Old Library

Hello all,

I installed the fuel filler door lock on my 98 GTI today.  Piece of cake.
Many thanks to Rob Heckel for providing the following information:

http://www.gti-club.org/gti-vr6/problem/fuel.lock.html

It was incredibly easy.  It truly can be done in 15 minutes.

Just thought I'd give my updates to this procedure:

Tools necessary:    phillips head screwdriver
                    snips (I used my trusty wire cutters)
                    Swiss Army knife

Parts necessary:    valve (comes w/2 mounting screws) 1H0862160A  ~$35
                    adapter (vacuum tubing connector) 1HM862190AC ~$3.00
                    vacuum tubing - Pep Boys - 4mm vinyl tubing   ~$3.00
                    vinyl/plastic adhesive - Pep Boys             ~$4.00

I did not need the drill for installation in my 1998 GTI, as you will see
when you read on.

I got my parts from Devon Hill VW, in Devon, PA.  Many thanks to Devon Hill,
they've been very nice to me.  I also got some scrap vacuum tubing from the
parts guy, however, I found the VW stuff VERY hard to work with and opted to
go to Pep Boys to get more rubbery tubing.  It came in a 6 foot roll, and is
5/32 inch diameter (4mm).  While 3 inches may be all you need, I likewise
used approximately 6 inches of tubing.  I also left the 2 inch piece of
yellow tubing on the adapter (although I'm not sure that it is necessary).

I did plug the adapter into the valve, and did blow and suck (on the
adapter, sick-o), and low and behold, it worked like a champ.  I also
installed mine with the rod extended, although again, I'm not sure that it
matters, but I think it is easier with the rod extended.  I actually removed
the valve adapter to do the tubing installation because it was easier to
work with.

When I pulled down the carpeting in the hatch, I found the T-shaped vacuum
connector with only 2 sides used, but the third wasn't plugged, it was
crimped.  No biggie, I just used my snips to snip off the crimped portion to
ensure airflow.  This is where you would have used the drill, thus I didn't
need it.  The valve does go between the 2 layers of sheet metal.  It's
actually very intuitive, once you look at it.  The inbound sheet metal was
all set up to receive the valve, with two notches that the valve slides
into, then you just tighten the screws.  For those of you with a Bentley
bible, refer to page 57-13, Fig 23 (although, again, it really is easy to
figure out without the manual just by looking at the car.

I did remove the rubber grommet sleeve in the fuel door area where the
locking rod would go.  I also found that the rubber grommet sleeve did not
have a hole for the rod, so I had to poke a whole with my trusty Swiss Army
knife.

After sizing everything up, I cut my 6 inch piece of vinyl tubing from the 6
foot roll that I got from Pep Boys.

At this point, I was ready to go.  I smeared some of the plastic/vinyl
adhesive on the empty connector of the T-shaped vacuum connector, then slid
on one end of the 6 inch section of vacuum tubing onto the connector.

Then, I smeared some of the plastic/vinyl adhesive on the yellow piece of
tubing on the valve adapter.  Then, I slid the other end of the tubing onto
the valve adapter.

Next, I plugged the valve adapter into the valve.  Piece of cake.

Finally, I was able to poke the rod through the hole in the fuel filler
area, got the valve in position, and tightened down the mounting screws.

Replace the rubber grommet sleeve in the fuel filler door area.  Put all the
carpet back in place, and it's ready to rock.  It works just like it should,
locks and unlocks with the car.

-----

I hope this helps others who are equally annoyed at VW removing this feature
from the vehicle.

Happy v-dubbing,
Matthew

In addition to mutilating my spiral spring this weekend, I completed the
locking fuel door modification on my 99 VR6.  I followed Rob Heckel's
instructions in the FAQ.  They were very complete.  However, there was a
slight difference on my 99 compared to his 97.

Rob describes finding the T in the vacuum line near the passenger side
tail light and drilling out the unused hole.  On my car, the unused hole
was crimped and sealed with a hot knife.  It was deformed so much, there
was no space for drilling.  Instead I clipped off the crimped portion
with my Leatherman tool.  No cigar.  The T (and all of VW's vacuum
hoses) are really brittle.  Most of the T shattered into tiny bits when
I clipped it.

Off to Pep Boys.  I replaced the T with a Vacu-tite 1/8 x 1/8 x 3/16 T.
These are white, come 2/pack, and retail at $1.49.  I bought several
feet (for good measure) of 7/64 black vacuum hose, $0.19 retail/foot.

The Vacu-tite T is slightly larger than the VW T.  The difference may
come from Metric versus standard units.  To help the VW lines onto the
new T, I sanded the sharp edges of the 1/8 barbs.  I lubed them with a
tiny bit of Joy dishwashing liquid (my Dad always taught me to use
spit... I thought that was pretty low-tech), and fought like hell to
push the VW lines on.  It is very difficult.  The VW lines are not
flexible at all.  To insure I had a good seal, I coated the joint
between the T and the VW lines with epoxy.  The 7/64 line will slide
onto the 3/16 side of the T and also onto the VW valve that Rob
describes.

Other than that, no problems.  Easy mod, good results.

Jon Maddux
99 GTI VR6 Ginster Yellow

Snip!
> Quick question - do those of you with the factory-installed locking fuel
> door have some kind of grommet around the hole in the door that the locking
> pin catches?  If not, I was thinking about adding one for a cleaner look and
> to ensure no metal-to-metal contact when the pin engages the door.
>
> Later,
>
> Luke
> '97 GTI VR6

 My 98 had the rubber grommet in place, sans the locking parts. All I needed
was the needle thing and the T fitting, and the parts guy was kind enough to
give me a 1 foot scrap of vaccuum tubing. I had no problem at all drilling
into the line, and everything has held up fine since the install last
spring.
That little grommet is probably under a buck at the parts counter; worth
getting so everything is "factory". Following the archive instructions, I
had no trouble at all. What trouble did you have with yours?
Anthony
98 Ginster 8v GTI

Hey guys,
 
i was looking thru the library and found the article about the locking
fuel door mod, but the dealer couldn't find the part numbers in his
system.  Are these the right part numbers?
 
1H0-862-160-A for the valve
1HM-862-190-AC for the t-adapter
 
thanks!
 
-Costas

I'm not 100% positive, but I don't think you even need the t-adapter...I
don't remember needing one when I did mine.  All I needed was the
actuator/valve (and that's the part number I have) and a piece of hose
to hook it up to the t adapter that's already there...my T was just
melted closed at one end, so I drilled it out (you can just snip it off
too) and VOILA!  Locking fuel door...good luck!

Fiction