BMW E30 Gas Tank, Fuel Lines, Filler Neck & Fuel Vapor Expansion Tank Installation Guide

BMW E30 Gas Tank, Fuel Lines, Filler Neck & Fuel Vapor Expansion Tank Installation Guide | 021

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2 жыл бұрын

BMW E30 Gas Tank, Fuel Lines, Filler Neck & Fuel Vapor Expansion Tank Installation Guide | 021
In this BMW E30 project car episode, I finally get the fuel system refitted to the car including the gas tank, the fuel vapor expansion tank, and get all of the associated fuel lines hooked back up into the correct positions.
Here is that 12.7mm ID/20mm OD Fuel Hose: ebay.us/tZtt8M
Having done the underseal on the rear underside of the car, I'm very excited for the E30 build to enter its reassembly phase. At least for the rear end anyway!
The fuel tank I repaired a hole on and refinished in silver in a previous video is finally ready to be refitted.
Fuel BMW E30 fuel tank mounts up quite simply with 4 screws and one nut. I reused the old fasteners having refinished and plated them with zinc nickel.
Actually installing the fuel tank was quite easy, which is lucky as is had to drop it on at least 2 occasions in this video.
With that experience, I can confirm that when fitting the fuel system to a BMW E30, you must start by connecting up and fitting the fuel vapour expansion tank which lives above the filler neck in the wheel arch. The reason for this is that there is a line which routes through the body of the car and connects to the top of the fuel tank, and you will not be able to thread it through with the tank in place.
One of the common problems with an E30 fuel system is the petrol tank breather line, again this runs through the body of the car connecting between the top of the petrol tank itself and the fuel filler neck.
Once your fuel expansion bottle is refitted you can rehang the fuel filler neck and connect up that breather hose. Mine had ended up completely fossilised and rotten, so I replaced it with the hose linked above, cutting it down to 125cm in length.
The inner diameter of my replacement hose is 12.7mm which is just a little smaller than the original BMW item, but the closest I could source. With a bit of easing using a heat gun, this hose fits onto the connectors on both the fuel neck and gas tank side just fine.
With the fuel level sensor and fuel pump also plugged back in, all that's left to do is refit the arch liner and heat shields which protect the petrol tank from the heat of the exhaust.
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Пікірлер: 38

@BadE30 2 жыл бұрын

This is just the video I require as I’m coming up to restoring my fuel system! Great video as always

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate, if you do it in the right order you will be able to avoid dropping the tank as many times as me. 😂 Great to be finally putting things back on the car though, I'm sure you'll feel the same.

@BadE30 Жыл бұрын

@@SPANNERRASHjust came back to this vid as I’m trying to see what brackets i need to re make in the wheel well, all three of mine are bad..

@SPANNERRASH Жыл бұрын

@@BadE30 Hope I got some clear shots for you in the vid mate. Bad luck on them all being done, but at least you'll know they're right when you've put them in yourself. 😄

@mariosnikolaou5212 2 жыл бұрын

It turned out really nice!

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Marios, I'm really happy to see these parts finally go back on! :)

@Zam786 2 жыл бұрын

Looks great!

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😁

@e30_318is_project 2 жыл бұрын

Looking goooddd

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Marco! 😁

@carlharvey8192 2 жыл бұрын

Happy birthday 🎂 🥳

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

😂 I think you're a bit off with the date there, Carl. But it's the thought that counts!

@002-b9s 2 жыл бұрын

Hope you share with us also how will you manage to start the engine which didn't runned for some couple months Mine is on stand since last year, I was thinking on what I can do before cranking it for the first time after this long

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

To be honest, I am expecting it to pretty much just fire straight up once I've added fuel and the pump is primed. Although I will probably turn it over a bit with no ignition to make sure the oil pressure builds like before. When it comes time to fit the M52B28 engine I have on a stand, I will need to be much more careful though, as its been drained of oil for quite a while. I'll probably put a bit of oil down the cylinders and turn the engine over with a spanner on the crank quite a few times before actually turning it over with a starter motor.

@GypsyTales420 Жыл бұрын

Did you replace the two small plastic lines that run beside the breather ? If so any links?

@SPANNERRASH Жыл бұрын

Strangely they were in perfect condition when cleaned up so I reused them. They're a very strange type of tube but maybe any fuel safe line of the right diameter would work if yours are shot.

@selespeed3 7 ай бұрын

Time for me to check the vapor expansion tank. and open up everything like you did. I open my fuel cap a few times to let og of pressurized air in intervals of like 2 hours,. strange that each time I open pressure built up inside, even I have not used the car. For instance, after parking my car I open the fuel cap to let go of pressurized air. then the next day i do it again and to my surprise, there is trapped pressurized air. Why?

@SPANNERRASH 7 ай бұрын

That's strange it can build up so much pressure without even running. However, changes in temperature can have an impact on the volume of fuel.

@selespeed3 7 ай бұрын

perhaps. the engine runs without much acceleration. it is becoming difficult to to revv higher. it cant even do 5000 rpm in 5th gear, as if there is wind resistance. It is just not optimized. something to do with timing or insufficient fuel? I have the e36 m42 engine in e30 1. is this due to pressure build-up inside tank causing fuel pump unable to to pump high pressure? 2. can old oxygen sensor be the culprit?@@SPANNERRASH

@SPANNERRASH 6 ай бұрын

@@selespeed3 Hmm sounds difficult to diagnose. If you drive without the fuel cap on briefly (mind the fuel splash) does it solve the engine's reluctance to rev? That would tell you very quickly if the issues are related. You might have multiple ongoing issues.

