Bought a heritage fuel tank - need advice pls folks

So I bought a brand new fuel tank from VW heritage for my gti (mine was akin to the Titanics Hull) and it does not appear to have an internal fuel filter nor the internal metal to allow fitment of one. Is this pretty normal & will I be ok not running one?

Secondly the external paint was terrible so I had it professionally painted with some nice durable paint. Now I am thinking it would be a good idea to further protect the tank internally with some tank sealant. Does anybody have any experience with doing this & is it a good idea?

I have had a look at Frosts website & POR15 Tank sealant looks a sensible product to use, anything else worth looking at?

Cheers

Martin

sounds like its a carby tank, not gonna be good enough for a GTI I'm afraid.

you have 2 choices, send it back or fit a post-84 cab/rocco or g40 shape polo lifter pump and swirl pot.  the swirl pot might be a struggle to fit under the car, it needs to go between the lifter pump and main pump, space is limited with the fuel accumulator fitted though!

if you can find a smaller size swirl pot you may be ok, it needs to have 4 fittings on it 2 at the top for the engine and lifter pump return, and 2 near the bottom for lifter pump feed and output to the main pump

Hi mate. Well i have dug the tank out ofthe loft and had a good look. It matches the description on heritage website and codes relate to mine http://www.vwheritage.com/vw_spares_Fuel-tank-Golf-Mk1-Gti-Diesel-models-40-litre-171201075Q_act_shop.product_pID_27434928_lang_EN_country_GB.htm?crumbStartPage=1
It does have the internal swirlpot and I'll get a photo up tomorrow  morning. I can't find a diagram to show where the fuel filter locates (tried vagcat with no joy) any ideas?

is it the billy basic type of swirl pot, like a metal cup? if so thats a diesel tank not a GTI

Hi John

See photo's below. Basically it looks like Heritage sell these as diesel / gti tanks? So if all I am missing is a fuel filter can't I stick an inline one in on the return feed?
Do you think the basic swirlpot is going to cause me problems?
It looks like a minature saucespan welded into the tank..

yup diesel only tank

you might get away with it though but I've not run one so cant say either way. if the pot is well sealed it coudl be ok but I guess theres no flap in it so nothing to stop the fuel escaping back out again?

have a look at your main pump it may have a wee mesh basket on the inlet of the pump, this should stop the worst of the crud

Thanks for your input John

I feel like I've had my pants pulled down by heritage if it doesn't run properly….. they clearly state these are for gti models in the spiel…

The reason I've got thsi back out the loft was to seal it with Por15 and fit a filter…. don't know what to do now.

There is no flap on the swirl pot. I suppose an external swirl pot would be a mare to fit? Where would it go? Engine bay?

There is a thimble style mesh on the fuel pump. I bought a new Bosch fuel pump when i bought the car to get the thing going and was quickly alerted to more problems when the fuel tank started leaking  

When I removed the fuel pump that mesh was totally blocked with rust

I'd think about sending it back, but the trouble is if they dont have proper GTI tank to replace it with you'll still be in the same position anyway! If the carby tank is cheaper you could get that and have them refund the difference, then go for the lifter pump + swirl pot setup I mention.

maybe see if anyone else can comment, but I do know that if the gti seal goes under the swirlpot peeps do have fuel starvation issues when cornering if tank is low. the main trouble with this as well as loosing power is it damages the pump when it runs dry as it relies on the fuel to lubricate the internals, not ideal!!

fitment wise the trouble is on the cabrio/scirocco the swirl pot goes where your fuel accumulator is now and the accumulator is switched for a smaller one that goes behind the tank. space is at a premium under there but you may be able to squeeze it next to the accumulator?

The image and diagram shows all the required things.

Sorry to hijack ur thread drapoon but ive just bought a feul tank off ebay which is supposedly a gti injection tank, and readin this ur makin me have doubts that ive bought the right one or if ive wven got everything to go with it , juat wondering john if my tank is the right one wud i also need one of these swirl pots? And a filter? Well basically wat else wud i need if the tank is right? 

Sorry agen drapoon for hijacking ur thread

hmmm Oooh I'm in a pickle now

I think I will give heritage a call and see what they say on the matter as they are the ones selling these as Gti Tanks….
Looks like a cabby swirl pot is maybe the way to go

Is that item 19?

Is this going to mess with the braided fuel lines I have had made up?

Chipster no worries at all just pleased others are being made aware of this issue before it is too late & the tanks fitted!

yeah number 19, if you dont move the pump and accumulator your lines are fine, the modifications go before the pump. even if you do shift them about I guess the lines are flexible? if so you have some cope for fiddling

chipster, if there is no internal swirl pot then yes you'll need a lifter pump plus swirl pot of some kind. as I say it doesnt have to be the proper VW one aftermarket units are fine too just make sure they have 4 fittings on em as per original VW one

Can.i use the stuff out my old tank john as everything on.it is fine anyways, if i can.then are they easy to get out?

do you mean the swirl pot? I dont think you can take them out unfortunately

So all i need to do is fit part No. 533201511A & all should be rosey?

Just done a bit of research and that part is cheap…but pretty elusive so if anyone has one laying about (perhaps next to the Dodo enclosure ) pls get in touch

you'll need a lifter pump as well to feed it lad, the gti only has a level sender in the tank. block off the old tank outlet on the bottom.

edit: you may be able to run an inline facet or similar from the old outlet to the reservoir but that will take up even more precious room!

Now I am really confused lol

So I can't place the filter/swirl pot part at the bottom outlet so it just passes through?

So if I want to keep this sub-standard tnak I need to block the "proper" feed to the fuel pump. Swap out the sender unit for a lift pump and then tap the swirl pot/ filter box into the fuel feed between lift pump and fuel pump….?

no that wont work, it needs to be fed from another pump to keep it topped up

So with mine john, cuz i already have everything on my car in working order, wat do i need? Basically what can i use thats already on my car and wat will i need to buy?, its a gti tintop btw