Itinerant Air-Cooled

I hate to say this and await the flames, but anyone dropping the engine to replace the sender is a sucker. VW themselves realized this long ago and told dealers where to cut a hole so owners wouldn't have strokes because they'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to replace a stupid $25 part. Find a donor bus with the metal, and Cut. The. Dang. Hole.

I like holes.

whc03grady wrote:I hate to say this and await the flames, but anyone dropping the engine to replace the sender is a sucker. VW themselves realized this long ago and told dealers where to cut a hole so owners wouldn't have strokes because they'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to replace a stupid $25 part. Find a donor bus with the metal, and Cut. The. Dang. Hole.

How about we not cut the dang hole. How about we replace the sender without removing the engine nor cutting a hole.

"send $10.00 and a SASE to: locoskeptic fuel sender replacement offer!"

Amskeptic wrote:How about we not cut the dang hole. How about we replace the sender without removing the engine nor cutting a hole.

"send $10.00 and a SASE to: locoskeptic fuel sender replacement offer!"

Does that come with a free do-over when the $#!t new sender doesn't read right, and you have to pull it again, and again, and again to bend the float properly???

bretski wrote:

Amskeptic wrote:How about we not cut the dang hole. How about we replace the sender without removing the engine nor cutting a hole.

"send $10.00 and a SASE to: locoskeptic fuel sender replacement offer!"

Does that come with a free do-over when the $#!t new sender doesn't read right, and you have to pull it again, and again, and again to bend the float properly???

"Send another $10.00 and another SASE for EZ Read instructions on how to calibrate your gauge to the sender before its immersion in flammable gasoline! Results are not guaranteed for as long as you own your car! Offer is not valid in ANY state! Hurry, poorly-xeroxed instruction sheets are in short supply!"

whc03grady wrote:I hate to say this and await the flames, but anyone dropping the engine to replace the sender is a sucker. VW themselves realized this long ago and told dealers where to cut a hole so owners wouldn't have strokes because they'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to replace a stupid $25 part. Find a donor bus with the metal, and Cut. The. Dang. Hole.

I agree that anyone dropping the engine to replace the sender is a sucker... but so is anyone who cuts a hole in their bus... What's the point in that? there is no engine dropping or cutting necessary.

Type1? That fan shroud is sittin' tall (and proud, not all tucked down in like a frigid willie)
So far my gas gauge is workin fine knock on wood (why?).

hambone wrote:Type1? That fan shroud is sittin' tall (and proud, not all tucked down in like a frigid willie)
So far my gas gauge is workin fine knock on wood (why?).

My gas gauge was working fine until someone jump started the bus backwards... and i don't know about a type 1 engine in a bus... never messed with one

VWGirl wrote:I agree that anyone dropping the engine to replace the sender is a sucker... but so is anyone who cuts a hole in their bus... What's the point in that? there is no engine dropping or cutting necessary.

The point is that VW gave dealers the blessing to cut the hole, and told them where to do it. VW recognized their error, and fixing an error (at least, fixing it properly) isn't a hack, it's a fixing

VW recalled all Beetles, 1949-1969, to fix a windshield wiper problem (sometimes they flew off). So let's say I find out my 1963 Beetle never got it fixed at the dealer. Am I a sucker for fixing it now?

But why would you cut a hole when you can just remove the access panel to the tank and do it that way? seems like an awful waste... especially considering how often do you have to replace a fuel tank sender? I mean, this will be my bus's third sender in it's 30 years... but it's also its third tank... and I do not think that the senders were designed to sit in a moist empty tank for a decade, nor were they designed to have current sent backwards to them... so i could still have the original sender had these things not happened...

Personally, I would be quite upset and demand that the VW dealer weld back, repair and paint anything they cut off my bus if I took it in for something as simple as this and they wasted their time cutting a hole instead of taking off what, 8 screws for the access panel? I like that pretty paint back there!

VWGirl wrote: Personally, I would be quite upset and demand that the VW dealer weld back, repair and paint anything they cut off my bus if I took it in for something as simple as this and they wasted their time cutting a hole instead of taking off what, 8 screws for the access panel? I like that pretty paint back there!

Cutting a hole was probably the cheapest option. I'm sure many customers would choose the hole over paying more for a less intrusive method.

yondermtn wrote:

VWGirl wrote: Personally, I would be quite upset and demand that the VW dealer weld back, repair and paint anything they cut off my bus if I took it in for something as simple as this and they wasted their time cutting a hole instead of taking off what, 8 screws for the access panel? I like that pretty paint back there!

Cutting a hole was probably the cheapest option. I'm sure many customers would choose the hole over paying more for a less intrusive method.

The time: 1978
The place: VW dealership
The problem: 1975 bus gas gauge doesn't work

Mechanic: That requires an engine drop [that's the procedure in the shop manual], so with labor it'll be $400.
Owner: $400! Why do you have to drop the engine?
Mechanic: Actually, we could just remove the aspiration system and firewall and get at it that way. Then it'd be $250.
Owner: $250! Why do you have to remove the aspiration system and the firewall?
Mechanic: Oh, you're right. VW sent us a bulletin on how to make an access hatch to the fuel gauge sender. If you wanted to put that in, with the replacement sender, it'd be about $50.
Owner: Yeah, that. Let's go with that.

At least there's an option for someone that doesn't want to cut a hole or drop the engine. The job probably took about an hour and I didn't have to hack it up. If we were talking about my 2001 Nissan then I probably would pay the dealer to cut a hole, but this is my bus. It was an easy choice for me.

I'm really curious as to how you did it... although I vaguely remember there being space on top of the tank... pulling the tank with the engine in wasn't the easiest task and getting the firewall back in was probably one of the more difficult parts... that and I am short with short arms... luckily my husband is a giant and could reach back there to get the filler hose off and back on with ease!

VWGirl wrote:I'm really curious as to how you did it... although I vaguely remember there being space on top of the tank... pulling the tank with the engine in wasn't the easiest task and getting the firewall back in was probably one of the more difficult parts... that and I am short with short arms... luckily my husband is a giant and could reach back there to get the filler hose off and back on with ease!

I am going to guess that we could do it because it was a later model bus with the inexplicably smaller tank than the ealier 15.9 gallon tanks of the carbureted buses.

With the late model injected buses, you can remove the "firewall" (merely detach and set aside the voltage regulator and double relay/series resistors and decel valve) and pop the sender loose with a screwdriver as a pry to get that 90* turn that releases it from the tank. The sender is lifted and rotated as necessary to help you negotiate the crook in the wire. When the float comes into view, you will have to apply a gentle bend to help it release from the tank (if you have ever mid-wifed the birth of a giraffe, you'll know what I am talking about). Skedaddle the mess to your left towards the spare tire well and find the spot where you can pull the sender free of the tank and body. Little bendishness on the float/wire is OK. I do not have to tell you to remain within the springiness of the wire.

Test sender/gauge by dropping the float to empty. Needle may disappear up at the gauge. Slowly move float up a tad to see if the needle returns to your field of view. If it does, bend the lower stop to hold the float in this position. Now move to full. See what the gauge does. If it takes off to past full mark, you can likewise limit its travel. If it stops before the full mark, try bending the full stop to allow a little more movement of the sweeper on the potentiometer wire. If you peer in there and see that there is no more room for the sweeper to go, then a gauge that is in serious disagreement with the sender may need to be looked at for correct voltage limiter operation. Clean all connections and grounds. Early senders had adjustability for which I do not have the procedure.
Colin