Gas tank fitment

[70bus]

I put the gas tank in tonight, and I am not happy with it.

First I had to decide which fasteners to use on the sender

Those nylon washers didn’t even fit the holes, and neither those nor the Wolfsburg West screws (center) were long enough t for the better gaskets, so bolts it is. VW spec’d 5x25 but I went with 20. 25 is really long, and I’d rather keep the bottom of them out of the gas. Hooked up sender and hit the ignition and the gauge goes up, gauge goes down, gauge goes up… full and E needle positions seemed appropriate.

However, I do not like the way the tank fits. It seems to rock on a high bit near the center, and does not seat properly on the fuel tap hole. It seems to tilt a bit to rear as well.

Yes the felts are in the wrong place; I found a good pic of where they go later.

I don’t think it’s the fault of the WW tank; more likely it’s a combo of a beat up truck, aftermarket metal, and maybe the tank. It’s possible that drawing down the straps will pull it level towards the front but it seems unlikely. Filler looks ok, but not sure how far it should stick out!

Anyone else with a replacement floor in this area have issues?
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[Eric&Barb]

Sorry, but that hole in the image below looks fugly:

The panel hole for the bottom of the tank should be rounded with no holes in the corners for water and mud to get up under the tank.

Tank neck should stick up as much as any other bus.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Eric&Barb]

Post-1967 bus example shown in the image below:

Same hole with nice even upward turned lip to work properly with the seal under the tank. At the very least you need to weld up the corners on the sheet metal you have now.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Kb65single]

My gas tank hole. Sorry the picture isn't close enough. Seems like the lip around the hole might be too tall. From previous posts you state you don't have a welder. Maybe take the tank out and grind that lip down. Looks like the hole is to small. Sorry I'm in AZ or I would measure.

[BarryL]

[70bus]

I coated the threads with Gasgacinch, as well as under the washers, but I'm open to better solutions!
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[earlywesty]

I think you win for most new threads started in the past year.

[70bus]

Cool! Did I win a new bus?

I do dig through the old posts for answers, but if I don't see one, I ask. I found I get fewer responses to a question if it was just in my truck's page, so a new thread it is. Sincere apologies I have such a boring bus for so much space...
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[Clara]

originally they used bolts. Not sure of the length
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The Obsolete Air-Cooled Documentation Project http://oacdp.org/

[70bus]

N 10 209 1 Bolt hex. head M 5x25… 5 As I said I used 20mm.

Ok, so the tank seems fine; certainly didn’t see any complaints about WW tanks besides leaky necks at some point.

Setting tank level sets the tap at an angle and setting tap level…

Well, that doesn’t seem right

So I assume the angle makes a little sump below the tap level to catch debris etc.
Looking inside there is definitely a hump at the center seam

Small but enough to make the tank not sit right. Everything below is straight, so I guess it’s the overlap of floor panels. Nothing to be done about that!

Oh, I assume this is correct on strap attachment?

The hole

Is larger than the gasket for it by a few mm. Ugly edge work. If I put on the tap and place the tank where it likes, the tap is here

If I move the tap away from the edge, it leaves a hellacious gap.

I am not impressed with this panel. I guess I’ll have to sit the tank where’s its most stable and has adequate clearance for the tap, and fill that huge gap as best I can.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[earlywesty]

The hole does appear to be the problem. If the lip is too tall can it be flattened to lessen the stability problem and fill some of the gap? Hammer and dolly? Maybe just on one side? I don't have a bus or truck without a tank handy to look at but I seem to remember that the area around there is not flat and has some profile to match the tank shape

[BonTonRoulet]

3 pound hammer and various pieces of wood pound away at the high spots using the wood to cushion the hammer blows.

Good Luck!
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Never argue with an Idiot. They'll only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

[Eric&Barb]

[70bus]

Bogus in what way? All I could see in archives is 'fold it over' and not much clearer in the shop manual. How does it go? I did think 'that won't hold up long in an accident' so glad to hear it can be improved.

I'll fold down the front lip and see if that helps close the gap. Panel is at least thick enough to not need it for reinforcement.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[Eric&Barb]

[70bus]

Looking at the damage to the truck, it's possible it always had a bend in the middlle...

Too bad that mat is there!

That strap didn't come back with the truck, but it looks longer than the ones I bought - what should be the strap length in a truck? Note that the last person to fool with the straps also did it incorrectly - like me, it is simply folded once.

I don't see any obvious faults in rebuilding.

The 2mm hump in center can probably be dealt with easily, but that tap hole is gonna be a pain to get right... from the shots of the original floor, the repro hole looks too close to the divider supports, but that could be the angle of pics.
_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[70bus]

Talking to the body shop, these repro panels do not come with the tap hole punched out like factory did; they must be cut out. So the location is a bit imprecise, the ‘lips’ are not exact, and the corners are not formed as stock. I get to massage them as best I can; rather than cut or grind (non-reversible) I’ll bend the edges for a better fit.

Also, I note from the pic of my bus when hauled out of field, that I managed to get the sender wire hole 180 degrees from proper spot. Sigh.
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Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[70bus]

Thanks to Kb65single, I think I've found the problem.

Kb's original tap hole

Mine

Measurements from his gas tank divider metal at the floor. 2 3/8" and 5 1/8" front and back. the hole is 4 7/8" from side to side (no pic)
So my hole is roughly 1/2" too far forward. In addition, it is about the same amount too far over to passenger side. A pain in the ass, but fixable. I am not going to complain too much about it to the body shop - after all, I measured verrry carefully and still managed to put the sender wire hole in the wrong place. I will need to bend down some metal and cut some. I wonder if I can find my air nibbler, if it will cut this gauge, and if my sausage compressor can keep up with it. Otherwise it's hacksaw time :P

For others putting in new floors, here are the measurements:

Tap 'valley' is 10mm deep measured from top of ribs

Higher on the passenger side by 9mm

Lip is 2-3mm tall

Where the sender hole should go (you are facing rearward)

Mine is at top

_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams

[70bus]

Was told 'dude it's a gas tank' often enough to plow ahead rather than start sawing the hole to slightly different position. Even 2 gaskets leaves a bit of daylight visible around tap hole but otherwise it seems... done. Not great, but done. I'll caulk the areas I can see have gaps. Still think the tap is a little too close to frame, and it looks like that's going to affect my reserve assembly; not sure it will work at such an angle.

_________________
Craig K
70 Neunsitzer
65 Pritschenwagen
"If Von Dutch was alive, he'd walk in there with a pistol and shoot these people."
-Robert Williams