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How do I clean a bug's gas tank



 
 
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  #11  
Old December 11th 04, 01:07 AM
ilambert
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never on the pressure side in this case(F.I.!!!)Much higher pressure
involved.
"Michael Cecil" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 21:56:08 GMT, Red Bug > wrote:
>
>>In article >,
>> Jan Andersson > wrote:
>>
>>> BEFORE the pump?
>>>
>>> Never on the pressure side!

>>
>>Why? I've used them there for thirty years with no problem... I change
>>them at least once a year (car stays in storage all winter).
>>
>>I know about the issue of ones left too long being a fire hazard from
>>cracking and then leaking, but I change them so often that I'm not all
>>that concerned.

>
> Do you have a fire extinguisher in your car?
>
> --
> Michael Cecil
> http://home.comcast.net/~macecil/



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  #12  
Old December 11th 04, 01:36 AM
Wolfgang
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If the old tank is not rusted badly (just on suface) I'd try the pressure
washer, shake with chain inside and phosphoric acid wash before buying a new
aftermarket one (they are really cheaply made compared to OEM German ones).
The floor pans from Whitneys are very thin --- try to get the ones made in
Denmark which are thicker.

"Nate Nagel" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>
>> Hi All
>> I just got a 75 fuel injected non-super bug. It has been sitting since
>> 91 (that's the date on the last inspection sticker).
>>
>> Before I try anything, I'd like to make sure that it doesn't suck
>> sludge through the injectors so cleaning the tank is probably a good
>> idea, right?
>> Is just emptying the tank enough? Or is there a way for me to take the
>> tank out and clean it? (It must have rust and gunk build up all over,
>> right?)
>>
>> Is that is possible, how do I do this? I am totally new to the
>> wonderful world of bugs, so appreciate any suggestions.
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Remco
>>
>> (btw, sorry if somehow this gets posted twice -- using the new google
>> interface and it does weird things sometime).
>>

>
> I had an "issue" with the gas tank on my '62 Stude which sat in a shed for
> some 30 years... what I did was to remove the tank (actually it was out
> when I bought the car) made a little plate to seal the sender hole, then
> dumped a can of Drano crystals in it and filled it with hot water. Then
> rattled a length of chain around in there through the filler neck after
> letting it sit a while (this knocks off the rust you've just loosened.)
> Lather, rinse, repeat. the reason for the block off plate was so that
> when I did the "repeat" but I could turn the tank upside down to get the
> rust off. Then I did a rinse with some muriatic acid (do I need to say,
> do this outside?) and repeated the chain bit after rinsing it out again.
> Finally I put a little phosphoric acid based metal prep solution in and
> swished it all around so that all the surfaces got rinsed with it (it not
> only removes rust but leaves a little protective coating behind) and last
> but not least rinsed it out a couple times the same way with gasoline to
> make sure none of the nastiness I'd used found its way back into the fuel
> system.
>
> Been working fine for me so far... I did install a little fuel filter
> before the carb so anything I missed gets caught...
>
> If you follow the above procedure and find that your tank is less than
> perfectly sealed, at least you've done most of the prep work for using a
> gas tank sealer coating...
>
> good luck,
>
> nate
>
> --
> replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
>
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel



  #13  
Old December 11th 04, 02:08 AM
Red Bug
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In article >,
"ilambert" > wrote:

> never on the pressure side in this case (F.I.!!!) Much higher pressure
> involved.


Mine is regular stock mechanical with stnd. carb. setup (1961) so hardly
any pressure involved.

--
___
|___| '61 - VW
(o\_|_/o) Bug! ALEA -- 35.9 BHP and not a bit more!
_U_____U_
  #14  
Old December 11th 04, 02:20 AM
Jan Andersson
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Red Bug wrote:
>
> In article >,
> "ilambert" > wrote:
>
> > never on the pressure side in this case (F.I.!!!) Much higher pressure
> > involved.

>
> Mine is regular stock mechanical with stnd. carb. setup (1961) so hardly
> any pressure involved.



It's not just pressure you have to worry about. You also need to think
of the added WEIGHT of a gasoline filled container suspended in and by
the gas line. The filter will move around and it will repeatedly send
"shocks" to the hose fittings as you drive, and the carb top fitting is
known to be a weak spot. It will pull out of the aluminum and you will
then have gasoline spraying all over the engine compartment. It's the
number 1 reason for engine fires in an aircooled VW.

There's plenty of pressure in the line too btw. I have heard of
incidents where a plastic filter housing has cracked from a seam under
pressure. Possibly a faulty filter, but still? There's no risk of that
on the suction side.
Just avoid the unnecessary risks and keep the filter on the suction side
of the pump. It's so easy that there's no real reason NOT to move the
filter there the next time you replace your fuel lines. Which you should
do every 5 years or wo on average. Depends on your climate and quality
of gasoline. (I've personally experienced a nasty leak due to a 2 year
old braided fuel hose cracking... it just got so brittle you couldn't
bend it without cracking it..)

