Club 80-90 Forums

Hi All

I took my van to Nationwide Autocentre the yesterday because I was concerned about a petrol smell. I have little experience and thought it was best to get this checked professionally.

Turns out, I have a leak in the fuel tank and they recommend replacement. He said he's had difficulty tracking a new tank down but can get hold of one for £220 in 3-4 days.

Just wondered if anyone knows if this is a good price and if there are any other suppliers I could try. I don't have much time as I really want to take the van to a festival on 18th July

Thanks in advance

Its a 1983 T25 Watercooled

Less than £100 from JK. Tell him to take a hike they are easy to get hold of.

Thanks pepperami,

Unfortunately, JK seem to be missing the Kit I need. The tanks are all described as > 1985. But then it says "For 1980 >85 models use our fuel tank kit part number J11363 which has all the parts required ". But that product number doesnt exist?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fuel-tank-VW-T25- ... 286.c0.m14

Shouldn't be too bad to courier up Certainly not £220 I agree tell him to away and boil his heed!

R.

used tanks are usually £40-ish.

degsy wrote:Hi All

I took my van to Nationwide Autocentre the yesterday because I was concerned about a petrol smell. I have little experience and thought it was best to get this checked professionally.

Turns out, I have a leak in the fuel tank and they recommend replacement. He said he's had difficulty tracking a new tank down but can get hold of one for £220 in 3-4 days.

Just wondered if anyone knows if this is a good price and if there are any other suppliers I could try. I don't have much time as I really want to take the van to a festival on 18th July

Thanks in advance

Its a 1983 T25 Watercooled

Did you take it out and check it for yourself? You may find it is a leak somewhere else and they are short of work

Had my Fiat Scudo van MOT'd at a Nationwide place last week, first thing they asked when i took it in was could they service it for me £130, not likely. The van failed its mot on emissions and a cracked headlight mount (been like it 2 years since i hit a seagul at around 80). They wanted £185 for a new headlight as its a Fiat only special order, strange that i found Citreon Dispatch and peugout Expert (same as my van) headlights on GSF for £69, in the end i took it home bought a tube of £4.99 Araldite and stuck it back together, they stuck in a £22 bottle of engine cleaner, took it back in next day and passed the mot, the emissions report looked strange as the failure one was 9.99 for all 6 runs then the new one was like 6.5 for the 1st 3 runs then dropped to 0.45 for the final 3, how there could be such a vast difference in the runs i don't know.

Also they issued an advisory notice which listed stuff that isn't even covered on the mot like

Windscreen wipers smear (no they don't)
Engine oil below max (since when do they look at oil level on an mot)
brake pads look low (you cant see the brake pad level on my van with the wheels still on and they didnt take the wheels off)
and a few others.

To me they were out to make as much money out of me as possible but failed and they were especially miffed when i gave them my AA card for my 33% discount.

We have found them cheaper than the likes of kwik fit though for exhausts and tyres.

needless to say you won't be returning to that garage ..eh hightower?

degsy wrote:Hi All

I took my van to Nationwide Autocentre the yesterday because I was concerned about a petrol smell. I have little experience and thought it was best to get this checked professionally.

Turns out, I have a leak in the fuel tank and they recommend replacement. He said he's had difficulty tracking a new tank down but can get hold of one for £220 in 3-4 days.

Just wondered if anyone knows if this is a good price and if there are any other suppliers I could try. I don't have much time as I really want to take the van to a festival on 18th July

Thanks in advance

Its a 1983 T25 Watercooled

billy739 had one at bvf for £25, drop him a pm, i'm pretty sure he can courier it up to you.

Thanks, will check that out.

I've also spotted a replacement tank on GSF for £69.50:

"29312 FUEL TANK-48mm FILL.NECK T25 1.9 Water Cooled (Modified Tank) 8/82 > 11/90"

It doesnt say whats modified about it though so I'm not sure it'll fit. According to JK I'm going to need a 70mm Filler Neck Seal to make their 48mm neck fit.

Bit stumped about what to get.

does this help?

Brickwerks shop... filler neck, click me

sounds a bit dodgy ducks,i always advise people to find a good garage.always always always through word of mouth and always use them,ive been mot'ing cars for friends and family now for 17 years and have always used the same guy,build up a rapore(spelling?)with them and you will reap the rewards in the long run....i send my friendly neighbourhood mot inspector a christmas card every year,he realy appreciates it and turns out im the only customer who does,might sound silly to some of you,but ive worked in the trade for years and ive seen what goes on,but i was always one of the nice ones!!........it also helps to befriend your local back street mechanic as long as hes highly regarded locally,and is recommended to you by your family and friends NOT HIS!.....saves you thousands if you cant do your own repairs,i never pay anyone to do something i can learn to do myself......got so many feathers in my cap now,some call me icarus not cactus jack..........just my view on it all guys!!!!

I had a strong smell of fuel from under my van not long ago. I was advised that I would need the tank replacing. I decided to drop it first and inspect it before buying a new one. I found it was a split balancing pipe that runs from one side of the tank to the other. £20 from VW. Check before you buy.

I'll second that. Took the tank out after getting fed up of fumes when filling the tank. Tank was OK but one of the balance pipes had become disconnected. Mind you, all the fuel pipes near the tank were brittle, along with the seals that go into the tank, so replaced the lot. Tank was Ok, only slight surface rust. I can now fill up without fuel spilling on my foot!

Even if the tank needs replacing, I would take it to a specialist who knows these vans. Likely that labour costs could go up when a general garage realises how fiddly the job is.

Having said that, the job is DIY-friendly as long as you have a bit of time, a bit of patience, and all the parts bought ahead of starting the job. Lots of helpful previous posts on this forum giving advice on the detail of tank pipework removal & repair - use the SEARCH facility.