy Hacksaw. Cutteth thou thy remove-ed cannister so thou might its internals expose unto the light.

Be they RED?

Then, alas the day, is thy tank rusted quite, and shalt thou have to replace or coat (In sooth, this counsel I despise) the same. And thy fuel pump is like to have been vex-ed sorely. Search thou, there is a procedure for its cleaning.

Besteth!
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'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

[82WestyMan]

Something I suggest from personal experience after much problems with my tank too (crap in it, leaks, etc)
Since I'm too frugal to spend the $$$ the 'big boys' want for a tank, I found this site, got one and couldn't be happier.
Have to admit I did sand the cheap paint off, 2 coats of rust-killer primer and 3 coats of enamel before putting it in...
Looks like they only have tanks for 2wd and for some reason they only show to '86, didn't think they changed the tank design that much except for the early large / later small filler hole

Can't beat the price for a new tank... $105 plus shipping
(I know the only local radiator shop that does tank cleaning and sealing wants a 'C-note' for their services.... seemed like a 'no-brainer' to me...)
http://discountgastanks.com/search/?/VOLKSWAGEN/1986/VANAGON/index.htm
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[hiram6]

I went through the fuel filter/pump/rust dance a few months back. My advice? Don't bother trying to clean and reseal the tank. Replace it. Pure and simple.

If you see the inside of the tank, it becomes obvious that completely coating the inside with a sealing substance in nerar to impossible. The actual fuel tank pick up is in the center of the tank in a pie plate depression in the center of the tank. This depression is underneath a metal shield that has only a few cut-outs for the fuel to get through to the pick-up area. You would have to get any sealant into this area, and at the same time not gum up the openings.

Just get a new tank, a new set of seals for the venting tubes, new fuel filters, and new fuel lines. And be done with it.
_________________
1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.

[ValleyHappy]

well, after work yesterday I stopped and bought a new filter. The drive home was a little better but the noise from my fuel pump was becoming very audible.....flash forward 12 hrs. later when I tried to drive to work this morning and.....hesitate sputter sputter up to 30mph and then dead. the fuel pump was very audible and making varying unhealthy sounds...its being towed as I write this......more money, BUT ONE LESS THING TO WORRY ABOUT.
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09 Suzuki SX-4 Crossover

[tencentlife]

Sounds like the pump intake is filled with crud, and the impeller is cavitating. There should be a filter screen within the intake nipple that you could blow out. Having the cube prefilter is a must if you're struggling with a cruddy tank. Of course the metal afterfilter is the most important, as a set of injectors costs twice what a new pump does. But if tank crud is part of your personal nightmare, the belt-and-suspenders approach is what you should be doing.

I agree completely with the others; after seeing the internal construction of these tanks, cleaning/recoating is clearly a fool's errand. Get a new one and all the goodies and put it right. Meantime, belt and suspenders.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[ValleyHappy]

thanks for the help. I'm having a new pump and pre filter put on the van today. It really is a task I could handle myself but having 2 kids in diapers and a spouse that works evenings, well I would need to 7 to 10 days and I need my wheels. I'm definately going to look into the link provided by 82WM. I was already wondering if I should replace the tank this winter....no need to wonder any longer i guess.

vex-ed sorely it was
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09 Suzuki SX-4 Crossover

[82WestyMan]

... great idea... and the below "Fuel Delivery Insurance Policy"
.... way cheaper than the parts it will protect ...

_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[tortuga]

[pdunn13445]

I can tell when the cube fuel filter needs replacement as in hot driving the pump starts making noise. Replacing every six months sounds appropriate. Two years ago I thought I would try one of the canisters and it lasted six months, too. Go figure? Never a problem with injectors on the 1.9 WBX, and I check them yearly. Sorry, but I don't have a lot of money to throw at things like this and cannot afford to be a perfectionist. Those cube filters are cheap so use them?

[82WestyMan]

tortuga wrote

[bucko]

[tencentlife]

Fine and dandy. But this type of tank, being flat, has internal windage baffling that has some very small cavities where the pump pickup lives, and an internal pickup screen that pretty well guarantees that cleaning and recoating isn't going to make for a very good repair, in my opinion. I think it's probably bits of the pickup screen that comprise most of what's ending up in peoples' prefilters and pumps, as well as rust flakes. Most tanks have internal windage baffling, but nothing like what's needed in this broad, flat tank.

Of course this is also a matter of degrees. Some tanks have a small amount of corrosion due to having had some water settle near the bottom, and once the water is gone and replaced with gasoline, the corrosion is held at bay and you can deal with the small amounts of freed particles by using filters. Others are so far gone there is no sensible remedy but to replace the tank complete. I would say if you have to replace your prefilter twice a year, yours is firmly in the latter category. Money or no money, it's your choice how to deal with it, but simple replacement is the permanent fix.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[kayakwesty]

just to throw my 2 cents in

I bought a new filter and less that 100 miles it went bad...sometimes new parts go bad

I carry extra filters in the van..their easy to change
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1984 Westy 2.0 Jetta ABA Motor/1.8 head converted to auto tranny, with 180,000 on body, 55K on engine and transmission

B.5.5 Passat Wagen with 30v V6-67000 Miles

DAS AUTO

CHANGE YOUR FUEL LINES!

A post without pictures is useless

http://www.kayakwesty.com

http://www.waldensridgewhitewater.com/

[tencentlife]

Just curious: how did it "go bad". There are plenty of faulty parts on the shelves. Could you be more specific?
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[kayakwesty]

[bucko]