@jasper6004 2 жыл бұрын

There is a glass fiber replica fuel line cover around as the original rusts away quickly again. I bought the original just before finding out about the replica one.

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

I spotted that recently too, its a great idea, the standard type are pretty much designed to rust haha. Unfortunately I got an OE one and refinished it before I found out too. 🙃 Luckily I didn't pay full price from BMW for new.

@robgeibert5971 Жыл бұрын

Hi, how do I get the air out of the fuel lines? Got vapour lock ,fuel is boiling through the system,misfiring and severe engine vibration, whole car is shaking. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks .😎

@SPANNERRASH Жыл бұрын

Hi Rob, interesting one as I've been lucky enough to avoid that so not much first-hand experience to share. However, one thought is to feed fuel into the lines from the engine side using something like a syringe. Another idea would be to use a vacuum to draw fuel up through the lines. Hopefully you won't have to drain it and try from scratch. Hope it works out for you! 🙏

@selespeed3 7 ай бұрын

my fuel tank is pressurized and each time i opne the fuel cap pressure escapes. My system does not have the carbon canister. It was removeby previous mechanic. How do I bypass this to depressure the tank of vapor.

@SPANNERRASH 7 ай бұрын

Hi mate, ahh that sounds like you definitely have a problem to solve. The fuel tank has a breather system connecting all the way between the engine intake manifold and the fuel tank itself, with that weird vapor expansion tank found hidden in the rear wheel arch. My UK spec E30 didn't have a carbon cannister, but this would also be something in-line on that system for emissions reasons. I think the charcoal cannister would be in or near the engine bay? If the previous owner has "deleted" it. They might have simply capped the breather line off, which would explain the symptoms of your pressure problems. My advice would be to either re-join the intake manifold to the breather line somehow, or simply remove the cap so it can breathe to atmosphere. Hope that helps!

@selespeed3 7 ай бұрын

@@SPANNERRASH Thanks for reply mate. I went under the car just now. There are 3 lines running in parallel on the bottom left - breather line, return fuel and inlet fuel (to fuel filter). The breather line (fatter thicker one) is cut off right below the steering fluid reservoir. This one is supposed to be connected to the carbon canister. But since this is removed (or I have not seen any) and the hose is not plugged, why is pressure still built up in tank? I checked it thoroughly, the hose is simply cut and left hanging there. Shouldn't any vapor built-in tank escape through this hose? 1. If a unplugged hose does not solve the pressure inside-tank problem, how would connecting this to throttle body solve the problem? 2. Your suggestion to remove the fuel cap would mean gasoline would splash out of the tank. Your system also does not have carbon canister. How do you solve this pressure-buildup problem?

@SPANNERRASH 7 ай бұрын

@@selespeed3 Interesting, so you are seeing an uncapped fuel breather line beneath the power steering reservoir. That seems like a good start on the investigation. It may be that the line is plugged at the fuel tank end. That's what I would check next. If not, there may be an issue with your fuel vapor tank in the wheel arch. I think this works as a non-return valve, if its stuck it might be your issue. Also check out the hoses tucked behind the strut, these are the breather hoses and the cover can often rust and cause the hoses to collapse. Here are answers to your questions. 1. It wont solve the problem. But the original BMW design was to connect between the breather and the inlet. 2. Definitely don't leave the fuel cap off :D When I said leave it uncapped, I meant the breather line. I'm not sure about my own yet, but I'm planning to connect my fuel breather line to the inlet manifold on my M52 engine, and I've already checked the fuel vapor tank and lines are all clear so I'm hopeful it will not have a similar issue.

@Driezeuh Жыл бұрын

Is yours facelift or prefacelift ? In doubt which one to order ....

@SPANNERRASH Жыл бұрын

My car is a 1990 facelift coupe. I think there are quite a few differences with the earlier cars.

@bmwe3063 3 ай бұрын

How many liter feul plz??

@SPANNERRASH 3 ай бұрын

This tank is almost definitely the 55L standard version. Later M20 cars and touring got a larger 63L tank which has the extra drop on the shallower side to hold more fuel.

@DeShawnsgarage Жыл бұрын

That’s interesting. I’m currently doing the same job on my 325is. My fuel filler pipe doesn’t have that extra port at the top of the filler neck where you installed the hose that connects to the top of the ventilation tank

@SPANNERRASH Жыл бұрын

They vary quite a bit it seems, is your E30 a pre-facelift model?

@DeShawnsgarage Жыл бұрын

@@SPANNERRASH it’s an ‘88 (US Model) which ended up being the year the e30 maintained the diving board bumpers but had the late model valence.

@becomematrix 2 жыл бұрын

are you planning to put in a different engine?

@SPANNERRASH 2 жыл бұрын

Yep, I'm planning to swap an M52B28 engine into this car. I already have the engine on a stand ready. But I think I will put the car back together as a 316 M40 first. I need to be able to move it around again as I have other cars needing work, and it's been hogging the garage for too long. 😂

@becomematrix 2 жыл бұрын

@@SPANNERRASH hehe all in good time