323i '96 E36 - remove petrol tank - United Bimmer Community

**inkjetter** · 03-28-2013, 12:51 AM

Hi all,

bmer been sitting for 4 years. Decided to get running again. Didn't start so took to mechanic. He said faulty fuel pump assembly & replaced, also the fuel filter, oil, etc.. Also said alot of crap in the petrol tank.

Picked up from mechanic, left sitting another week & then didn't start again. Mechanic said crap in the pump again, cleaned the petrol tank and started OK now.

Been driving about 200kms and now the petrol pump starts screaming. I decide to remove the petrol pump myself and find its covered in sh*t. The filter is blocked (hence the pump screaming). I clean it, put back in & no more screaming.

Since the tank is still full of sh*t, I now want to remove and clean it. Any pointers on removing it (like step-by-step)

? It's is located under the back seat (I'm in Australia so I do not know if the model here is different to other countries).

Big thanks in advance for any help

(do you work on the tank from underneath?
are there any screws to remove from inside the car?
car need to be on car stands?)

**inkjetter** · 03-28-2013, 02:41 AM

Ah, just found Bentley_BMW_3-Series_Service_Manual_(e36).pdf

Gee, gotta disconnect park brake, exhaust system, driveshaft !!

Maybe I'll try to clean it out from inside the car first, through the openings for the fuel pump assembly & fuel level sender on the other side.

Should I be able to get to the 'hard to get at places' using these 2 access points?

**3050rpm** · 03-29-2013, 07:08 AM

I had to remove the fuel tank from my car, but for different reasons. The Bentley manual as a helpful guide, but it's still an awful job, it took three guys to do it. Normally a fuel tank would be steam cleaned to remove contaminants, but obviously that can't be done while it's still attached to the car. My advice would be to see what you can do through the access panels. You might be able to siphon and sop up whatever's in there first, then spray or pour in a cleaner and work it around, siphon that out, repeat the process. Once everything's back together, change the fuel filter each month for the first two or three months afterwards.

**inkjetter** · 03-29-2013, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3050rpm

You might be able to siphon and sop up whatever's in there first

cheers, that's what I did

I notice that if I put the siphon hose on the bottom of the tank, and swoosh it around, a lot of the gunk came out with the petrol. My 20 litre drum couldn't hold all the tank's petrol, so I cleaned the tank as much as I could.

I'll drive around a bit more to use up some fuel and do the siphon job again.

"There's more than one way to skin a cat"