The refill can stir up sediment in their tank that winds up in your tank.
--------------- Clip ---------------------
All underground tanks have condensation in them.
There are extremes where the water content gets so high that additives are
introduced into the tanks so the fuel is usable.
I've had TOO WET gasoline a few times and the first symptom is a backfiring
engine and very low horsepower.
It's not a bad idea to always carry a can of moisture dispersant. Products
recommended like Heat and Berrymans B12 have both worked for me.
------------------------------------------
You'll never get the crud out of your tank through the fuel outlet tube (it
has a filter sock).
The way I've gotten crystals and lumps of crud out of my tank was to put a
1/2" hose down through the fill neck with a weight (solder wrapped end) and
put 3 pounds pressure on the fuel outlet tube. I was surprised how much
debris I got out.
The tank always holds 1.5 Gallons of fuel so the van needs to be jacked up
on the left front about 8" to get all the fuel to a location that the 1/2"
hose can capture it.
You can keep straining the fuel that comes out and keep processing it back
through while tapping on the tank or banging it with a rubber hammer to get
other debris to move past the tank baffles.

Stan Wilder

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
Of Greg Potts
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 11:55 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: noisy fuel pump

Hi Volks,

Rust in the tank is not the only possible source of contamination.

On our way to EveryBus 2002 our group gassed up at the Citgo in Depew N.Y.
and
two of the buses were at the side of the road within an hour due to plugged
filters. My westfakia developed a vapour lock which was cleared by
dis-assembling it, Dad's vanagon pump died outright and was replaced with a
$100 ford pump and filter from a NAPA outlet in Bath N.Y.

Moral of the story: If the station is getting a refill from a tanker... find
a
different station. The refill can stir up sediment in their tank that winds
up
in your tank.

Happy trails,

Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1973/74/79 Westfakia Conversion **Bob the Tomato**  LY3H
1977 Sunroof Automatic L63H/L90D
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
http://www.geocities.com/busesofthecorn

Quoting don spence <dspence@OANET.COM>:

>
>
> >
> >
> > <<Suction screen in fuel tank is getting blocked with crud.>>
> >
> > True -but not always. I put a new tank in last year and my pump is
> > noisy
> > again.
> > Just 2 days ago in Idaho I could'nt get past 40 mph.
> >
> > My engine began to lose power and stall as the noise increased . I
> > reversed
> > polarity of the pump momentarily and turned the key a few times.
> >
> > After reconnecting the wires correctly it started right up.
> > I got all the power back and the noise went away.
> >
> > I suspect the pump brushes are worn. Since every pump I have as spares
> > makes
> > noise,so  it's finally time for me to get a new pump.
> >
> > I took an old pump apart once and the commutator was deeply grooved
> > from
> > wear.
> > Reversing the pump apparantely helps the brushed make better contact?
> >
> > Robert
> > Not a chance Robert. Reversing the pump runs it backward pushing the
> > crud out and clearing the inlet. Reconnecting allows it to pull gas
> > through an unblocked or unrestricted inlet. (untilit gets blocked
> > again) Time to clean out your tank and maybe apply a sealant.