fuel pump help

[bajaaaron66]

i am doing maintenance on my 66 and have a fuel leak so i buy replacemnt parts to fix and find out that the plastic intermediate flange has broken off in the engine, cant get it out, the pushrod still slides very easy and local mecanic said it will be fine but not getting enough fuel when i put it all back together, anyone with some info to help would be greatly appreciated, Aaron

[volksbugusa]

Aaron
when you say broken,do you mean that a piece of the plastic fuel rod guide broke off into the engine or is a piece just sitting in the bottom of the seat. very hard to get out if that is the case.let me know..
matt
volksbugusa

[volksbugusa]

using a large bolt, that was about 10 inches long. i screwed it in the broken piece with a wrench after sticking it through a metal bar with a hole in it. tapped the metal bar upward with a hammer and it still pulled the bolt out, i even tried heating the area around the piece in the case a little to loosen it up, nothing.
i then heated up the threaded end of the bolt good and hot with a torch and screwed it down in the broken flange piece. i let it cool down, and it was melted to the piece i needed out. several good hits with the hammer and it came out attached to the bolt. took a few hours to come to this solution, but i think it is alot better than just driving it down and letting it fall into the case. hope this helps someone else that has this problem.

[fatalifeaten]

Matt beat me to it I did the same thing with a piece of rod stock I had handy in the garage. works well as long as the plastic melts and you're patient. Using something threaded is even better as I worried the rod stock would slide loose from the plastic because it was smooth.

[volksbugusa]

fatalifeaten...I see that you have experienced the true life of a beetle
nice to meet you,,,,I wish more folks would use the on line chat.



let me say this when ever trying to remover a fuel pump flange you must always remove the studs,and TWIST the flange back and forth,NEVER pull up. just my two cents worth..To remove the studs you must use two nuts on the stud,tighten them real good and now remove the stud.I always like heating up the stud a little.JUST A LITTLE to make things expand .when replacing the studs use anti seize on the threads.
Matt
Volksbugusa

[bajaaaron66]

thanks guys for the ideas i am going to go try them right know, and yes the plastic flange was broken off inside, so when i went to pull it out the top was real easy so i believe its been broken for a while, i will let you all know soon if i get this fixed and thanks again for all the help, hay by the way Happy Easter, Aaron

[fatalifeaten]

I've sort of wondered why someone doesn't start shooting these out of a 5 axis CNC machine. I know it's probably just cheaper to block the whole turkey off and go with an electric rotary pump, but this is one place where VW made a bad engineering decision, IMO. Bakelite and high heat are just going to eventually lead to tears.

[SeeBlauKafer]

I've sort of wondered why someone doesn't start shooting these out of a 5 axis CNC machine. I know it's probably just cheaper to block the whole turkey off and go with an electric rotary pump, but this is one place where VW made a bad engineering decision, IMO. Bakelite and high heat are just going to eventually lead to tears.

Agreed, but I bet they also didn't bank on the active service life of their vehicles to be 40+ years either.

[bajaaaron66]

i decided to go with an electric fuel pump and i am putting it on this weekend, thanks again guys

[elkluvadore]

make sure to cover the opening where the fuel pump once was.