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[General] Removal & Replaing internal fuel pump VL - VS sedan

Jxfwsf

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First you'll need to drain as much fuel as possible from the tank, arm yourself with enough fuel cans to hold how ever much you have left in the tank and get a jiggler hose.
(if you're lucky and can still drive then this makes it easy, the pump i based this on was intermittent so managed to drive it till there was about 5-6L left in the tank)

If you can, drive get it up on some ramps, if you have a slightly angled driveway this is even better, try to get the car level or with the rear lower than the front.
If you can't drive... Jack it up and put it on ramps or axle stands. chock the front wheels with some bricks or 4 bits of 4x2

OK almost ready to start this.

Grab a 1.25lt coke bottle and make a short funnel and have another fuel can on stand by (or short funnel if you want to do it professionally)

If the pump was still sort of running you need to depressurize the fuel fuel system, as we're removing the pump just unplug the electrical connections at the tank.
Turn the key and wind the motor over, if it starts let it run till it stops then turn the key and wind it over for another 15-20 seconds.
Now disconnect the negative battery terminal.

Undo the pan hard rod nut on the rear axle (if you have a live axle) and move it off and rest it on the ground, this extra clearance helps when removing and installing the sender unit and i've found this method easier than jacking the body up and having the diff hang low enough (only 1 end needs to be undone).

02.jpg

03.jpg


Now you can undo the output fuel hose from the sender unit and hopefully there's no pressure and it won't spray fuel everywhere (safety glasses may be wise here).

01.jpg


Now grab the spare fuel can and "funnel" and sit it under basically level with the sender unit and undo the bottom 2 7mm bolts
If you haven't drained enough fuel from the tank it should start coming out the now open bolt holes... let it drain and try to catch it.

Now undo the other 5 bolts. (pay attention to the angle of outlet pipe and which 2 bolt holes line up at the bottom)

04.jpg


Move the sender unit around and rotate so the outlet is pointing up.

05.jpg


When you get it far enough out you'll most likely have the sender float catching on the hole, move it around and line it up so it comes out (you can flex the rod slightly).

06.jpg


07.jpg



Once it's out dismantle the old unit, remove the old sock filter, pay attention to which way this faces compared to the assembly (may need to pry this off carefully with a flat blade screw driver)

Unplug the power wires.

Some have a hose & clamps that need to be undone, others will be like the pic below where you push the oval shaped metal joiner away from the pump and up the pipe.

Once it's off replace the cork gasket.

Installation is in reverse order of removal.

08.jpg


Now put it all back in the tank.

09.jpg


Once you have the sender in upto the blue line move it around so that it is lining up with the bolt holes and the pump and sock filter are in the swirl pot you'll feel this and once in the correct placement can't be rotated clockwise/anticlockwise very far (a torch and a mirror can be useful to see inside the tank if you have 3 hands).

Install the 7 screws and start doing it up in a star pattern to ensure it is pulled to the tank level, when doing a cork gasket up watch the edges and when you see the gasket deforming and bulging out back the bolt off a small amount.

10.jpg


Plug up all the wire and hose and reinstall the pan hard rod.

Put some fuel in the tank (don't fill it completely, 10-15L is enough) and start the car.
Let it run for a bit and check for any fuel leaks.

If there is some signs of leaking turn the car off and tighten up the suspect area's (hose clamp or if it's the bolts just slightly so you don't distort and crack the cork gasket)
Repeat the test run and check for leaks again.




addition for VR-VS

vr.jpgtool.jpg

When removing the sender unit from the tank, remove it partially and use the shown tool or something similar to undo the clip holding the return line in the tank.
Tie some string to the plastic return line so it won't disappear back into the tank.
When reinstalling the unit back into a VR/VS make sure you don't mix the fuel lines up as this will stop the fuel from getting to your engine.
 
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misshsv

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Brilliant how to, I'm armed and ready for my weekend thanks for putting this up :)
 

ephect

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Great write up, I have 2 things to add

1: additional info on removing the unit from the tank, when positioning the outlet pointing up, this places the float arm (rod) in the cutout at the bottom of the tank hole, visible in most of the photos. This is important to double check as u risk damaging the float assembly

2: on the vs (maybe vr) they have a hose connected to the swirl pot which u need to unclip off the sender unit, and ensure u connect it back up when reassembling into the tank. If you don't, when low on fuel and turning right the car can stall due to lack of fuel.
 

Jxfwsf

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if someone can add a pic on the swirl pot hose i'll edit it and add.
 

Jxfwsf

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More info: there are 2 different length sender units between VR & VS. If you need to replace the whole unit for some reason then remove the old one first and take it along with you.

I learnt this the hard way when i put a newer tank in the bitza VN, was given a tank from a VR and a sender unit from another VR and when i got to installing the pump & sender unit into the now bolted up tank it wouldn't fit, when the pump and sock filter where lined up in the swirl pot the plate was more than an inch away from the tank..... The VS unit is the same length as VN but has the return line in it and different plug, where the VR unit has the same plugs as VN/VP but is longer (not sure if there is a short version VR assembly as the wrecker's didn't have one).
 

zersys

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Thought I might add something to this, as I just did the job tonight.

A good way to make sure you don't lose the return hose on a VS/VR, cable ties! ImageUploadedByTapatalk1351692404.992862.jpg

Just connect a series of cable ties to make a long plastic string. This also makes it A LOT easier to get the tricky part with the float out, you'll find it very hard to get the whole unit in/out with the return hose hanging out.

With the cable ties you can confidently drop the hose back in and pull it back out when you need it.
 

Dan355

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Sorry mate but i have a major critisism... Your hands arnt dirty enough! Lol
Great DIY!
 

Jxfwsf

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must've been all that petrol i had on em and wiped of with a rag cleaned em.... couldn't get dirt n grease on my phone and tools :mad:
 
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