fuel tank size

Post by **syncro up** » 13 Oct 2008, 13:24

reading through the VW instruction manual i noticed that all T25 have a 60 litre fuel tank... except syncros which have a 70 litre tank.

so imagine my suprise when i made into the petrol station yesterday running on fumes (3/4 through the red zone).. for the camper to only take 57 litre.

were ALL syncros fitted with 70 litre tanks. does this mean mine has had a replacement 2wd drive 60 litre tank fitted at some point.

one ask because i know she needs a new tank strap and i would imagine this would be a different size for a 60 or 70 litre model?

1987 2.1 petrol devon syncro by the way.

Post by **peasant** » 13 Oct 2008, 14:05

A 2WD tank would not fit where the Syncro tank goes (and vice versa).
The 2WD tank is at the front, the 4WD at the rear.

What may have happened though is that your tank didn't fill properly due to chronically bad ventilation (common problem on Syncro tanks) and foaming of the petrol.

There also is quite a good bit of petrol left in the tank (about 10-12 Liters) when the guage reads red.

Post by **syncro up** » 13 Oct 2008, 15:46

well funny you should say that.
the filler did 'vomit' about half a litre of fuel over the fore court just as the pump clicked off.
Far as i can tell from the fuel gauge it went from pretty dam empty to full with the 57 litres so not sure where ive lost my extra 13 litres.

Post by **toomanytoys** » 13 Oct 2008, 16:04

the last 10 L need to be "dribbled in"... IIRC I have had over 70L in my Doka... reg seen 65L...

Post by **Ye Olde Syncrospares** » 13 Oct 2008, 18:22

run it out of fuel then fill it up slowly rather than relying on a inacurate gauge,itll be a diferent story then,cj.

Post by **Boltze** » 13 Oct 2008, 18:41

It's a known problem, the filler tube has a small bend. The bend was caused by a assembly error.
So if your petrol nozzle stops before your tank is full, it's normal. If have to fill the last 10l per hand very slow to get the tank absolutely full.

Post by **Syncro G** » 13 Oct 2008, 20:00

On altertnate fills my diesel tends to eather read full for a while or very quickly drop from full (probubly not reach full at all but as the neadle moves so slow I only notice its not full 30mi later). I think the tank must have a nice air pocket in it in these situations, but it obveously doesn't always do it. Vans usally flat on the forcort and bounceing the suspension doesn't seem to affect this apparent airlock. When it cuts out on the pump you might get another litre in but thats it, never sprayed back eather. Only resion I can think of is some brands of diesel foam more than others and that causes it to cut when its not full (ie full of foam that settles after I've gone and payed, and waited the week or so it takes the guage to climb up the scale. I've herd foaming is a big problem for diesel fuel but not petrol. Sometimes it does fill well as I've had over 62l in the past, that was the bottem of the red (I don't trust that much, if I've done 400miles I want to think about more fuel, 450 and its a priority).

Something I keep forgeting to add to the van is a pop rivit in the door pocket. Most UK pumps still have the lock catch on them but not the pins as brits don't seem trusted with them (though they let americans use them so it can't be that hard). You can shove a pop rivit through the holes for the catch to grab, locking the pump on (they cut out when full just like squeaseing the trigger, not like russian pumps). That should mean I can lock the pump on the slightly slower rate and not get bord holding the pump at that rather iritating angle syncro van fillers have, could that reduice foaming?

Whilst on the filling a syncro van problems topic; has anyone else found Morissons pumps with their bulky pump head adverts, fairly easy to get stuck in the neck? Would imadgine petrol owners wouldn't suffer so much with the skinny UL filler though if an MV has a skinny UL filler neck to match I surpose it could cause the same problem?

Post by **PC52** » 13 Oct 2008, 21:11

Syncro G wrote:Whilst on the filling a syncro van problems topic; has anyone else found Morissons pumps with their bulky pump head adverts, fairly easy to get stuck in the neck? Would imadgine petrol owners wouldn't suffer so much with the skinny UL filler though if an MV has a skinny UL filler neck to match I surpose it could cause the same problem?

Only use main garage fuel, esso, bp etc, supermarkets tend to have 2nd grade fuel. Prices are comparable and the performance when running on that fuel is loads better.

As for filling up, when converted from petrol to diesel the first tank took just over 70l of diesel.

Post by **HarryMann** » 13 Oct 2008, 22:12

Are, well that's two that have said 70 litres...

I've certainly never seen it, and have run out. 60... 62, 63; that elusive extra 10l doesn't seem to be there for me... must try harder

Post by **Andy syncro-nutz** » 13 Oct 2008, 22:38

Remember the fuel guage is a guage and Not an exact messurment of the fuel in the tank!

Post by **syncropaddy** » 13 Oct 2008, 22:57

well Ive just managed to get 65 liters into my tank and its the first time ive filled it up since Ive got the old girl up and running having replaced the transmission and tank straps. I put 5 litres in to get her down to the petrol station which is 13 miles away. When the tank vomits, i always wait a minute and then trickle the rest in as the diesel froths up. I replaced all the pipework on the tank and the tank sender while I had it out. Having said all that Ive never seen a VW fuel guage from the 80's and 90's that really works ..........

Post by **HarryMann** » 13 Oct 2008, 23:05

Gauge or not, haven't ever got 70L in from scratch, but am here trying

Could it be a matter of the vent valves and breathers?

Don't Dokas have a slightly better filler tube than vans?

Just checked, 63 litres and that was filled on a down slope, running on fumes I think, having had a coughing fit on a previous steep section, needle on zero for a good few miles.

Did the slow fill when in France, ended up dumping fuel on every roundabout badly, so hit a side road and siphoned about 5 litres out...

PS I do trust the gauges quite a lot, particularly the zero point

Post by **syncroand101** » 14 Oct 2008, 07:56

I can't afford to fill up, so I only ever put £15 worth in.

Gotta admit, my fuel efficiency has got worse and worse over the last few years

Post by **syncropaddy** » 14 Oct 2008, 13:46

Did the slow fill when in France, ended up dumping fuel on every roundabout badly,

Now that might explain a few things ...... I thought I had a tank leak when I was driving the bus back from Germany so I didnt fill it up all the way, just to the "vomit point" HMMMM

Ill be interested in my consumption figures because Aidan built me a special 'box with a final drive of 4.86:1 and a .78:1 4th gear and Im running 225/70/15 tyres. ( it used to be a 5.83:1 ) Using my Sat-Nav to verify speed, Im cruising at 100 Kms / hr @ 3200 rpm. Its so quiet but it does not like long motorway hills with its weedy 1.6TD but there is a 1.9 waiting in Syncronutz for a transplant when I get the bus across.

Post by **HarryMann** » 14 Oct 2008, 16:03

but it does not like long motorway hills

I'm not surprised with that gearing, pretty high overall and a big drop into 3rd I should imagine

It's the biggest downside I think, not having a real 5-speed box, another gear, so that as the final drive is raised the gaps just get bigger...