Been there, done that....

Saw this on Ebay and just had to have it...

Alternator Wiring

Gear Stick Refurbishment

http://www.justkampers.com/shop/gear-stick-refurbishment-kit-j16965.html

Thick and fast

As any owner of a T3 (and probably any old VW) will testify, things just crop up. You mightn't be expecting them to or somewhere in the back of your mind you might know that it is something that needs doing.. but at some point, you'll have to do it.

As I've been writing this blog, I've been using my photo collection to assist my grey matter in recalling the jobs that I have done... and it is a good thing, because there is a lot that I've forgotten. I really need to get the blog up to date so that I can write things up as they happen, rather than have to remember back!

What I am going to do is create a load of 'skeleton' posts as reminders that I will add detail to as soon as I can. So, apologies in advance for the traffic of low-info posts!

Fuel line replacement

I should reiterate at this time that fuel lines are critical for not only the health of your van, but also for your own safety. The consequences of split hoses allowing fuel to spray onto hot engine components don't bear thinking about, so if you don't know how old your hoses are... change them!

In a previous post I showed the fuel system. I used this knowledge to purchase 7mm and 5mm fuel hoses, plus fuel filters from Just Kampers. I also bought new clips - make sure you buy fuel hose clips specifically, not 'any old' jubilee clip to avoid damaging the hose as you tighten them.

Installation is easy - just like for like replacement of old with new. I followed this guide on the Club 80-90 Wiki.

Not a difficult job, but very satisfying. The only thing that I would add is that on mine there was a weird 5mm to 7mm joint on the return run to the tank - on the opposite side of the van to the main filter. I used an additional fuel filter in line to make this connection. It has worked just fine.

Time for a refuel.

As with all jobs, the tank refurb took a bit of time - the joys of trying to fit van-maintenance around everything else in life! Still, slow and steady for this type of job is not a bad idea - allows tank time to full dry out before the refit.

As mentioned in previous posts, I replaced the rubber grommets on the tank. The old ones weren't in bad condition, but as I don't plan on dropping the tank again any time soon it made sense to replace with new - these came from Just Kampers and there are three of them on the tank top - two for the expansion tank breathers and 1 for the filler pipe breather.

Once the grommets are in place, push the expansion tank hose plastic pipes into the holes.

I replaced all of the expansion tank breather hoses with new 5mm fuel hose. The following photo shows the ones that I hooked up before putting the tank in place again (refer to previous posts for fuel system diagram):

I didn't put the filler neck breather back in at this stage.

Here is the tank ready to go back on the van:

Now comes putting the tank back on the van. With the front of the van up on axle stands, I moved the tank back underneath. I then lifted the end of the tank up and moved a trolley jack underneath, locating the shoe roughly in the centre of the tank. I was then able to slowly jack the tank up into place a little at a time, making sure to:

1. Remember to plug fuel lever sensor back in.
2. Don't trap any wires or hoses.

One the tank was a little way up, I fed the filler neck and breather through from the top of the wheel arch and slotted them into their grommets in the tank. Pull through the expansion tank hose ends to.

Then, you're ready to lift the tank fully into place and refit the tank straps - mine had a fresh coat of black Hammerite straight to rust before fitting.

Once the tank is up and secure, slid the filler hose into the rubber neck and tighten up a jubilee clip around it.

Slide the 5mm expansion tank hoses onto the tanks and that is job done!

Pain in the neck...

Following my fuel leak, I had a bit of a part-buying frenzy. I wanted to ensure that I had all bases covered when I started stripping down the fuel system to see where the problem originate from.

One of the options on my age of van was a leak from the filler neck. My van has a plastic filler pipe which splits part way down to a breather pipe. Both the breather and the main plastic pipes enter the tank through grommeted holes. At the top end, the plastic pipe goes into a rubber neck. This neck butts up to the round hole in the bodywork by the drivers door where is is clamped in place by two large metal 'gasket' rings - these are screwed together, the screw heads visible once the fuel cap is removed.

When I went to remove the screws, they wouldn't budge and the heads rounded - much to my annoyance. I then tried to drill off the heads, but it was a case of Screw Heads 1 : 0 Drill Bits! I broke two drill bits trying.

Once I'd had a good scrape away behind the filler - and removed lots of old mud/crud - I saw that the ring at the back was badly corroded. Due to this, I was able to grab it, twist, bend, swear, curse and eventually break it off. Once off, the front ring and screws can be pulled from the hole.

I'm afraid that I don't have any photos to hand of this.

Once off the van, I could see that the rubber neck piece was very perished - so it was only a matter of time before it holed - I bought a new one from Just Kampers along with a new gasket for the rear. I had my own plated screws that I used.

Before refitting the filler neck and associated gubbins, I decided to take out the expansion tanks and have a good look around behind them as this is a common rust trap. Mine was sound fortunately, so I cleaned up the tanks and then cleared mud etc from the arches. Once all loose sediment had been removed, I gave the area a good coat of waxoil underseal and once dry reinstalled the expansion tanks.

Here's the tidied up area:

I cleaned up the filler hoses and they were ready for the reinstall.