Tank Screen Removal - Pictorial
 

Here are some pics on how to remove the tank screen:

1. Drain the fuel. Clean the area before you remove the hose so not as much dirt will drop into the bucket you are using to catch the fuel.

2. Remove the fuel hose and then remove the insert. I think it takes a 19 or 20mm wrench.

3. A pic of the insert removed.

4. A pic of the tank screen still in the car.

5. Picture of special 46mm socket need to remove the tank screen.

Good luck,

Scott

Nice pictorial.
Was your screen groady? Any pics of it?
How much for the special tool? - Where did you buy it?

thanks!

Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera handy when the screen was out but there are plenty of pics here of a tank screen if you search.

The weird thing with my screen is that it wasn't gunked up at all. However, when I ran water through it, I noticed the water was only coming out on parts of the screen, not through all of it. I held it up to my mouth and blew through the screen and noticed there was some kind of transparent film built up around most of the screen that was preventing fuel from flowing through.

After I cleaned up the screen, I blew out all the fuel lines and ran two cans of diesel purge through the injectors. They were so gunked up, the diesel purge was turning black! The car runs SO much better now. It used to hesitate at higher rpms and even slow down for no reason at higher speeds. Now I know why!

You can buy that special tool here:
http://www.baumtools.com/

It's around $62.

Good luck,

Scott

I got a 46mm socket at Northern Tools for something like $9.00 bucks.
Having had a couple of wagons, I forget how different the fuel tanks are.....

Jimmy...

will that 46mm work for all tank screens?

I'm going to drain all the fuel from the 380 when I go pick it up next week and plan to replace the tank screen as well as the supply/return lines there.

I have it on good authority that my 46mm socket will fit almost every 46mm nut/bolt..........:D :D
Depends on the tank screen size of your 380. You know I don't know anything about gassers.......[or hardly diesels, for that matter....] ;)

Man, that fuel coming out of you tank looks AWFUL! You need to get some biodiesel in that! :rolleyes:

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Thanks for the photos!

-Jim

I would love to use it if I could get my hands on some!

Scott

alternate tool?
 

Hey everyone who has done this job, what do you think of this socket?

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/sk34096.html

Not sure if the sidewalls are too thick and too large overall diameter to fit, as there are no OD dimensions. Any opinions by eyeballing it?

A 1-13/16" socket will also work if you can't find a 46mm. I got one at TSC for about $10.

I had a hard time removing the fuel screen the first time I did it with mine because I think some jacka$$ over-torqued the screen and another jacka$$ tried taking it off probably with channel locks or some Amish wrench and wasn't able to take it off and complete the job, so I ended up doing the pain of labor of their half-a$$ job. Anyway to make the story short, after all the cussing, chiseling and hammering, I finally turned and loosen it off the tank and was able to take it off.

What I did, to make the job easier the next time I'm going change it, is this:

1. By putting the new fuel screen on a vise, I installed the fuel hose with the metal fitting to the fuel screen. I put some locktite/thread-lock on the metal fitting before installing it.

2. Then install the fuel screen with the fuel hose installed, and tighten it just enough through the metal fitting by using the approriate sized wrench (I don't remember the exact size mm wrench) Be sure that the O-ring is in place.

3. So the next time I'm going to do it again, after draining the diesel out, I dont have to use that big sized socket to remove the fuel screen. I can easily loosen the fuel screen by using the proper size mm wrench through the metal fitting of the fuel hose.

The only down-side of this trick is, you'll need to change the fuel hose everytime you change the fuel screen, which isn't that bad actually.

What vehicle is this?
 

:confused: What vehicle is this?

Bought the socket/adaptor (nope, no 3/4 drive wrenches around here) along with a nice torque-wrench; All from Production tool supply (any Michigan people should be shopping here for tools - they have a GREAT catalogue)

all for under $100 (torque wrench was $60, socket + adaptor was $30)


All I have to do is wait until my tank is nearly empty...

besides the sidewalls being probagbly too think, the hex is down inside the socket a bit. you would probably need to turn the face of the socket in a lathe so the hex is rite at the face of the tool. make sense ? well, at least the material is softer than the chrome sockets. . . . .

Depends on the rockwell hardness.

I've turned some chromed sockets down before (see "Lead-in on sockets") you shouldnt have a problem with it as long as the cutting tool's M2 or harder (I like Carbide, or Cermet) Cermet comes it handy with hard-turning; I've turned M2-tool steel "punches" (Danley IEM punches, at that) that were 55hrc.