Author Topic: Bavaria 36 (2003) VDO fuel sender removal  (Read 4006 times)

Oz-Bavarian

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Bavaria 36 (2003) VDO fuel sender removal
« on: July 19 2016, 05:54 »
I have a 2003 Bavaria 36 and the fuel tank sender unit is faulty (It is a VDO) unit.
I can remove all of the stainless steel machine bolts holding the sender unit into the top of the plastic diesel tank except one!

This last screw just rotates so I assume that their is a nut embedded in the plastic of the fuel tank and this is rotating in its moulding.

Can anyone advise how this last bolt can be removed WITHOUT damaging the plastic fuel tank???

Any an all advice would be appreciated, especially if you have come across the same problem.
 :(

Harry Brown

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Re: Bavaria 36 (2003)
« Reply #1 on: July 19 2016, 14:13 »
You may be able to drill the head off by holding the drill at an angle to the head of the bolt. Its hard to explain but I have done it.
Additionally, you could try a high speed grinder with a HST Burr, like below, again using it at an angle, so not to spin the screw/bolt in it's housing.


Salty

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Re: Bavaria 36 (2003)
« Reply #2 on: July 19 2016, 23:25 »
Another possibility might be to lift the side of the fitting opposite to that where the bolt and its nut are rotating. The now angled top fitting then puts extra pressure on the nut which may be sufficient to hold it steady while the bolt is unscrewed. If you are lucky this will do the trick, but remember to keep the pressure on as the screw is undone. Keeping the pressure on may require that you put a wedge such as the tip of a flat screwdriver under the top fitting and in the immediate vicinity of the bolt you are trying to remove, thereby keeping the pressure on until eventually the bolt separates from the nut. Good luck when you come to refitting the bolt, as that nut will still be loose unless you have managed to secure it. If there's one thing that diesel oil is good at finding, it's somewhere to leak through, and a leaking fuel tank even at the top of the tank is something that you really will want to avoid.

Oz-Bavarian

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Re: Bavaria 36 (2003)
« Reply #3 on: July 20 2016, 02:23 »
Another possibility might be to lift the side of the fitting opposite to that where the bolt and its nut are rotating. The now angled top fitting then puts extra pressure on the nut which may be sufficient to hold it steady while the bolt is unscrewed. If you are lucky this will do the trick, but remember to keep the pressure on as the screw is undone. Keeping the pressure on may require that you put a wedge such as the tip of a flat screwdriver under the top fitting and in the immediate vicinity of the bolt you are trying to remove, thereby keeping the pressure on until eventually the bolt separates from the nut. Good luck when you come to refitting the bolt, as that nut will still be loose unless you have managed to secure it. If there's one thing that diesel oil is good at finding, it's somewhere to leak through, and a leaking fuel tank even at the top of the tank is something that you really will want to avoid.

I tried that for about 0.5hrs last Sunday all to no avail. It is impossible to get enough pressure to stop the nut which seems to be slipping around in a well burred / lubricated by diesel rounded plastic hole!!!!

Oz-Bavarian

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Re: Bavaria 36 (2003)
« Reply #4 on: July 20 2016, 02:25 »
You may be able to drill the head off by holding the drill at an angle to the head of the bolt. Its hard to explain but I have done it.
Additionally, you could try a high speed grinder with a HST Burr, like below, again using it at an angle, so not to spin the screw/bolt in it's housing.

I think that it what I might have to do! Thanks for the response.