Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Crap... tried to upload a photo, and lost the whole post... system seized. Here goes again.
Here is the promised alternative method referenced in the post regarding 'Erratic Fuel Pressure. ' In the end, my Dad and cerberusiam were correct: Simple stuff first. It turns out that the sending unit for the POS Glow Shift gauges was the culprit. (a rant for another time... they are JUNK). Anyway, through the whole painful process of diagnosing the source of the erratic fuel pressure, 'Restriction in tank' was a recurring theme, so I installed a draw straw. This meant dropping the tank. Unfortunately, the quality of pictures are not the greatest since I only had my POS Handy, naturally enhanced by the smear of diesel on the already challenged lens... anyway, here is the process I used:
I have access to a lift through my friends at Melchert-Automobil, so the process was a bit easier. I drove the tank as low as I dared, and then inserted a clear plastic hose through the filler neck, syphon-style. Then I put the line into a container. Using a rag to seal the filler neck, I put 10 PSI into the tank to force the fuel out. After around 30 litres, I started getting air. One thing: a while before I had noticed that there was a stain on the inside middle of the tank, diesel was coming out somewhere.
Weeelll, after 'pumping' out the tank, there was a 'small' puddle on the floor. Why? It seems that the cap on one of the vents (probably for when the tank is used for gasoline) was split. Source of leak found. As you can see by the accumulated crud, it was leaking for a while.
Here is a picture of the culprit:
Anyone who has tried to get the 'quick' fuel line connectors loose knows that they can be a real PITA. Even after dropping the tank according to the manual, getting to them was a 'challenge. ' As a result, and here is the alternative, I decided to drop the tank and leave the basket attached to the lines.
Here is how it worked: Using a piece of wood lath (pine, with a point at one end), I placed the point against the ribs on the ring and tapped on it with a hammer until it loosened enough to take off. The basket was left to hang as I dropped the tank.
****Warning**** the basket still manages to hold around a litre of fuel when removed from the tank... just because I was baptised by this remainder, does not mean you should be too.
So I had the tank on the ground. It was a hassle with the ten litres of fuel that remained. The sloshing effect made it a challenge to get the rest into the jug, and not on the floor of the garage (or on me).
The inside of the tank looked extremely clean. The green ball I found amused me though. I thought it was a 'toy surprise' some kid put in the filler neck. It later turned out to be the 'roll-over ball. ' Oh well.
Here is a picture of the screen... not too sporty looking, but I really doubt it was blocked enough to cause significant restriction. There are other posts, where the screen looks much worse...
Since the tank was down, I thought it would be a good idea to replace the fuel sender. Amazingly, I managed to source it here (in Germany). That was the easy part. Getting the basket apart was another issue however. I tried to take pictures, but they turned out too smeary to use... I used three small screwdrivers to depress the plastic enough so I could rotate the basket far enough to pull it apart. Sounds simple, but it took about 15 minutes until I had it in two pieces.
The new sender has the wires, with the new connectors. So the next challenge was to get the old connectors out of the plastic connector... I used a paper-clip to depress the hooks on the old connectors. There should be a picture here somewhere...
The installation of the Draw Straw went according to the instructions supplied. It has been often said: MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE. However, I measured four times, and cut twice... following the old adage, 'you can never cut it longer,' I cut it a bit long, and did a test fit. Too long, so I cut off just a bit more and it ended up directly on the bottom of the tank. (Yes I know, just where it can suck up all of the water and debris it can, but there is a water separator / filter before the pump. )
One concern I had was that it appeared that the original pick-up hose acted like a spring to keep the pick up pressed to the bottom of the tank. After following the instructions for the Draw Straw installation, I noticed that the basket was 'free floating. ' This could lead to inaccuracy with the sending unit, as it is mounted on the floating part of the basket. In the end, I found some springs in the shop, and put them on the draw straw. In order to keep the basket from extending past the end of the Draw Straw during installation, I made a loop of wire to hold the basket compressed against the springs, and after the basket was installed in the tank, cut the loop of wire, and pulled it out.
As they say, installation was in reverse of removal, except in this case the basket was installed in the tank, and connecting the 'quick connectors' is a great deal easier than their removal. End result? Well I eliminated the possibility of a restriction in the tank, but was not through with the problems described in 'Erratic Fuel Pressure'.
