[Zebedee]

New fuel tank on its way as the 35 year old original has decided it doesn't like the hold fuel anymore.
£140 including the bungs and o ring for the fuel sender unit. Still saved £25 with discount code.

 

[Zebedee]

Went out for a run this afternoon in the caravelle. Opened the sliding door and it made a loud rumbling noise followed by a scraping noise. Lower vertical roller has disintegrated. Wiped the grease out of the lower track and there were a load of the rollers out of the bearing.
£20 for a new roller seems a little steep so i'm hoping just the bearing is replaceable. The middle ones are the same as used on skateboards so are a quid a piece vs 5 or 6 times that for the same from a VW shop.

 

[Cat]

Went out for a run this afternoon in the caravelle. Opened the sliding door and it made a loud rumbling noise followed by a scraping noise. Lower vertical roller has disintegrated. Wiped the grease out of the lower track and there were a load of the rollers out of the bearing.
£20 for a new roller seems a little steep so i'm hoping just the bearing is replaceable. The middle ones are the same as used on skateboards so are a quid a piece vs 5 or 6 times that for the same from a VW shop.

Hope it's an easy job to fix x

 

[Zebedee]

Of the two rollers on the bottom of the door, the horizontal one (which is just a steel 609- 2Z bearing) is still fine but the vertical one has dropped so i assume the bearing inside has collapsed.
This is the offending part thats £20 from VW suppliers, though looking closer at the picture shows its just a 607RS bearing held into the roller with a circlip. They're £1.65 each posted plus another pound for the circlip. No guesses which one i'll be buying.

 

[Zebedee]

Well, i stripped the lower roller down only to discover that its actually made as one unit with the bearing part of it. So i've had to shel out £25 including the postage for a roller (with replaceable beaing) and circlip.
On the plus side, when it eventually wears out in another 35 years i can just replace the bearing cheaply.

 

[Zebedee]

Lower roller bought from brickwerks yesterday afternoon after 3pm and it arrived just after lunch today. Can't get better service than that.
Tank arrived today too. Not sure if its just transit primer so i'll prime and topcoat it.

Paperwork that came with it say to clean the inside with carb cleaner then petrol as its coated in a rust preventative coating. I wonder if petrol would clean it off by itself as i've got a can of the stuff i drained from the old tank. The only carb cleaner i have is in an aerosol can.

Inside looks like it has something sprayed in it.

Just waiting for the second bearing to arrive from ebay so i can have an easy opening sliding door again.

 

[Zebedee]

I bought my caravelle 12 years ago today.

 

[Zebedee]

New fuel tank has been washed out with panel wipe. It went in clear but was a milky colour when poured back out.
I'll swill it out with petrol before installing it.

 

[Zebedee]

Finally received the right bearing for the lower sliding door roller (after being sent the wrong one). Sliding door now slides nicely, though the middle roller still rumbles a bit.

Gave the tank a quick sand and a couple of coats of etch primer. Gloss black next, plus maybe a large yellow smilie on the underside to make the MOT man laugh.

 

[Zebedee]

Got a couple of good coats of gloss black on the tank today. Looks just like it did before i started.

 

[Zebedee]

Hard frost overnight and the caravelle refused to play ball this morning. Sluggishly turned over a few times before battery went flat.
Managed to break the bloody radio aerial after catching it while pushing the van forwards so the extension lead would reach.

 

[Zebedee]

Managed to get the caravelle's fuel tank out this afternoon. Not as bad as i was expecting really.
One corner up on a ramp as the tank outlet is on the rear right corner of the tank. Only about a litre of fuel came out.

Filler cap and hose removed.

Both expension tanks disconnected. They're staying in place as they were a bugger to get back in when i removed them last.

The 2 M8 bolts undone and the support straps remove and the tank was out. Not as crispy on the top as i was expecting, though the two breather pipes are rotten as anything. Sender unit and most of the top of the tank was covered in an inch of mud.
There was still about 5 litres left in the tank which had to be tipped out of the filler hole into a drain pan.

Big empty space where the tank once sat.

Gonna clean it all up in there before i install the new tank. Not sure whether to give it all a spray of waxoyl or similar beforehand.

 

[Zebedee]

Normally the caravelle is the tallest thing in the carpark.

 

[Zebedee]

Finally got the fuel sender into the new tank. The pressing round the hole needed a little manipulation to get it to fit properly.

 

[Zebedee]

I've finally got all the bits needed to get the tank back into the van but the weather has been constant misty drizzle all day today and i didn't fancy lying under the van.

 

[Zebedee]

Managed to get the new tank installed in the caravelle.

Got the breather hoses and filler pipe fitted.

Only managed to find 2 crosshead screws for the filler surround though.

 

[Zebedee]

Getting these little buggers into the grommets in the top of the tank tested my patience to the limit.

 

[Zebedee]

With the road muck washed off, the caravelle looks quite tidy as long as you don't look too closely.
Cold night last night and the bugger refused to start this morning as battery was flat.

 

[Zebedee]

LED daytime running lights failed due to water ingress so fitted a new set of Ring ones. Want to have a wager how long these will last?

 

[Zebedee]

Caravelle is in disgrace again. Set off to go and do the weekly shop and its kangarooing like crazy. Turned around and limped home. Thought it was the hall sensor failed again, though this time the rev counter didn't go crazy and there were no backfires.
I hosed all the crap out from under the arches yesterday afternoon so wondering if i somehow managed to get some in the tank (or something). Fuel filter is full and its completely clear. I thought petrol had a slight yellowy tint.