quick question on fuel tank removal

I am replacing my fuel tank on my GTI (hatchback) at the moment. I know it won't go past the axle, so I've undone the 4x 17mm bolts holding it in place. Now, can I leave the handbrake cables and flexi brake hoses connected, and swing it far enough out of the way, to get the fuel tank in and out? (I've removed the exhaust and I'll take out the fuel pump too, to give a bit more space).

Thanks guys….

Disconnect the brake flex hoses [you will need to renew these if they are old and rusty , try some Goodridge  :wink: ] you will then have enough room . You can leave the hoses but the stress is not worth the effort , if the jack moves etc you no the score .

Paul if it was me  :mrgreen: I would drop the axle , remove tank , repair the problem , rust proof , paint etc  and plop her back in . Job done  


Cheers …………

Might be wrong, but from memory break hoses are ok, but hand brake cables need to be disconnected. You might as well have undone the two nuts on the top of the rear shocks and dropped the whole rear beam, and take the tank out backwards (no need to remove the exhaust).

Cheers

Beat me to it Chudd . Your probably right about replacing the hoses, standard ones are only about ?6 each.

The car is so clean underneath you could eat your dinner off it (if it could stick upside-down, for example toffee pudding). Its just been restored and I'd only done 50 miles before discovering a problem which means that I'm replacing the fuel tank. So all the axle, underside, etc is really easy to work on and I just needed to know if it would physically pass the other components which could remain in place.

I'm happy to report, with a good deal of wiggling it will come out. The axle isn't the main issue - its the handbrake cables. But moving it to one side, then hooking the cable over the tank, then moving to the other side, meant it could drop down without having to disconnect loads of stuff.

You've only got two bolts to undo on the handbrake and pull them out the guide tubes, it's worth making the room. I tried leaving the axle suspended on a jack and wiggle the tank out, but for all the frustration it was'nt worth it , and the tank just banged around but wouldn't drop out for me   .

While the tanks out, look at the condition of the brake pipe running across the front of the tank, now's a good time to replace and clip a new one on, and if you do remove the axle, when you reconnect the brake flexi hoses tighten up the offside one while the axle is a couple of inches away from its mounting point (cos it's a tight space to work in when the axles up )

More wiggling got the new tank in, I know this sounds daft but I can't undo my handbrake cables unless I take the seats out the car! The nut is too far on the thread, to get a socket onto it and a spanner needs to swing where the seat is!

The hardest part of the job - this sounds daft - is getting the little rubber boots on, which cover the electrical terminals on the fuel pump. And the second hardest is refitting the exhaust, it needed plenty of shoving and its not too easy with the limited space under the car.