D5 (D5244T to 2005) Water in my Diesel Tank ...

[chopper_harris]

Bernard

My initial thought is that the two halves of the tank are not of equal volume ?

If the LHS were say 60%, and the RHS 40% of the total capacity, that would explain why you run dry before the gauge reads 50% (as you would expect).

When you run out, switch on the ignition to get the pump spinning, and vigorously rock the car side-side to get the fuel splooshing over the centre section.

If it starts, then you have the same issue as me - LHS syphon failure.

[chopper_harris]

OK, here is what I did. I focussed on the RHS, as I did not expect any issues upon reassembly of the LHS element.

1, Disconnect the battery live terminal.

2, Unbolt the RHS (double width) seat back, release the connector at the hinge and the seatbelt earth straps. Remove the sound insulation sheet.

3, Remove the two cover plates, and thoroughly vacuum up all of the road crap which sneaks up between the tank top and boot floor.

Push down gently on the white fuel hose lock rings, whilst pulling the connectors off.



4, Unless you have the OEM tool, get two 18" screwdrivers, cross the shanks and turn anticlockwise to release the locking ring 1/2 turn max.



Stop, and vacuum up the fresh crud which has been disturbed.


5, Repeat 4 for the LHS ring. Unclip the syphon from the sender, and small electrical connector. Extract LHS sender. Tie a cord or wire around the syphon, to aid refitting when done (You have to pull it back across to the LHS).



6, Lift the RHS pump body clear of the tank. Watch out that you keep the ping-pong ball type float below the pump body, or it will foul the tank on the way out.



The fuel xfer umbilical is quite stiff, you have to give it a fair tug to shift it.

Have a large bowl handy to catch the pump assy, and plenty of newspapers to cover the bodywork. The RHS float assy is full of fuel, as is the sheath on the umbilical



7, Drain the offending liquor - I had pumped both sides - this is what I found.
To avoid any possible contamination, I wrapped a clean rag on a 12" socket extension, and wiped down both tank halves. This is unnecessary if you have petrol-diesel contamination, the residual quantity will be harmless.





8, Remove the green sealing gaskets on either side, and clean under them with a cotton bud. This is critical to ensure a fuel tight seal.



9, Reassembly is largely the reverse of the above, it is helpful to have an assistant pull the LHS feed across whilst you juggle the RHS pump into place.

Both units have an embossed arrow, which should be pointing to the tailgate.
Reassemble the syphon head into the LHS sender body, and refit sender wire.

(This is the area I need to go revisit to check for error/blockage, I am annoyed I did not photograph it before reassembly, but it looked obvious)


HTH

Chopper

[Bernard333]

Chopper , great set of photos and extremely useful for me , thanks for posting this .

[craig8661]

that diesel in the pop bottle looks very much like a heavy dose of bio unless its just how the camra took the photo
one thing i have lernt about the diesel engines esp the pug in the vitaras the pumps dont stand any mistreatment ither by water or dirty fuel the latist vitara we brought had a new low presure pump and a high preasure pump due to water in the diesel i cant answer on the swirl fault but will follow this one with interest

[Laney760]

Originally Posted by chopper_harris

Hey Guys

It's nice to be back, after the down time.

Following a recent trip to the Irish Republic, the V70 started running very poorly.
We had refuelled about 80 miles out of Dublin, at a hick town garage (no offence intended). We were almost out, so there was no option.

We made it home, and dropping the fuel filter showed lots of water/diesel emulsion - no alternative but for a drain down and wash out.

Removing the LHS sender and RHS sender/pump were not a real issue, and with the assistance of a spotty youth (#1 son) you can get an arm inside the tank to really wipe it down with a little TFR and clean cloth.

Top tip - use a vacuum cleaner to suck up all the crap which accumulates around the tank locking rings - before it ends up in the tank.

So far so good, but I got something wrong during the refit. I added 4 gallons to a bone dry tank, ignition on for 20 seconds and she started 2nd turn.

Went for a run, and she died after about 15 miles. Removing the filter confirmed it was bone dry.
Ignition on, rock the car side-side to refill the RHS tank, and we are good to go.


So, either I have kinked the cross tank feed, or knackered the mechanism in some other way.

Can anyone help with a schematic, or pointer to a detailed description of how fuel is pulled from left to right ?
There is no pump on the LHS - I recall that the cross pipe is clipped along the pump body and terminates in a U shaped plastic part inside the pump frame.

How the *** does the fuel get from left to right ?
I've searched the previous petrol/diesel posts, but am non the wiser.


Suggestions on a postcard, please.


I have taken lots of detailed photos' which I'll post up in a new thread over the next couple of days.

Regards, as always

Chopper

Here is a diagram of the original V70 diesel fuel system (WITH necessary adjustments made to convert to SWO) but you should be able to see what fuel lines went where from this to check if you have reassembled correctly:


http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache...0eng.html+v70+

[Laney760]

From that same page, last few sentences irrelevant:

'The Volvo tank is a so called saddle tank meaning its bottom is raised lin the forward/rear direction of the car due to the fact that the exhaust pipe is running right beneath it. This makes the tank more or less a tank with two seperate halves. As the fuel pump is mounted on the righthandside of the tank this would mean that the left hand side of the tank could not be fully used. Volvo has solved this problem by pumping the lefthand side of the tank into the righthand side when the righthand side reaches a certain low level. The internal fuel tank pump is used for this so it can not be removed. However the pump also powers up every time the engine is beeing started. This is an unwanted action as it would mean that during starting SVO would be pumped to the manifold. Therefor the pressure line from the pump is disconnected in the tank from the tank cover. The lefthand side fuel is now being pumped in the basket. in this basket a new short hose is installed which will be the suction line for the external SVO pump'

[chopper_harris]

I love the interweb, so many folks with useful links and luv and stuff

It's just like '67 all over again (pass me that spliff)

Rgds

Chopps

[Laney760]

Originally Posted by chopper_harris

I love the interweb, so many folks with useful links and stuff

It's just like '67 all over again (pass me that spliff)

Rgds

Chopps

Well, you have to smoke something to give you the patience to surf for what appears to be the only diagram of the V70 diesel fuel system (abeit having been converted to veggie oil)

[shimon340]

hi Bernard!

how are things going with your D5? howard mentioned that you had been in contact.

is it sorted now?

kind regards

shimon

[Bernard333]

Hi Shimon , good thanks , yes I phoned Howard sounds like a good bloke he obviously knows Volvos very well . Unfortuantely its sods law working against me , am in Glasgow this week and then back to Ireland and cant get down to Man/Liv this trip . Following the advice from Chopper and Clan am going to tackle the fuel pump problem myself as I think this is the reason the car is stopping dead , but the second problem of sudden power loss I think have now ruled out the elec fuel pump and the fuel filter and think its something happening in the engine bay which may be way over my capability so will get it into Howard eventually. Bernard