Here is the promised alternative method referenced in the post regarding 'Erratic Fuel Pressure. ' In the end, my Dad and cerberusiam were correct: Simple stuff first. It turns out that the sending unit for the POS Glow Shift gauges was the culprit. (a rant for another time... they are JUNK). Anyway, through the whole painful process of diagnosing the source of the erratic fuel pressure, 'Restriction in tank' was a recurring theme, so I installed a draw straw. This meant dropping the tank. Unfortunately, the quality of pictures are not the greatest since I only had my POS Handy, naturally enhanced by the smear of diesel on the already challenged lens... anyway, here is the process I used:
I have access to a lift through my friends at Melchert-Automobil, so the process was a bit easier. I drove the tank as low as I dared, and then inserted a clear plastic hose through the filler neck, syphon-style. Then I put the line into a container. Using a rag to seal the filler neck, I put 10 PSI into the tank to force the fuel out. After around 30 litres, I started getting air. One thing: a while before I had noticed that there was a stain on the inside middle of the tank, diesel was coming out somewhere.
Weeelll, after 'pumping' out the tank, there was a 'small' puddle on the floor. Why? It seems that the cap on one of the vents (probably for when the tank is used for gasoline) was split. Source of leak found. As you can see by the accumulated crud, it was leaking for a while.
Here is a picture of the culprit:
Anyone who has tried to get the 'quick' fuel line connectors loose knows that they can be a real PITA. Even after dropping the tank according to the manual, getting to them was a 'challenge. ' As a result, and here is the alternative, I decided to drop the tank and leave the basket attached to the lines.
Here is how it worked: Using a piece of wood lath (pine, with a point at one end), I placed the point against the ribs on the ring and tapped on it with a hammer until it loosened enough to take off. The basket was left to hang as I dropped the tank.
****Warning**** the basket still manages to hold around a litre of fuel when removed from the tank... just because I was baptised by this remainder, does not mean you should be too.
So I had the tank on the ground. It was a hassle with the ten litres of fuel that remained. The sloshing effect made it a challenge to get the rest into the jug, and not on the floor of the garage (or on me).
The inside of the tank looked extremely clean. The green ball I found amused me though. I thought it was a 'toy surprise' some kid put in the filler neck. It later turned out to be the 'roll-over ball. ' Oh well.
Here is a picture of the screen... not too sporty looking, but I really doubt it was blocked enough to cause significant restriction. There are other posts, where the screen looks much worse...
Since the tank was down, I thought it would be a good idea to replace the fuel sender. Amazingly, I managed to source it here (in Germany). That was the easy part. Getting the basket apart was another issue however. I tried to take pictures, but they turned out too smeary to use... I used three small screwdrivers to depress the plastic enough so I could rotate the basket far enough to pull it apart. Sounds simple, but it took about 15 minutes until I had it in two pieces.
The new sender has the wires, with the new connectors. So the next challenge was to get the old connectors out of the plastic connector... I used a paper-clip to depress the hooks on the old connectors. There should be a picture here somewhere...
The installation of the Draw Straw went according to the instructions supplied. It has been often said: MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE. However, I measured four times, and cut twice... following the old adage, 'you can never cut it longer,' I cut it a bit long, and did a test fit. Too long, so I cut off just a bit more and it ended up directly on the bottom of the tank. (Yes I know, just where it can suck up all of the water and debris it can, but there is a water separator / filter before the pump. )
One concern I had was that it appeared that the original pick-up hose acted like a spring to keep the pick up pressed to the bottom of the tank. After following the instructions for the Draw Straw installation, I noticed that the basket was 'free floating. ' This could lead to inaccuracy with the sending unit, as it is mounted on the floating part of the basket. In the end, I found some springs in the shop, and put them on the draw straw. In order to keep the basket from extending past the end of the Draw Straw during installation, I made a loop of wire to hold the basket compressed against the springs, and after the basket was installed in the tank, cut the loop of wire, and pulled it out.
As they say, installation was in reverse of removal, except in this case the basket was installed in the tank, and connecting the 'quick connectors' is a great deal easier than their removal. End result? Well I eliminated the possibility of a restriction in the tank, but was not through with the problems described in 'Erratic Fuel Pressure'.
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