swirlpot questions

[bhardy]

A friend af mine is going to try and make a new swirlpot for my 1988 350i. A mechanic took the thing out so i don't know how it fits exactly. Mine looks like a small pot with two pipes (one big and one small) on one side and a medium size one on the other end.

Is this fuel input and reverse from the engine on one side and output on the other?

How does it fit between the tanks, below or in the middle?

There is a plastic thing inside which floates, what's it for and can you leave it out?

How is the swirlpot fitted? Does it hang on the fuellines? It's going to been stainless steal so will it will weigh a little more.

Thanks!
Bernard

[GreenV8S]

Obviously you're talking abouit the fuel swirl pot not the one in the cooling system, had me going for a minute there! If its any help, the bible shows the swirl pot having two feeds to it at one end (one from each tank) and a single outlet at the other end going to the pump, with the return from the engine going directly to one tank (the picture shows a single filler on one tank and the return goes to the other tank). Yes I guess this will normally pump the fuel from one tank to the other so you might get some funny distribution problems but that seems to be how it works. Your description doesn't quite match this design so I suspect yours is different. In any case I suspect the basic layout will be similar.

Surely the mechanic who removed the old swirl tank knows how it was supported and plumbed in? If he doesn't, give him a slap and ask him again, repeat as necessary!

[bhardy]

GreenV8S said:

Surely the mechanic who removed the old swirl tank knows how it was supported and plumbed in? If he doesn't, give him a slap and ask him again, repeat as necessary!

Thanks for the advice!! Don't have his private phonenumber and going to ask him monday to fit it, but the chap who is going to make the swirlpot is making it this weekend hence the questions. The mechanic is great, he removed the swirlpot, sorted the whole thing out and worked overtime so i could take my car to Zolder!! A few weeks before that he replaced my fuellines (one was leaking badly) an hour before a rally started!

[pies]

GreenV8S said:

Surely the mechanic who removed the old swirl tank knows how it was supported and plumbed in? If he doesn't, give him a slap and ask him again, repeat as necessary!

[AM400]

Not the best picture to see but theswirl pot is located at the side of the chassis nearest to the pump on my 400. I assume this is the same arrangement for a 350.

http://photos.fotango.com/p/eba00372687f00000001.jpg

The plastic thing floating around will be a filter, this shouldn't be floating around!When I had my swirl pot made I used a pre pump filter instead of this gauze one. Having opened up my old swirl pot to check out the internal a filter is needed!!

Andy

[bhardy]

Will leave the internal filter out and try an outside filter. Don't think i will be able to fit the swirlpot before our trip to Wales (swirlpot is still to be made) so will have to bring jerrycans along. Anyone with older wedge (they don't have swirlpots) have problems with low fuel levels, how far can i go?

AM400, can you tell me the outside diameters of the T-piece ontop of the swirlpot?

Thanks,
Bernard

[shpub]

Please be careful as the diameter of the pipe work from the tanks has changed several times.

As for low level, wouldn't go below 1/3rd empty as the chances of fuel surge are quite high... which is waht the swirl pot was designed to stop.

[bhardy]

Thanks for the advice!

shpub said:

Please be careful as the diameter of the pipe work from the tanks has changed several times.

Going to make an exact replica so won't have a problem with that! When we took it out, we cut the T-piece of the old swirlpot and welded the returnpipe onto that. This way we could remove the swirlpot and still have a good fuel supply.

shpub said:

As for low level, wouldn't go below 1/3rd empty as the chances of fuel surge are quite high... which is waht the swirl pot was designed to stop.

I've taken my car to the continental meeting and had two 10 litre jerrycans which i'm also bringing to wales. Will be filling her up quite a lot but if that does the job then i'm happy! Will fit the new one when i get back ofcourse.

I hope that i can go till half a tank before i fill her on the motorway and indeed 1/3 on the small roads. What do you recon? Just fitted a new fuelpump which i hope to keep in good shape...

ps. AM400 that looks superb on the photo, is your whole wedge as nice?


>> Edited by bhardy on Monday 23 August 20:21

[rus wood]

Running out of fuel may cost you money so be very careful. All the fuel pump failures I have heard of have followed within a couple of weeks of an empty pump.
The fuel is needed to cool and lubricate the pump that it runs through.
So be careful not to run out.

Russ

[AM400]

bhardy said:

ps. AM400 that looks superb on the photo, is your whole wedge as nice?

Thanks, still got some jobs to do but its getting there.

I could measure the T on my original swirl pot but as Shpub said its not worth the risk with the varying designs used.

Hope you get it sorted

Andy