Jan
  #15  
Old December 11th 04, 01:57 PM
Shaggie
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On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 01:08:32 GMT, Red Bug > wrote:

>In article >,
> "ilambert" > wrote:
>
>> never on the pressure side in this case (F.I.!!!) Much higher pressure
>> involved.

>
>Mine is regular stock mechanical with stnd. carb. setup (1961) so hardly
>any pressure involved.


Yeah. I just had a regular carb setup on my Jeep and had one of those
littl plastic fuel filters in-between the fuel pump and the carb like
you describe. Worked great for me.
http://jeepadventures.dyndns.org/jeep/fire/18.jpg
You have nothing to worry about.

---

Beware the fury of a patient man. - John Dryden
  #16  
Old December 11th 04, 05:53 PM
Ray Dios Haque
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Hah! Well I am glad that I posted that or I would have never known I
was putting my Bug in danger. This is how the VW shop installed the
filter when the engine was rebuilt 5 or so years ago. I never thought
to question it.

Having bought an extra foot or so of rubber hose, I should be able to
move that filter today with some slicing, dicing, and re-clamping.
Thanks for the heads up.

-Ray

  #17  
Old December 11th 04, 06:27 PM
Tim Rogers
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"Ben Boyle" > wrote in message
...
>
> as for the gas tank Tim Rogers of this very newsgroup
> has reported good results with a tank from Advance Auto Parts.
>
>


.............A word of caution, Ben. These autoparts companies change
suppliers from time to time. What you really want, is a new tank that's made
by a manufacturer in Canada. I don't remember their name but they're
probably the only Canadian manufacturer of new replacement gas tanks. Just
be sure that your FLAPS knows that the country of origin of that new gas
tank is Canadian and it'll probably be comparable to OEM quality like the
one that I bought.


  #18  
Old December 11th 04, 07:29 PM
Ben Boyle
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Not a bad idea, if I were to ever need a tank I'd probably still try that route. The beautiful part is that if it comes
to you and it sucks, you can refuse and move on with your life. A couple years back I had my tank sealed up and it's
been fine ever since.
"Tim Rogers" > wrote in message ...
> "Ben Boyle" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > as for the gas tank Tim Rogers of this very newsgroup
> > has reported good results with a tank from Advance Auto Parts.
> >
> >

>
> ............A word of caution, Ben. These autoparts companies change
> suppliers from time to time. What you really want, is a new tank that's made
> by a manufacturer in Canada. I don't remember their name but they're
> probably the only Canadian manufacturer of new replacement gas tanks. Just
> be sure that your FLAPS knows that the country of origin of that new gas
> tank is Canadian and it'll probably be comparable to OEM quality like the
> one that I bought.
>
>



  #19  
Old December 11th 04, 11:42 PM
John Willis
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On 10 Dec 2004 11:39:09 -0800, "Ray Dios Haque" >
scribbled this interesting note:

>If you are in depserate need of a clean/new fuel tank, invest in fuel
>filters. You 'should' have two installed. One just below the tank in
>the front of the car (connecting between the small piece of rubber line
>coming out of the bottom). And a second in the engine cabinet between
>the pump and your carb.
>
>I like to go with those cheap paper filters (the clear plastic covered
>ones). That way you can get a quick look at how dirty it is when
>checking your oil.
>
>This is of course just buying time until you can get around to that new
>tank. I have been swapping filters every couple of weeks for a few
>months. I probably could have bought that new tank by now if I had
>thrown those dollars into a piggy bank. ;-)


You should already have two filters installed by VW when the car was
made. One is actually in the tank and the other is actually in the
fuel pump. If your fuels system is clean then those two filters are
all you need. The filter in the tank is a regular maintenance item
that should be removed, inspected, and cleaned or replaced
periodically.

If you feel the need for more filtration (and there is no real need
since, as I've read, there are no passages in a stock carburetor that
are smaller than what these two stock filters will allow to pass),
then the best place is directly under the tank.

Google "engine fire" on ramva. See how often folks post about their
cars catching on fire because that little brass nipple that is merely
pressed into the carburetor has worked out because of the extra mass
of that little nugget of gasoline wiggling around between the pump and
carburetor. Why risk it?


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
  #20  
Old December 12th 04, 02:30 AM
Shaggie
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On Sat, 11 Dec 2004 16:42:09 -0600, John Willis
> wrote:

>
>Google "engine fire" on ramva. See how often folks post about their
>cars catching on fire because that little brass nipple that is merely
>pressed into the carburetor has worked out because of the extra mass
>of that little nugget of gasoline wiggling around between the pump and
>carburetor. Why risk it?


Because it'll never happen to me. Again. :-)

---

Beware the fury of a patient man. - John Dryden
 




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