When the engine's out it's a perfect time to clean out and seal the gas tank. Ludwig has a voracious appetite for fuel filters, which this side-project should remedy.
There it is, with the firewall removed.
The nuts holding the straps down were very resistant. Thankfully I didn't break them.
Out! Not that hard, really. There's just the two nuts, a clamp to undo, and a couple lines to cut. I can't believe that some people do this with the engine in.
I was kind of hoping to find some treasures in there, but there was just rust rust rust. Thus his hunger for fuel filters.
6 comments:
Love the last pic. You may be the first to see that side of the gas tank since some factory worker in Germany. Great stuff.
That reminds me, I need to replace Valentina's gas gauge, since we never get an accurate fuel level reading. Can it be done without dropping the engine?
@BB'sD--I very well could've been. Those nuts didn't act like they'd ever been off.
@exoticdvm--Let's hope Valentina had a caring previous owner who took her to the dealer for the quick fix. Yes, technically you need to drop the engine to replace this failure-prone part. Yes, it is ridiculous that you have to, and some time ago VW issued a bulletin telling dealers where to install an access hole to get at it without necessitating an engine drop. So the answer to your question is as follows:
1. Do you have an access hole, installed by a dealer or hacked in by a previous owner? Look forward of your engine hatch, under the rear cushion--the sender is right beneath there. If Val has a hatch, it's easy-peasy. Open up the hatch, twist the old sender out, twist the new one in.
2. If she doesn't, you'll have to decide if an accurate gauge is worth an engine drop. I personally think it's something that can wait until the next time the engine really has to come out.
3. You can take the tank out (and replace the sender) without removing the engine, in the same sense that you, Marc, can swim the English Channel. It's metaphysically possible (i.e., doesn't violate a law of logic), but pointlessly difficult, IMHO.
Alright,
whc03grady.
Thanks man ... I need to check better for that elusive access hole (that's what she said). Otherwise, I'll wait for the next engine drop. Been keeping a written log of Valentina's miles for the past 28,000 miles ... we get approx 240 miles on a full tank, FWIW. Only ran out of gas 4 times ... so far, for an average of one "OOPS" per every 29.16 refuelings.
Good Idea!
Suggest having a radiator shop do a clean and seal - usually a little more then doing the POR15 Tank seal - but worth it!
Paul
@VWM--I opted against getting it boiled out at a radiator shop because it's more pricey, and I wasn't interested in having to repaint the outside. Springtime in the Northern Rockies can be pretty chilly, and chances would be good that I'd have a bare metal tank rusting away and bad weather for shooting paint.
Alright,
whc03grady.
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