Car failed MOT :( But it could have been worse!

Took car for MOT bright and early this morning, and it failed on the back brakes.      Not the end of the world, but damned annoyed with myself for not servicing the brakes before the MOT. Just ran out of time in the end.

Now gotta get the motivation to get out there in this blustery weather and take the thing to bits! Brought the parts, new brake shoes and also decided to replace the cylinders. The drums themselves look OK.  Unfortunitely not genuine VW bits as money is tight this month. Only cost ?30 for the lot.

Hope they not too difficult, not had the back brakes to bits on this car before.

shouldn't be too bad just take your time changing the cylinders and lube or spray the connecting brake pipes with some wd40 or similar to make sure they come off with out snapping.
 :?: You could alway use some abrassive paper on the drums if you dont change them :?:

well took the RH side apart, was really grimy inside, looks like someones put grease on the shoes at sometime in the past :!:  :!:  no wonder they weren't working properly.   :!:  :!:

Anyway while I was down there, decided to have a closer look at the fuel filler pipe, I was pretty sure it was going to be rusty, but didn't think it was that bad. You've never seen so much dirt in your life, all nicely sitting on top of the pipes, and sure enough, there's now two great big rusty holes in it at the top where I scraped away the dirt that was literally holding it together. So that's another job I gotta do now.      Currently taking break from the brakes. No need to rush them now I know there's this other job to do.

How easy is it going to be to remove the fuel tank and clean it out, as quite a bit of crap fell down the tube into the tank I think. I've not really looked at it that closely yet. I expect there's already a thread somewhere on doing this, as I know it's very common.  Also best ways of draining the fuel tank? There's estimated about 12 litres of fuel in it at the moment.

Interested to know this as well, had a gander at my fuel filler pipe, its got bits of surface rust but certainly nothing that appears like going through. Do they rust from inside as well?

Dave

Mine had rusted from the outside on the top, and didn't look that bad untill I pressed hard on it, and my finger went through.  8O

i think this is going to be a pig of a job as you have to take the rear beam off to get the tank out to clean it properly, then go for the filler neck. i think rust is more likely just on the out side as the crud builds up there; panels like wheel arches etc rust from the inside as the crud gets trapped behind.

yes it is, I've just been looking at it.

Rear beam needs to be removed. Bugger. That then means disconnecting brake hoses, on which the unions have rusted quite badly so that will create more problems I fear.

Not sure whether to bother or not, Might just take fuel filler neck off and replace it, as I think all the crud will be caught in the bend at the bottom, and won't have got into the tank hopefully.

Anyone got any good suggestions for draining fuel from the tank? There seems no obvious hose to disconnect that I could use to drain it with.

Taking the tank out is a major task as the rear beam does indeed need to come off to get at it. I snapped one of the beam mounting studs taking mine off which became the most horrible job I've ever done on a car (!)  If you do take the beam off then clean the stud threads thoroughly, use loads of penetrating fluid (Plus Gas or similar), and take your time. Best bet for you I think is to take the old filler neck off then use a magnet on a piece of string to fish out any metallic bits that may have slipped into the tank. Can't remember now, but I think there is a 'flap' on the inlet to the tank that may have stopped big bits dropping in.

Good luck with it !

Mark

i,ve taken my tank off recently it is a pain. if you are worrie about rust in tank take fuel pump off 1st and theres a tiny filter in end of it you can get out and clean. if you want to know about crap in fuel tank just ask me in the end i put  a new tank new fuel lines new pump and new injectors in mine  :cry:

Decided against taking tank out. It's just too big job to undertake in my pokey little garage. Taken old filler neck off, and by the looks of things, all the rusty crap has got stuck inside that pipe, and hasn't made it to the tank.     

Drained the fuel tank in the end by undoing hose leading to fuel pump, and connecting short bit of normal garden hose to it, to drain the fuel into two spare petrol cans, which were just big enough to take it all! Minimal amount was lost!  

The fuel coming out looked normal, no rusty bits in it at all, whcih is re-assuring.

On the brakes, I've done them too (yes I been a busy boy today!), but that bloody lower return spring on them is the strongest spring I think I've ever felt! Just about managed to hook it into the right hole.

Gotta find somewhere to get new filler neck from now! Hopefully won't be too expensive. Then once I've finally got it MOTd I can start doing things I want to do to the car, rather than things I've got to do to the car!

It is just possible to get the tank out without removing the beam entirely.  Undo the beam bolts and pull it rearwards and tying without over streatching the brake hoses.  I managed to get the tank in and out this way.

Thanks for that bit of info crazyquiff. I will give it a try if you're sure it can be done. Rather be safe than sorry with my fuel tank, as I know how much damage rusty bits in the system can do!

One question, what points on the body could I use to support the car on when I'm moving the rear beam? At the moment i'm supporting the car on the beam with 2 axle stands as it's the most convenient place to put them. Obviously need alturnative places to support.

Any one know any obvious points that are strong enough? I've had bad experiences in the past in chooseing axle stand locations on other cars, Don't particulalry want to damage this one, I like it too much!

I've soaked the nuts holding the beam to the car in plenty of plusgas so hopefully if I do try and un-do them tomorrow, they'll be relatively easy. They're not too rusty, which looks promising.   :?

Maniac said

One question, what points on the body could I use to support the car on when I'm moving the rear beam? At the moment i'm supporting the car on the beam with 2 axle stands as it's the most convenient place to put them. Obviously need alturnative places to support.

Any one know any obvious points that are strong enough?

hear hear! where the monkeys should the stands go?!?! i've done a few bodge jobs with the stands in 'iffy' positions when fiddling with rear suspension, would be good to know a decent place to put them

good luck with the rear beam! Its something I wouldnt mind getting round to at some point, if only so I can clean up the area around the mounts properly.

I would jack the car up on the rear axle mounts and put a stack of old wheels/tyres on either side of the floor pan to spread the load. Avoid any fuel/brake lines while still trying to give decent access.

Cheers
Rajan

i checked for rust bits in my fueltank by taking out  fuel gauage sender. with this out you can look in with torch.magnet on string to remove bits.easy to take out under backseat just twist to remove .
                                     mark

I supported under the rear chassis sections right at the back of the car.  I did use some pretty big stands tho (about 2'6" tall)

How did you get the car high enough to use that height of stand Rich?

Cheers
Rajan

By using a garage trolley jack i expect, take a look on ebay as they come up pretty cheap used, mine goes upto 32 inches and only set me back ?50 delivered

Used a small trolley jack under beam - then small axle stands then went up another foot or so with blocks of wood  

I've raised my car quite high once before when I changed the exhaust. That was with axle stands, bricks, and a trolly jack. Worked well, but took about 1/2 hour to do!

Going to use those main chassis points at the back if they'll be strong enough. They look pretty solid to me.  Always a bit un-sure on points to support on, but if you done it and it was OK, then I'll use them.