gas tank help?

how much gas should my gas tank hold?

i have a 1970 beetle

bout nearly 30 bucks worth

about 10 to 10 1/2 gal

i have ran outta gas a couple times so i was like let me see how much till i fill up

and it took 4.5 then spit it back at me

guess i need a new tank?

vw chick is right,10 to 10.5 gal.if you are "running out of gas" and it will only accept 4.5 gal,then you have other issues.
have you pulled the sending unit out and looked inside the tank?there may be a bunch of crud in the tank that clogs up the
little screen sock in the bottom of the tank.i have seen a tank where the screen was missing,a flake of rust would clog up
the tube going to the fuel line.when the car would "run out of gas" you could pull the hose off the fuel pump inlet and blow back to the tank.
it would unclog and run fine for a while.till it clogged again.

It's probably not a bad idea to restore the gas tank on any of these old bugs, most are rusty inside after all the years.

now, mine will always spit gas back at me when it gets to about 1/2 way filled, but my problem, is my vent is clogged, or partially clogged, because i can drive down the highway for hours, and when i undo the cap, you can hear a loud PSHHHHHHHT sound (i prolly should fix that, before my tank folds in half, liek that one guy did on here, lol). but when filling up i have to hold the nozzle about half way out, and aim the gas stream right into the tube. if i let it splash against the side, it will shoot out, bacause the air trying to escape from the tank, pushes the splash back at me. or you can pump the gas slowly, but it takes forever to fill up to 10 gallons. i know my tank holds 11.5 gallons (super beetle), and it takes a long time to fill up, lol.

it looks to be a new tank po said it was w/ new sending unit

and i checked the vents today and the carb and fuel pump

i over filled it so i cant qite do that im gunna let it run really low again then ill take a look

Check to se if your vapor locking as well. When you think you have ran out again, look in your filter and see if it has gas, have a rag and an empy soda bottle handy and pull off the hose going into the carb. Put the hose in the bottle and turn it over and see if any gas comes out. If so then move on to your carb, might be a sticky float or trash in there. If not take the inlet hose to the pump and try and siphon gas out of it, either you will get no suction (clogged line/tank), air (out of gas), or a mouth full of gas ,this is good, move onto fuel pump and carb.

well i didnt chech this time

but the first time there was no gas in the filter

Where is your filter located? Pre or post pump?

near the carb
after the pump

You'r prolly gonna want to relocate that filter before the pump (preferably under the gas tank), because the weight of the gas in the filter WILL cause the barb on the carb, to wiggle loose, as the engine runs (the fittin on the carb is pressed in). this has happened to a few friends of mine. Three of them had their cars catch on fire, and burn up (one was a bug, one was a ghia, and the other was a single cab). a few others just had gas pour over their motor, and luckily didn't catch on fire. Even tho this prolly isn't your issue, i'd definately change it before it does.

As for the current problem, make sure the gas line isn't near the exhaust, on the flywheel side of the motor. it can't be anywhere near it. even if its like 2 or 3 inches away the heat will radiate to the line, heat up the gas, and will turn the gas to vapor, which will prevent the car from running. If thats not the issue, then just disconnect the line from the tank and blow some air thru the line, to see if the metal line running thru the tunnel is clear. sometimes this line will get badly rusted inside, and clog up periodically. also check that tank if you haven't done so already.

what metal line haha

i have to change the line under my car its rubber the po did that.
(which is tims vw)

buggin70 wrote:what metal line haha

i have to change the line under my car its rubber the po did that.
(which is tims vw)

ummm....... note to self "Never go to tims vw and have them do work on my car"

I had run a vent line under my car, and something ripped it out a few days afterwards. How incredibly unsafe . i'd definately replace that. At the very least, run the line inside, and make sure you use grommets anywhere you drill thru. but i would definately just buy a metal line. advance auto has an assortment of metal lines, and the longest one is under $10. I've actually never replaced the line thru the tunnel myself. i have removed them tho (project cars), and it wasn't too hard. i'd prolly coat the line in some really hard paint, like POR15, or rust bullet, cuz it will get scratched while running thru the tunnel, which will lead to rust later on.

With your current situation, it seems you really should just redo all the lines (rubber and metal). if you have the cash, you might want to splurge for the silicone fuel line, which lasts a lot longer then rubber, and is resistant to ethonal. Its a special blue line, and its wrapped. At my local hydrolic shop it costs around $25 for 6 feet, which is a little over $6 a foot. its pretty pricey but worth it. i had bought some about 2 years ago, and when i replaced it, it still looked new (my fault, accidentally cut it when cutting a wire, knife slipped, and cut a nice gash in the line, and my finger ), versus the rubber line i had installed at the same time, was noticeably harder, and started to corrode a little (could see rubber powder in the filter, and when i cut the line open, and ran my finger along the inside, and it was black with rubber).

yea my grandpa has metal lines i can use and plenty o gromments haha


he has my car at the shop now he is gunna pull the tank and all that jazz so hope fully he will fun the steel line too why its all apart

ill tell him about that stuff u were talkin bout

yea we could sue him for that u cant sell a car like that but we dont and he got flooded anyway soooo....