Fuel tank tech in june OTL

[bertbrumfield]

Great article! Clear and concise and to the point without being too wordy and confusing.

I would, maybe, have added two points.


1: The paragraph about the q-disconnects and possible damage, [sloppy reassembly and broken male fittings] are both related to the o-rings.

The BMW supplied o-rings are butyl rubber and not rated for gasoline contact. They swell on contact. This is the reason for the sloppy reassembly AND often the breaking of the male fitting. If you let the existing o-ring set overnite and dry out, it will shrink back to normal size. Otherwise, reassembly is very difficult. My local service manager [Carolina BMW] states that they ALWAYS install a new o-ring on reassembly.

The proper gasoline resistant o-ring material is viton and is available from bearing supply houses [if you purchase a minimum quantity].


2: I might have imphasized more strongly the need for care on reassembly. It is VERY easy to tangle the lines with the float arm and bend or misalign the float causing a wrong reading from the fuel guage. [Don't ask me how I know, DAMHIK]:eek:

Also, you might have put Anton's name on the article, as well as the contents page, to give him the credit that he deserves.

[AntonLargiader]

Good points about the fragility. I had an RT here last week, gushing gas down the side from a cracked fitting.

As for the swollen O-rings, are you talking about the large O-ring for the pump plate? Yes, that one sometimes swells but the one most known for it is the filler cap O-ring. The QD O-rings are not a problem in my experience.

Doesn't bother me that my name isn't on it, but thanks for the thought. I wish some other people would submit tech articles!

[Adam Arcane]

Why not ask them in OTL? I'll bet you'd get a good ad rate.