As my bus is near completion I have been reading on many sites like the samba and ratwell about how important it is to replace fuel lines on a regular basis. I am struggling to find a comprehensive explaination for this. Do I need to pull the engine??? Remove the firewall???? Get a ramp?? Aarrrrgggghhh!!!!! So frustrating this one. I have seen the image that shows the lines but are they different diameters. Feeling very confused on this one. Should it be left to the professionals.. It is only lines and clamps. Got one quote for £400 plus parts. Not going to say who that was from but I thought it was very dear. Rat well says this needs to be done but gives no real info for a non fuel injected engine. Any tips gratefully appreciated as will be on edge now driving the bus due to reading so many scary stories about bus fires. Cheers guys
I did my fuel line as it was crap anyway and put a new tank out let on . If you get under the bus you will see a tank out let with the pipe of that going into a solid pipe in the engine bay then back to hose for the carb . Just replace it all an check the solid pipe for wear and use good clips not cheap onces . I think mine came from Volks bits not to sore but try google and you will find something . Places like Jk or cool air will help you out for parts just call them
Ow and if you get the engine out and take off the fire wall it's best to check the breather pipes from the tank and the filling neck to the tank also check all the connections in the engine bay it's self
you can do it with the engine in, well worth doing if you dont know how long your current fuel lines have been on. They could be very cracked intenally although they may look ok on the outside
Easy job to do with the engine in...pretty sure I got my 'kit' from these guys and the clips are the right sort, not standard jubilee clips.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Split-Screen-Bay-T2-Van-SAEJ30-R9-Fuel-Hose-Clips-/220619800986?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item335df7019a Remember to put a new fuel filter in the rubber hose between the tank and the metal pipe that enters the engine bay - not in the bay itself. Do a search on here as I'm sure there's been a few threads giving good advice & do's/don't's.
Unless you know for certain, chances are that the fuel tank pipes won't ever have been changed. They are the filler neck pipes and the one to the tank. If you're spending any money on getting your van restored why put it to chance. Without wanting to sound negative - think it through - why would people advise you to replace fuel hoses? I think the reasons are obvious so don't warrant a comprehensive reason for advising it. These buses have a tendency to burst into flames and its not spontaneous combustion! £400 to have all of your hoses replaced and fitted isn't too expensive especially if it includes the bits behind the firewall, people have to make a living. You could do it for less than £100 yourself if you include the tank pipe too. Don't ignore these bits as they are often the cause of engine fires. If your insurers can prove negligence due to poor maintenance they won't pay out if you have a fire http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=241.0
I would endorse a comment in Joker's link above, about buying top quality fuel lines. A number of years ago the fuel line between my tank and the engine compartment bulkhead perished. Fair enough I thought, so I replaced it with the standard black rubber fuel line available from GSF and the usual suspects. This lasted about 18 months before perishing. Replaced it again, this time it lasted barely a year. Deciding this wasn't good enough I visited/phoned various VW suppliers and asked them why they were supplying an item that had important safety issues yet clearly wasn't fit for purpose. I got fobbed of with various lame excuses. In the end I went to a local independent motor factor and bought some fuel injection hose and fitted this. No problems in the intervening 5 years.
Good advice here guys. I have a 1792 and have a little door to get to the filler point (where you stick in the petrol pump). also tryin to find the parts for this. Very slight smell of gas in van when filled up more than 3/4 of a tank. as mine is a crossover/cross dressser/tranny what ever you wanna call it i am a bit concerned about getting the correct parts.!!!
you need to establish if yours is a <72 or >72, short tank end hose or the type with the bend in. I can highly recommend the ones from VW heritage for the tank pipe. Not cheap but what's the cost of a burnout? http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_parts_Fuel-Tanks-Fillers-Filters-and-Caps_act_page.render_pageID_279_lang_EN_country_GB.htm
Nice one joker. Will have to get this sorted when bus comes back. I take it the investigation for this is quite tricky buti will try and give it a go. Agreed that it is a bit pricey but something has to be done. Well worth paying this to avoid a fire
if your engine is already out do it now. If you have a type 4 remove the carbs and air filters to take the firewall off. You can do the filler pipe to tank with firewall in through the paint tim hole. Its difficult, its blind so you can only do it by feel, it will hurt like buggery afterwards but it can be done. You can't though do the stubby breather pipes without removing the fire wall. To be honest it is so easy to drop the engine that its worth doing
My engine is the straight 1.6 single port and is a type 1 engine I believe. I have not removed the engine before but I did purchase the bug-me DVD. One of my best mates is an ex jaguar mechanic so think I will have to rope him into giving me a hand. Also spoke with Vw heritage. (cheers for the link joker). Am a bit nervous about removing the engine but every one says the old Vw engines are the easiest and most simple to remove. Still waiting to get the van back so the sprayer won't to this job for me.
Pull the tank and see if its rotted from the inside out Once they rot so far they can look reasonable from the outside but wick fuel through
when the tank was empty and i changed the sender i had a good look inside the tank. looked a little grotty in there but nothing major. had a look as best i could today on the outside looked fine but its well strapped in and the access is limited. if the tank was rotten would there not be fuel leaking out somewhere?
looks are deceiving, just because fuel hoses look ok don't assume they are. I'll put money on it being the tank end fuel filler pipe, without a doubt
