2.1 SS New Fuel tank = dead van - please help

[wrongwaysurf]

Need urgent help please. Have spent hours trawling through posts here and elsewhere but still not found an answer! I have a 1989 2.1 SS petrol 95 ps ex German Police van. Had new seals, piston rings and exhaust fitted 3yrs ago ( took off both cats to fit Just Kampers exhaust. Has run as sweet as a nut for 20,000 miles - strong engine - v fast + thirsty! OK - bought new fuel tank from Just Kampers and that is when it all started........Had tank fitted - but the grommets popped off at first re-fuel and spilled fuel all over esso forecourt. the hole punched in the tank for the breather grommets is too deep to allow a good fit with rubber grommets. Just kampers suggested grinding them down which we did, achieved a fit and carried on. Fuel pump then started getting noisy and after couple weeks van started to misfire and lose power on hills until eventually it would start, run but as soon as power was demanded - cut out. New fuel pump, filter renewed even though old one not clogged, new plugs and leads from Just Kampers fitted. Just Kampers have now agreed that tank is not correct and taken it off their shelf and offered me a refund, but that is the tip of the iceberg for me cos my van is still dead! Brought van to 50/67 (I know they are Aircooled specialists ) but was desperate for some VW expertise. They re-newed breather pipes, fuel pump, checked fuel delivery after the pump and got van running ....UNTIL they went around a bend or up a hill when it would start to lose power and chug again. My van has now been off the road for months as they are unsure what to do next and so am I. The van is in Truro in Cornwall. I feel it is the fuel tank and a fuel delivery problem ( ill fitting grommets/ air leaking in to pressurised system? ) or is that irrelevant? Any advice would be most appreciated - you guys provide some amazing help, but I could not find a definite answer to my problem. I feel I should change the tank again but can't seem to find a decent supplier for this model. Thank you for any help - any expertise / garages nearby would be great - I need to get my poor baby back on the road.

[Aidan]

Decent tank - that will be Brickwerks

when it looses power does it do so with black smoke, ie overfueling or just die, ie underfuelling

I'd be suspecting blocked vac port to fuel regulator and or damaged regulator and or blocked injectors, what's the spray patterns like

genuine fuel pump or chinese JK thing ?

but basically there's an issue with the tank isn't there jk have said so so why haven't they offered you a genuine vw one ? they're not that expensive

[wrongwaysurf]

Thanks for reply Aidan. The engine just gradually dies as it is losing power with no smoke. I was told by JK that there are no VW original tanks available and there is only one manufacturer of aftermarket tanks in Scandinavia....I'll check the Brickwerks site! The first fuel pump I bought was JK, but Club 50/67 have since fitted another - unsure of source, they have also ruled out the ECU as they fitted another to check. I will get them to check the injectors too, but I do think it all comes down to fuel delivery and a dodgy tank setup....thanks for help.

[Simon Baxter]

The Kolkkerhoklm tanks are rubbish, the black coloured ones, they don't fit and the holes are in the wrong place.
We don't sell Klokkerholm, we sell JesseLai.
Never struggled to fit them and we fit LOADS.
We also sell loads and never had one back.
Search brickwerks.co.uk for CV2 and it will throw up all 3 options tankwise, early, late and injection.
We've had a bit of a run on these recently, I think we had a couple of days where 3 0r 4 went out each day.

[wrongwaysurf]

Simon, thanks - that's exactly why I posted this, to get answers from people who know what they are talking about! I will be ordering a tank soonest and will double check my fuel pump while I'm at it and keep my fingers crossed that my green machine will once more transport me and my boards to the beach, ( oh and that the wife can have her car back!!) Thanks again
Jonny

[wrongwaysurf]

Mechanics at 50-67 say they have tried 3 different fuel pumps, replaced most of the fuel lines etc and spoken to VAG and still scratching their heads.....missing link is still the Klokkerholm fuel tank as supplied by Just Kampers. They have offered me a refund but maintain that even if the grommets have blown off this should not affect the engine performance and say they think something else is wrong, well I am no Rocket scientist, but what is the point of a pressurized fuel tank if the grommets aren't seated / sealed properly, if air is leaking in and out of them surely that affects the pressure and therefore the fuel delivery under load which is my problem?? JK were the ones who told me to grind off the excess lip of the breather holes to try and fit the grommets, I refer to Brickwerks here when they say these tanks are incorrect ( and funny old thing JK have admitted they are incorrect, hence the offer of a refund!) So I guess I will just have to shell out for tank number 3 and hope that cures it...any more advice well appreciated, thanks

[Simon Baxter]

The fuel tank isn't pressurised, hence the over complex breather tank system
If the grommets come off the top, it won't make a sh!t of difference on how it runs, same as taking the cap off, doesn't matter.
Fuel is drawn by the pump from the bottom of the tank.
Inside the tank are some plastic pipes fitted before the tank is seam welded, to me it sounds like these internal pipes have come adrift.
When you say you have had 3 tanks now, does that mean the original, the JK one and a ??? one?
To me alarm bells should start ringing that if the fault is present with 3 different tanks then the problem probably isn't the tank.
You are fitting the injection tank aren't you? the one with the larger bore outlet? it should be 11mm and not 8mm, 8mm is for the carb and Diesel versions, 11mm for the injection models.

[wrongwaysurf]

Simon - thanks for reply. The only problem I had with the original tank was that it was starting to vent fumes into the cab, so I orderd the JK one. I bought a second tank from a German website, but when it came it was the same Klokkerholm manufacturer so I did not fit it....I certainly specified the injection model but will double check the outlet size tomorrow - thanks

[Simon Baxter]

I try not to post links to my webshop continuosly, as it must get a bit tedious and nor am I saying you MUST buy from me, you have a choice where you buy your parts from, however.

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/shop?page=s ... eyword=cv2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They fit, they work, probably not the cheapest I know but they work properly.
I've fitted countless tanks in 5 years and never had a problem with one, never had to send one back, never had one returned to me.
Buy one of those, buy a can or 2 of aerosol Dinitrol and tank sorted.

[wrongwaysurf]

Cheers Simon - have ordered tank - will let you know how it goes!

[wrongwaysurf]

Simon,
HALLELUJAH !!!! Brickwerks rock! Van been off the road since May, diagnostics......head scratching......lots of money and time wasted......One shiny Brickwerks supplied tank later and my van is running like a dream! Thank you for all your advice - can't beleive the hassle I've gone through thanks to a scheissen-poopen tank!
If Huddersfield wasn't so far away I'd come shake your hand.
Merry Christmas

[kevtherev]

Result .. pleased for you mate.
Just shows that specialist forums like this take away a lot of doubt

...and make some "qualified" mechanics look amateur.

[wrongwaysurf]

OK so the Brickwerks tank works a treat, but I have one small related problem....the power loss problem seems to return intermittently. The van starts and drives initially fine. About ten minutes into journey the engine loses power / revs until it is idling but throttle will not respond to accelerator pedal input, it runs down to idle with no power available. If I stop and start engine a couple times it seems to cure the problem, so as I coast along with engine running down I do this, it sparks back into life and then it goes like a rocket for the rest of journey, strong response from engine thru all gears. Plugs and leads were changed recently, no back fires, it really runs great, but confidence is knocked a bit as this never happened before with original tank???? Any suggestions / similar problems?Thanks alot

[jamesc76]

do you have a decent NEW filter on it???

[wrongwaysurf]

I know the filter has been changed a couple times throughout the recent tank changes, just seems weird that it happens like clockwork within 10 mins of starting then clears....could this be the filter?