to hell and back

Sometimes in life, you take 2 steps forward, but find yourself slipping one step back. I have been euphoric of the overall result of enhancements I have made to Isolde's electrical system, audio system, and the installation of the DC refrigerator. I have noticed very pronounce gasoline smell in the cab, especially driving. I can also smell strong gasoline odor in the right front wheel well.

Initially I thought that the infamous fuel tank vapor capturing system has deteriorated, as most Vanagon owners' would experience. The fuel vapor containment system in Vanagon is quite complex, and involves at lease 7 hoses, 3 fittings, 4 grommets, and 2 vapor reservoirs. The hoses, plastic fittings, and grommets have been reported to be the most troublesome especially with vehicles with high mileage. To service these requires raising the vehicle and dropping the fuel tank. It is one of the most unpleasant job amongst the maintenance work on a Vanagon.

I have learnt not to be rash. Before dropping the gasoline tank I first did an exploration check. The vent lines on the passengers can be reach by hand throught the wheelwell, though is difficult to check visually without specialty videoscope for tight confines. At this time I was looking for gross failure of the vent hoses, fittings, or grommets.

The two vent hoses at the fittings at the gasoline tank cannot readily be inspected by hand, let alone by sight because of the routing of the two airconditioning refrigerant hoses through the left wheel well. Despite of this, I tried to reach my left arm as hard as I could to find the vent hose fittings. I tried many time and stretched as hard as I could and eventually I successed in touching with my finger tips the Y fitting of the pressure balancing line and the vent hose that also connects to it.

The vent hose is not connected! I search around the vicinity with my finger tips, streatching as hard as I could, and with a few tries I found the severed vent hose. I managed to pull it out of the narrow gap afforded by the airconditioning refrigerant lines. The point where the hose is severed does not look like failure by age. Rather it looked like a break due to mechanical cause.

I knew at this point I have to drop the gasoline tank to rectify this. It is impossible to replace the hose even I could barely reach the fitting with my left hand fingers. There is a crimped hose clamp that must be cut off before a replacement hose can be refitted. This can only be done with the fuel tank removed from the vehicle.

Normally the common wisdom of the Vanagon community is to immediately order the fuel tank resealing kit sold by the Vanagon speciality parts suppliers. I, however, with my prior experience want to be extremely cautious not buying these non-OEM parts unless I absolutely have to. Instead of waiting until I have all the necessary parts arrived and have on hand, I went ahead and drop the fuel tank and only order parts when I deem them unserviable.

The only part that I decided to procure is 3 feet of German 5mm braided fuel hose from Amazon for $12 shipped. It will not arrive in time for my need however, as I plan to rectify the problem in the same day.

In the process I took a lot of photos for posterity - for future reference.

there are two valleys on the top of the fuel tank - this one is believed to be left over from the warm air duct that is legacy of the earlier air-cooled Vanagon

the second valley is for the engine coolent lines, transmission shifter etc  to pass above the fuel tank

hand brake cables and throtle clutch cable

fuel pump and fuel filter

i detached these two vent hoses

two left side vent lines detached from vapor resovior; the thick pipe is fuel filler pipe; there is also a vent hose connects from the top of the filler to the fuel tank though its own grommet that is hard to see (but is visible) in this photo

the fuel filler pipe is connected to the fuel tank through a big rubber grommet on the fuel tank

here is the passenger side vapor resovior and the fuel filler pipe - also clearly visible is the vent hose on the fuel filler pipe

I spent a lot of time to prime out the gasoline from the tank; the fuel tank was nearly full; with the fuel filler pipe out of the tank I could see why it was so difficult because there is a ball float at the end of the filler pipe preventing my siphone hose from getting into the fuel tank - but with persistence I succeeded

the vent hose that is a part of the fuel filler pipe assembly

one can

even I am in awe to how good the condition of everything on the underbelly - not a spot of rust

the plastic engine coolant pipes are in excellent shape

When I look at this photos after the work, I kept mistaken the transmission shifter linkage as the engine coolant line because of its hefty diameter. It is so stout for a very good reason. When the manual shifter is 10 feet away from the transmission a smaller diameter linkage would twist and bend giving very poor shifting. The manual transmission shifter in the Vanagon works very well and is a please to use. There are many well designed subtleties that seldom get mentioned and this is one.

the black line looks to be the starter cable from the battery

this is the vapor pressure balancing hose the connects between the two camel humps of the fuel tank and a vent hose one each side

the fuel tank is in remarkably good shape - not a hint of rust on the inside bottom; a few years ago I had to drop the fuel tank to replace the failed fuel level sensor; I deemed the grommet and hoses are in serviceable shape and did not replace them with aftermarket kit (OEM parts are mostly no longer available)

the vapor balancing hose is secured to the chassis by the steel clamp (detached) in this photo

one of the two AC refrigerant lines visible here - the other one is just behind the one that is visible

