Date:         Tue, 13 Aug 1996 00:40:30 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Nato Dean <natode19@ecity.net>
Subject:      Vanagon Gas Smell=Rusty Tank

On Aug 1 I wrote:

> Oh Oh? Just noticed a few days ago that I was getting a strong odor of 
> gas inside the 81 Vanagon. It is especially bad up near the front seat 
> area. I noticed the smell also coming through the fresh air vents. It 
> also seemed to get worse if I opened the front windows and vent. I did 
> the smell test around the vehicle and noticed nothing in the engine 
> compartment area. Seems to be coming from the front...
UPDATE:
	This past weekend using Jack Reeds instructions (much better than
Haynes, BTW) I removed the gas tank from the 81 Westy in about 1 and a
half hours.
 http://www.flex.net/vwcruzin/archives/issue3/vgastank.html
	Crap! Sure enough the top was very rusty. Using a screwdriver I tapped
on some spots that looked "wet". After scraping some of the rusty metal
away, I was left with two dime sized holes in the middle track that the
fresh air vent tube sits on. Forget that JB weld repair kit..
	In the removal of the tank I also found that the fuel level sender was
badly rusted and the connection broke off - just two little tabs
sticking up. Any suggestions for repairing this?
	One thing I did notice - when removing all the fuel expansion lines,
the best way to remove the "permanent" hose clamps was to use a wire
cutter and just clip the part of the clamp that sticks out- then just
peel the clamp off.
	Although the vanagon fuel tank rust-out seems to be a design problem I
think it is preventable. The reason the water/salt was sitting on top of
the tank and not draining out was that dirt and leaves and sand get up
in there and create a sludge - perfect breeding ground for that four
letter word - RUST. If someone wanted to prevent that they could drop
the tank and clean the top off every year or so. Seems like a lot of
work but if I had known about it I would have done it when I bought the
Vanagon 3 years ago.
	So the tank is off to a local welding shop that specializes in welding
fuel tanks. They gave me a $75.00 quote with no guarantee of further
rust out in a year or even a month... But around here, looking for
Vanagons in bone-yards is very limiting. We'll see how it goes. I'll let
you know how it works when I get it back..
Nathan Dennison
Indianola, IA
1965 21 Window Deluxe Microbus
1974 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1981 Westfalia Vanagon
1992 Jetta GL