Former VWDieselParts.com Forum

So last idea before I get this back together. Some people have posted about removing that in tank screen entirely and running either an in line filter or no filter other than the one in the engine bay. Anyone here have experience with this?. I really don't want to have this problem again and it is much easier to change the filter in the engine bay.

Just do it.

Well, thank you for the vote of confidence. Lol. It seems from what I can see though that there might be some other narrow passage ways after the screen. I wouldn't want those to get gunked up and there was a lot of crap in the tank. I think unless I can get that whole plastic assembly out I'm going to have to keep the screen.

Pretty common for the rubber diaphram below the screen to disintegrate, then everything bypasses the screen anyway.
I can't remember what the inside of a truck tank looks like but there might be a rubber hose on the end of the metal line going from the plastic pickup box to the edge of the tank. That usually breaks down and leaks. Might be a nice thing to fix while the tank is out.
I just did a short writeup on the vortex about how i fix it.

If you did get rid of the intank screen and it did build up a bridge of crud on the tank exit hose; you could shove a brush back up the tube and break it up.
If you keep the intank screen and it clogs you'll have to drop the tank every time it clogs,.. unless you cut an access hole in the bed.

Here is what my contraption looks like. The screen sits in the little circle. The diaphragm is intact and looks like new. I feel stupid for not being able to understand what seems like a simple mechanism but I don't see how fuel goes through the screen and past that diaphragm. It looks like a blind pouch. I see that the feeder line is going down below everything but how does the fuel get there? Does the screen push down on that diaphragm? Will it not work without the screen?

That does look nasty.
I think there is a thin space between the plastic and diaphram where the fuel flows.
It will work without the screen because it'll all be submerged in fuel.
Looks way cleaner now.

Just to post a conclusion of the story I had cut the screens out of the strainer and put in basically a skeleton just to make sure that nothing was missing that would cause a problem. I am running an external fuel strainer in line with the feeder hose. The truck is up and running like a champ. Hopefully when the strainer gets clogged again it will be a snap to clean because I won't have to drop the tank. Thank you for all the help.

Also just to mention I completely bypassed the gravity valve that was by the fuel filler neck which had broken. It is running straight to the vent line that goes into the engine bay. I have not had any issues yet.

If that line plugs it will,... ok it CAN collapse your tank.
If dirt or a bug crawl into the end of it traggidy ensues.
I stick a clear plastic fuel filter on the end of some of mine.

On all my cars I have a dash-mounted vacuum gauge on my fuel line so I'd know if the tank vent was clogging way before it became a problem.
You should have one too.
Do a little search around here and read up on it.