Thanks much Jim. That's a thorough explanation.

The price at VM Autohaus didn't seem bad for the molded hose, but good
to know there's a FLAPS solution too.

I figured since I already had the metal filter "in hand", and that I
had gone to so much trouble putting the Jetta engine into my Westy,
I'd try to make sure it had as much of a chance as possible of
surviving.

Cheers,

Neil.

On Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 4:02 PM, Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@gmail.com> wrote:
> If memory serves, the metal cannister filter, such as the 0450 905 030 is
> designed to be used AFTER the pump.  The pump used on the Vanagon (as well
> as 75-79 Bugs & Buses) has a large opening on the "tank" side (ie: the
> inlet) and a smaller outlet (8mm) on the pressure side towards the engine.
> The 0450 905 030 has 8mm push-on fittings fore and aft, so no adaptor should
> be needed.
>
> However....certain models of Vanagons from 80-thru the mid/latter 80s (as
> well as the only filter on 75-79 Bugs & Buses) also used the square plastic
> filter (133 133 511) as a "prefilter" and some Non California Air
> Cooled models didn't even have the above cannister filter.  This filter has
> an 8mm inlet fitting to match the hose coming from the tank and the larger
> outlet to match the larger inlet at the fuel pump.  VW, with some sort of
> wisdom (or lack thereof,) discontinued using the "prefilter" and substituted
> that with an obscenely priced adaptor fitting (your indicated 251 201 534 A)
> in it's place.  These are essentially 1/2" to 1/4" reducers and can be
> sourced at most FLAPS or even the hardware store in some cases for just but
> a fraction of what VW would want to ding you for and I recommend metal
> instead of plastic.  If you do use plastic, make sure it's fuel resistant so
> that it doesn't melt on ya.
>
> On both of my 84s, I continue to use the square plastic filter and the metal
> cannister filter as they were originally equipped that way to keep the
> foreign matter out of the fuel pump.  It's my understanding that later
> production and replacement fuel pumps comes with a screen in the inlet, thus
> negating the need for the plastic filter, but I still use one anyway.  I
> change it out every other oil change (they're cheap) for preventative
> maintenance reasons.
>
> And yes, I would recommend using both for maximum protection.
>
> In ETKA Vanagon, select Illustration 28-00, Key #18 in the middle portion of
> the diagram and you will see what I'm talking about in regards to the
> reducer/adaptor.
> --
> Jim Thompson
> 84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
> 84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
> 73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
> 72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
> oldvolkshome@gmail.com
> http://www.oldvolkshome.com
> ***********************************
>
> On Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 10:52 AM, neil N <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi all.
>>
>> Not sure if this is an "improvement" but.....
>>
>> In searching for a way to use a Bosch metal "can" type fuel filter on
>> my '81 Westy (PN: 0 450 905 030) my parts guy found a piece of molded
>> fuel hose to serve as a "step down" for transition from the larger
>> fuel pump OD to this (and possibly better??) fuel filter
>>
>> Molded hose PN: 251 201 534 A
>>
>> ETKA showed dimensions of 12.5 mm and 8 mm.
>>
>> Has anyone used this in conjunction with the larger metal "can" type
>> fuel filters?
>>
>> I have the metal filter already. Is this type of filter any better
>> than the stock square Vanagon filter?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Neil.
>

--
Neil Nicholson '81 JettaWesty "Jaco
http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/