RE: 5000 fuel pump clog

[QSHIPQ@aol.com]

Leif writes
> Anyone have any experience with this?  Is it possible to clean the tank
> without removing it?  From the Bentley it looks like the exhaust,
> drive-shaft, rear differential, brake cables, etc. have to be removed in
> order to drop the tank.  Sure would like to find an easier solution.> 
> Any BTDT or great ideas on how to best handle this.  Other then repainting
> due to the clear coat peeling, the car purred nicely before the fuel pump
> became clogged.

BTDT many times.  The TSB addresses the coating in the tank which degrades 
causing a sandy looking residue in the tank which clogs the screen on the 
bottom of the fuel pump.  The fix is to cut the screen off the bottom of the 
pump.  Although this might seem risky, do understand that it's a redundant 
screen, the pump itself has a large filter screen aound the plastic mounting 
flange in the tank. 

Do not drop the tank.  Best fix is to run the car with some techron in the 
tank, and change the FF and the oil after about 1000 miles.  BTDT on removing 
the silt, you just can't get it all, and after doing that clean up, you will 
find more silt in the tank within a day, btdt.  I've done this TSB on many 
5000 cars, and have had zero problems since, on any of them.  The TSB only 
addresses the screen (be anal about getting off the metal spurs, btw), it 
doesn't address the silt, you don't need to.  What I found is that for a 
couple of tanks the car idles rough (could have been the techron for that 
matter), then the symptoms (and the multiple dips in benzine) become another 
forgotten quattro bad dream.

HTH

Scott Justusson
QSHIPQ@aol.com