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Fuel Line at Tank Top

1K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Roundabout 
#1 · (Edited)
Baffled Fuel Tank Install

How is the fuel line at the top of the tank at the fuel pump removed? I have already removed the two electrical connectors and the fuel line that has the orange locking slide. The last line has no obvious disconnect.

Perhaps it's the type that can be removed with a tool?
 
#5 ·
My wife asked if she could help. She spent about 10 seconds looking at it and said to push the button. I pushed the black ring down and the line came right off. That made her day, so things worked out for the best and the tank got dropped before Easter dinner. Now, I'm going out to pull the pump and other parts in prep for a tabnk exchange to a trap-door tank from Dietsch. The engine starves for fuel and the engine cuts off every lap during turn 2 at Thunderhill if I have around a half-tank of fuel.
 
#6 ·
Well I got the pump out. If I ever engineer anything that badly, I will expose myself to a public flogging. An interference fit pump? Why?

Anyway, the way I got it out was this:
Watched the Sector 111 video on youtube - mostly worthless, but does show the orientation of the float.
Don't twist the pump in the hole or the float arm make break the fuel level sensor, which looks to be a thin ceramic material
The metal and plastic rings will not come off until the pump is pried out of the tank opening about a quarter of an inch.
To pry the pump up a quarter of an inch, I had to remove the rubber seal first
To remove the rubber seal, I slid a .060 feeler gauge between the tank and rubber seal for about an inch of seal length
I then slid the feeler gauge between the plastic pump top and the rubber seal
The seal is a flat seal, rather than an o-ring. Unlike the rest of this design, it doesn't fit tight to the hole.
By loosening the seal, I was able to use the feeler gauge to pull the seal out enough to slide a pick in behind it and then pretty easily pull up enough of the seal to start prying under the plastic flange
It takes quite a lot of pressure to break the plastic pump body free to move at all, but fortunately, the plastic is pretty thick
Sector 111 shows using a mallet to smack down, while prying up. It helps to have a buddy helping.
Once the pump has come up enough, the ring can be removed
Then the plastic spacer can be removed
At no time did I pry against the black seal
Small plastic strips from the pump body will shear off as the prying continues because the steel flange grabs the plastic. This is presumably by design or lack of design.
Half of the pump comes out after some prying
The lower section of the pump is connected to the upper section by an overlapping flange that is, once agin, larger than the hole and catches on the steel rim of the hole.
I simply disconnected the upper section from the lower section by using a screwdriver to push in on the tabs
I then disconnected the wiring without letting the bottom fall into the tank
I used some safety wire looped through the lower section (in two places) to secure the bottom portion to the flange studs
at this point, it was just a matter of pulling in on the plastic parts of the pump that were making contact with the steel tank and keep pulling the pump upward. I used a pick for this.
The last bit is to pull the float out through the hole without bending it.
 
#7 ·
I just happen to be planning to do the same mod (replace fuel tank) since my interior is gutted at the moment. I can't find any info on the Dietsch fuel tank.
Where did you hear about it?
Have any information you can share?

Right now I'm looking at the Elise Parts 54 Litre baffled tank.
 
#8 ·
https://dietschmotorsports.com/
Rob will open the tank at the fuel pump end and seal the baffle and add one-way valves to the tank. He either needs your tank to do this, or you'll need to exchange the tank for one he has already modified. You can expect some new noises coming from the fuel tank at idle. He described as a buzzing for some seconds until the ball valves settle down. Not as much noise as the trap doors that can also be used.

This is the route that you'll want to go to stay EPA/SMOG compliant. That 54L tank is off-road only, unless you plan to modify it.
 
#9 ·
I got my tank back in today. The fuel pump went back in easily, and I had taken photos of how the fuel filler was oriented on the old tank, so that wasn't an issue. My battery is mounted in that corner of the car, near the AC ports, so access to the tunnel that the fill comes through isn't good, but wasn't a problem. The most difficult part, and I was a little surprised, was the two tank brackets. Each bracket has three bolts: 1 parallel to the ground, one perpendicular to the ground, and one at an angle. The angled one was the issue. There is a strategy that can make this easier. Once the tank is close to up there, which is pretty easy with a length of wood on the jack, the brackets can be installed. The passenger side has enough room to put the bolt through the angled part of the bracket and then swing it around so it's under the tank in the proper orientation. The driver's side doesn't have enough room to do that. I found that it was easier to install the driver's side angle bolt in first, then slide the tank into the bracket and put another bolt in the bracket. Then lever up the passenger side, while guiding the EVAP and filler hoses into the tunnel. Once up there, swing the bracket into position and install the remaining two bolts. Having said all of that, I did install a half-as-thick vertical rubber pad in the driver's side bracket to make the install go easier. The rubber pads were some unused bits from my 60 gal air compressor isolation feet install. I cut one to size with scissors.

Other than that, the install is much easier than removing the fuel pump, which takes some patience.
 
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