Date:         Tue, 22 Oct 1996 06:56:17 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Thomas D. Hanlon" <HANRAN.INC@internetmci.com>
Subject:      Fwd: Re: 86 GL - Gas Tank Problem

-- [ From: Thomas D. Hanlon * EMC.Ver #2.3 ] --


------- FORWARD, Original message follows -------

> Date: Sunday, 20-Oct-96 10:28 PM
> 
> From: Garth Woolstenhulme      \ Internet:    
(gwoolstenhulme@hidesert.com)
> To:   Vanagon                  \ Internet:    (vanagon@lenti.med.umn.edu)
> 
> Subject: Re: 86 GL - Gas Tank Problem
> 
> rpaverd@ibm.net wrote:
> > 
> > Hi all,
> > 
> >...... 86 GL for 10 months, .........  When I fill the gas tank, I am
getting major spillage
> coming out
> > of what seems to be an overflow somewhere.  I have had it into the
local
> dealer; their
> > comment was that they would have to drop the gas tank to investigate
> (apparently a 4 hour
> > task at $55 per hour) and only then would they be able to determine the
> cause.
> > 
> > > 
> > //----------------------------------------------------------
> > // Richard Paverd
> > rpaverd@ibm.net
> Hi Richard,
> 
> In regards to your overflowing gas tank, I also had the same problem.  
The
> Vanagon gas tank has 4 grommets(Bentley calls them gaskets).  Two
grommets hold
> lines leading to your 2 expansion tanks, one grommet holds a vent line to
the
> top of the filler neck, and a large grommet that holds the filler neck. 
I had
> to drop the tank because the fuel tank grommet that the fuel filler neck
passed
> through had become hardened and allowed gas to spill out when I filled
the
> tank.  Its a pain to remove and replace, but it should not take a good
mechanic
> 4 hours to remove the tank, replace all the grommets, and reinstall the
tank.
> It took me 4 hours to do the job in my driveway.

------- FORWARD, End of original message -------
Listees, 

Ditto on the grommets, HOWEVER, there is that plastic pipe with two
fittings on each end which attaches to the hoses connected to the vent
tanks.  There is one  vent, or expansion, tank on each side of the vehicle.
Each iof these tanks is accessible, by hand, from the wheel wells.  

Turn the wheel on the driver's side to the right, and feel along the vent
line to the connection to the plastic pipe. Old clothes and dirty hands are
the norm. It is a "Y" ended item on both ends. Follow the same procedure on
both sides of he vehicle.  (turn wheels left on the passenger side.) 

If the plastic pipe is broken, you can obtain one from the dealer for about
$32.00, including the four grommets necessary to install the plastic pipe. 
Buy hose clamps of the stainless steel variety to fit the gas llines which
attach to the plastic pipe.  Have a paia of snipper, or curved lip, cutters
to remove the factory-compressed clamps.  Pay close attention to securing
the clamps properly to avoid any fuel leakage and avoid the potential for
fire by following all the rules for sparks, disconnect battery, avoid
lighted smoking materials, et al..

In the interim between the time I diagnosed a broken vent pipe and the time
I obtained the new pipe, I "plugged" one of the "Ys with an eraser from a
mechanical pencil  and I  duct taped around the portion of the plastic pipe
still in the grommet in the gas tank. If  the leak is at the broken "Y",
that arrangement lessens the capacity of the fuel tank because the
expansion tank is out of the flow of fue and reduces a "fillup" to about 8
gallonsl.

The tricky part is to lubricate the grommets with graphite material AFTER
inserting them onto the "Y" pipe, and THEN find a very strong pair of hands
to insert, push, force or wrestle the grommeted pipe into the gas tank in
holes on top of both sides of the tank, the driver's and the passenger's.