1993 Cabriolet - This gas tank replacement is F'ing me in the A

[aasukisuki]

I'm at my wits end with this car. For the last week I've been trying to get the damn gas tank out of this car. In the process of dropping the rear cross member, I sheared off a bolt. I dropped the exhaust and the rear cross member as low as I can get them without disconnecting the brake lines, and i still can't get this god damn gas tank off. It seems like i'm only short about 1/2".

I seriously have no clue what to do at this point. I could try to take the brake lines off, but it seems like every nut/bolt on this car was made out of rust, and now i'm paranoid about snapping off everything.

I need some advice here. How in the hell do I get this gas tank out. I'm seriously thinking about setting fire to this car. I'd just tow the god damn thing to a shop if it wasn't already in a billion pieces.

[vrjetta98]

go to your nearest advance or parts store buy two cans of pb blaster... spray it on everything generously then wait a lil 5 ten minutes and do it again... or buy some spray on grease also to help... these things help a lot and I would say use heat... but its a gas tank.

[MurA1]

Where are you located? Maybe one of us could spare some time to come take a look and give you a hand.

[aasukisuki]

Ok here's an update. I finally got the gas tank out. I went and wrestled with is some more and it finally came out. Now i have to repair the bolt that I sheared off. I see that I can access it from above by removing the painted tape that's under the rear back seat. However it looks like it's just a round headed bolt, and not one you can actually get a socket on. Any advice for removing that and replacing it?

As for where i'm located, I'm in West Des Moines, not far from the Dahls on EP True and 50th.

[GetAwayFromMe]

lol to change the fuel pump you do it from inside of the car. Use a hammer and a screwdriver to get it off. if its a cap screw look alike.

[aasukisuki]

lol to change the fuel pump you do it from inside of the car. Use a hammer and a screwdriver to get it off. if its a cap screw look alike.

No no no. I'm not replacing the fuel pump, I'm replacing the entire gas tank because the old one rusted along the weld. I removed the fuel pump about a week ago.

Here's a photo of the bolt that I need to replace. You can see that the far bolt is sheared.
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/1687/photo2fl.jpg

And here's the top of the bolt, as seen from the access hole located underneath the rear seat:
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/773/photo1nt.jpg


Any ideas on removing & replacing?

[Dubtuner]

induction heater and some vice grips and youll be money or weld a nut onto it

[oldschoolvw]

it has a steel gas tank? Just curious. Good luck with fixing those bolts. On any project underneath a car, or any bolts/threaded fittings exposed to the elements, hit it with penetrating lube a few times a day for a day or two before you start.

[1FastB5]

As for where i'm located, I'm in West Des Moines, not far from the Dahls on EP True and 50th.

you're just down the road from where i'm at -- i'm on pleasant street & 50th near 235, so let me know if you need help sometime.

as far as the sheered off bolts...welcome to having a project car! idk how many bolts i've sheered off on my 6, and at least your taking out your gas tank volentarily. mine just flat out fell off the car last year after filling it up. :D

don't give up! we're here to help!

[aasukisuki]

it has a steel gas tank? Just curious.
I believe so, it was rusted along the driver's side pretty badly. It had some sort of coating on it, but was rusted underneath the coating


you're just down the road from where i'm at -- i'm on pleasant street & 50th near 235, so let me know if you need help sometime.
That's awesome, I will definitely take you up on your offer in the future, and if you need someone to stand around looking dumb while you work on cars, let me know.

As for an update on my little problem, I got the new tank in today, replaced some hoses, and bolted everything back up, including the rear cross member. I hooked the battery back up, let the fuel pump get some fuel going through the system, and started her right up. Such a good feeling.

I was not able to remove the sheared off bolt myself, so tomorrow I'm going to look for someone / a shop to do it. I don't have an air compressor or welder, so I don't see anyway that I can get this bolt out or a new one welded in by myself. I'm hoping it won't cost too much as it seems like it would be a pretty easy job with the right tools.

My new problem on the car is the rear driver's side drum brake. I noticed when I started the fuel tank project that the wheel on the driver's side would not spin freely, but the passenger side would. I figured it had something to do with the e-brake cable since it's all torn apart inside the car. Well when I was replacing the tank, I noticed that the e-brake cable on the driver's side has been cut right by the rear cross member.

So after I got the tank in, I took drum off, and found that one of the springs has broken, and 2 of the other springs are installed incorrectly. We'll be making a trip to NAPA tomorrow to buy some new springs and hopefully have this thing back on the ground by Tuesday, so I can get it somewhere to replace that bolt.

Thanks for all of the help so far.

[OrangeDUB]

The ebrake problem should be cheap. ebrakes for mk1-4 (educated guess) are in the neighborhood of $15-20 each. Maybe replace both if they look corroded, then you can adjust the ebrake lever just how you like it and not have be paranoid about an old car's ebrakes failing on a hill :)

Here's a VERY good website with good prices for your early vw parts. Usually at least oem or german made replacement parts are available :tu:

www.germanautoparts.com

[UltraCabby93]

So update here on the brakes. The husband is taking a nap while he decompresses from his frustration!

He's at a loss and is talking about buying all new drums and everything at this point. He has everything back together and the back rear wheel still does not spin freely. He's not sure if he is missing a bearing or what is going on. Anyone really good at these (stupid) brakes that could lend us their eyes and knowledge? I would hate to go out and purchase a whole new set of drums to find out it was something silly that was missing.