Tom in Austin

Just finished changing my internal fuel pump .. all went well until I went to fasten the 'tank straps' back in place. With all the twisting and bending I had to do to get a wrench on the pump, I must have bent the whole thing a little out of shape.

The top of straps where the bolts go are now about an inch below where they are supposed to meet up to the body. When I get the bolts back in and tighten them, pulling the straps up into place that last inch, is there a risk of deforming or bending the tank? Hopefully the thing being made of plastic it can flex a little. To be on the safe side, if I see the tank squishing, how about leaving the bolts a little short of all the way tightened?

Not sure what got bent where, so I doubt I can push the strap thing back into its original shape.

danglerb

Mine was a bit of a tight fit due to slightly thicker than stock padding that I used, and the bolts stopped turning "easily" with about half an inch to go. I took it slow and worked my way around tightening each a few turns and moving on until all were cinched down. Make sure nothing is blocking or binding.

Mrmerlin

Did the tank drop down?,
did you remove the inlet tank collar bolt?
Is it possible that the vent tube has gotten caught/bent out of place
It may possible that one of the tank pods has fallen out of place

Leon Speed

Getting the straps back in can be tricky. Like danglerb when I replaced the padding I had a hell of a time to even get the bolts in the back to start. Only way to do it is to loosen all bolts and have them start a few turns. Then tighten them evenly by going around and turning them a few turns at a time.

Tom in Austin

Didn't drop the tank, in fact I doubt if it moved at all. Something seems to hold it in place, I couldn't budge it in any direction.

I removed the two rear bolts and loosened the one you can reach just behind the tire. There's a fourth bolt somewhere around the back, probably close to the differential. Never touched that one, I was able to flex the assembly enough to get at the pump without touching that bolt.

What is the function of the straps anyway, just to provide a mounting point for the pumps/filter? To stabilize the tank in place when it's laden with fuel?

Leslie 928 S2

The strap holds the tank, pump AND filter. There's also a vent line running through the chassis that might be holding the tank up there. HTH.

Mrmerlin

make sure that the hose and elex lines that run under the tank are not getting pinched its possible that they have moved, you can also remove the side protection plate in the RR wheel well that runs up the side of the tank to inspect the hose and elex lines

Brent

Hey Tom, so what condition was the intank pump in when you got it out?

Tom in Austin

Ok, got it all back together now. I went to hardware store and got a longer bolt, that helped push the strap on one side back up closer. Then I used my floor jack and a carefully-placed block of wood to push the other strap up until I could start its' bolt a couple of turns. Working back and forth I got both of the bolts going and as they pulled the straps up into place there was no apparent effect on the tank. I used another block of wood to tap the plate at the bottom a little on one side ... to push it sideways a little until each strap fit back into the 'shadow' marks at the original location.

Bottom line, both are tight and no ill effects on anything.

BTW, the coupling on the in-tank pump was split about one-third of the way around. I'm sure it would have stranded me somewhere.

With the new pump the engine is noticeably smoother and feels really muscular at lower speeds. Also accelerates more stronger at freeway speeds. Didn't hear any pinging, that's supposed to be another benefit.

Thanks for everyone's encouragement and suggestions. Glad now I set it aside yesterday afternoon and let it go until today to take a fresh look at the problem. Somehow, that always helps when working on a 928 :-)

danglerb

There is a metal tab on the filler neck that bolts to the chassis.

Rob Edwards

I have found the dirtiest part on my GTS. No idea how it all got in there, but I dropped the tank straps in order to replace the fuel tank, and found the electrical harness and fuel line literally encased in dirt. (For those that haven't messed around with this, the wiring and fuel line pass thru a very small rectangular space on the right side of the cradle, they're frickin' tight.) The strap foam was completely shot as well. I replaced the foam strips (7 lengths, about 7 feet in all). Much better now.

Before:



After:

roberth58

Rob, what did you use to replace the strap foam?

thanks

Bob

Rob Edwards

Bob-

the factory foam stripping is still available. It's 999 911 227 40. $8 at 928Intl.

danglerb

Huh, I never thought about using factory foam strips, didn't occur to me they were available or even a separate part.

OTOH I think I prefer the Gorilla extreme tape duct tape type stuff I used on my second tank strap refurb.

Rob Edwards

You might find cheaper stuff, but as big a PITA as it is to get the straps back up into position, I wouldn't want to use anything thicker than the factory foam. For $8 a roll I think the factory stuff is the way to go.