AC refrigerant lines runs up and through the left wheel well

the 5mm breather hose was severed by a critter - you can see here it even chewed a mess of the nylon Y fitting; the only way to place the severed hose is to drop the fuel tank to get to this crimped hose clamp

I inspected all the grommets; they are in very good shape (after 25 years); since I don't have replacement on hand I decided to reused them

I seated the grommets carefully with this plastic squeegy to make sure the inner lip is not folded

It is impossible to find a 5mm fuel hose, especially the fabric braided kind from Germany; here i am showing the insertion depth of the PVC plastic tubing into one end of the breather hose

there are 4 short hoses for the breather lines but this one is uniquely longer at 5.25 inch

I scrounged my hose ramant collection; guess what? I have a short segment of 5mm rubber hose that is rated to 40psi! It is not fibric braided but I know it will definitely last long enough until I need to drop the fuel tank again; not having hose clamps this small I used a few cable ties

all ready to go back onto the fuel tank

this is a very stiff polyurethane hose and will last indefinitely

you can see the manual transmission shifting shaft linkage here

Installing the fuel tank back requires a lot of care and hard work as there is no room for you hands to make the reattachment of the fuel level sensor connector, the fittings back into the three grommets, until the tank is lifted up close to the installed position.

After a half day of work I got it all back together. I went out for a test drive and all appears all in good order, until I decide to put in 7 gallons of fuel. The strong gasoline odor returned and I was crushed. It was dusk by that time, but I was determined to find the cause and tried to fix it that night.

I hunted in the dark with my hand with just the aid of a service light.I checked the fittings at the grommets. At the passenger side everything is good. I had to stretch really hard on the driver side wheel well and still could not reach the fitting. I jacked up the vehicle and remove the wheel to give myself more room. Finally I succeeded to barely touch the fitting at the grommet where it enters the fuel tank. In the struggle to install the fuel tank the fitting with the grommet has partly dislodged from the hole of the tank!

I thought now what. I am screwed. I really don't want to repeat the process of dropping the fuel tank, especially having have to empty out nearly 10 gallon of fuel first.

I decide to loosen the AC refrigerant line bracket to give me a bit more working space. With a lot of struggle I pulled off the grommet and reseated into the fuel tank, all just by feel with the tips of my fingers. Inserting the fitting into the grommet opening is not easy as my arm was in the most awkward position and cannot exert enough force with my finger tips.

I was determined as I was so close. Withstanding the pain I eventually succeeded. All should be easy from this point onwards, right. No.

As I reinstall the plastic bracket securing the AC lines in the wheel well one piece of the bracket fell into the abyss. It would be another 30 minutes with mirror and a piece of copper wire fishing it out in pitch dark. When I finally got it done I thought to myself, I am so tough. I had been to hell and back with this most unpleasant job.

i really abused my left arm

haven't seen dirty finger nails for a long time - actually most of it is the rust proving tar

the next day

later on I have time to reflect on the fuel tank resealing kit; it is clear as a bell the two nylon fitting on this kit is not the one I want; this was the kit that I first found and even considered purchasing before set out the repair

the OEM Y fitting is very secure with the collar outside the tank and there is only space above the fuel tank for a Y fitting with the hoses at about 120-degree apart

So far the vendor that has the best crossover line is Rocky Mountain Westy. I called them and found out theirs is a faithful reproduction of the original OEM one, thought not true OEM in the sense of the word. Judging from the condition of mine despite the critter chewed off a bit of  the nipple of one of the Y fitting, I expect they will last indefinitely. I think I would only purchase a complete set of grommets, hose and clamps for next service.

I am glad I took the approach I did, not purchasing these aftermarket kits before dropping the fuel tank. Had I order and received the GoWesty fuel tank resealing kit, I would be very unhappy. Instead, I left myself a lot of time to research for better options, including a local VW dealer, which quoted me $13 just on one small grommet! I am going to order the parts from Rocky Mountain Westy, for used in next fuel tank maintenance. Instead of buying the kit I bought them piecemeal with enough of the $2.95 grommets (local VW dealer wants $13 each) for two fuel tank resealing.

It has been a few days now since I made the repair. I have driven Isolde many time and all is good. There is no hint of gasoline odor anymore.

Update 15.10.25:

The 3-foot piece of German 5mm braided fuel hose finally arrive via slow boat Amazon shipping. I use it to compare to the short hose segment that had been chewed off by the critter. It shows that the 25 year old hose is hardly deterioated contrary to the Vanagon forums common wisdoms that you must change them. I am not that concern as these are used for fuel tank vapor capturing, not carrying gasoline.

evidently Continental is the only current supplier for this braided 5mm hose; I am skeptical that one must stick with this hose - instead any modern fuel hose with close enough dimension from Gates or Goodyears should be more than adequate

2015.10.26 Update:
The parts I order from Rocky Mountain Westy arrived. While all the pieces are aftermarket reproduction of the VW parts, they are very well made with very little discernable differences. I just want to have these parts on hand for the next fuel tank service. A cheap investment.