Point of No Return

Preparation and Facilities:

Okay, everything before was done in an empty bay with tons o' room.  Now it gets tight.  There is enough room here to get my hoist in back, but just barely.  With shelving on either side of the bay there is I think fourteen inches on one side and maybe sixteen on the other.  I so hate it when I have to be careful!

The good news is that there is lots of room up top.  I jacked it up and put Rhino ramps under it and still had lots of room above the open hatch.  Having it elevated was nice to be able to scoot around underneath freely, but a bit high for working from the rear. 

I think I've known all along that I'll never go back to a VW motor.  Even then, it's hard to start cutting.  Here is where some discipline with a digital camera and wire marking will come in handy.  I managed to lose track of a couple of wires by not marking, and assuming that I'd remember.  Right!

As soon as the motor and tranny were out, the transmission was sent off to AA Transaxle in Tacoma.  Daryl Christensen has one of the best reputations of all Vanagon vendors.  He did a rebuild on it and installed 0.77 fourth gear to get me a bit fewer revs on the hiway.

 

Gas Tank Removed and New Lines Installed:

Having a Syncro complicates things a bit.  The gas tank is wedged in really tight.  I had to use so much force to deform the tank it to get it down from between the frame rails that I thought I was going to crack it.  Afterwards I got some good advice which is to use a stiff piece of plastic between the tank and frame rail to help it slip through.

But once down, there are a number of things to do.  I bought all new pressure and vent hose and also wound up replacing the plastic vents on top.  This was mainly because they were so brittle the nipples broke off when removing the vent lines.  The thick rubber grommet that goes around the metal fill tube has two sizes. 

I replaced the fuel level sender for the simple reason that I never want to take that tank out again.  It looks like it can be removed with the tank in place, but I think that is just to get your hopes up.  Mine was the expensive OEM version, again for wanting to do it right and hopefully once.

Here's another tip:  Before removing the fuel sender, mark and/or record the position so the new one is oriented properly.

 

 

 

Next:  The Tranny is Back from Daryl...

 

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