Removing the diesel fuel tank from my Avensis saloon

[Handy Andy 11]

Happy new year to all. A few weeks ago my car stopped and after receiving help from this forum I was able to determine the problem being a very dirty fuel filter. I noticed when bleeding the system the fuel was black and dirty, so today I started to remove the diesel fuel tank to clean it out. I have removed the rear seat and the pipes and electrics to the fuel gauge sender on the tank and I screwed off the exhaust and the guard. I also removed the two straps holding on the tank and let them drop down onto supports about an inch. I removed the fuel filler and vent pipe. I see two other small black pipes at the fuel filler side of the tank nearest the front of the tank. How can I remove the clips [i.e how to unclip them] to release the pipes and tank without causing any damage to them as it is a cold day here and plastic would be brittle i.e how to unclip them. Any help on how to remove fuel pipes etc. would be greatly appreciated.

[2009joe]

4 hours ago, Handy Andy 11 said:

Happy new year to all. A few weeks ago my car stopped and after receiving help from this forum I was able to determine the problem being a very dirty fuel filter. I noticed when bleeding the system the fuel was black and dirty, so today I started to remove the diesel fuel tank to clean it out. I have removed the rear seat and the pipes and electrics to the fuel gauge sender on the tank and I screwed off the exhaust and the guard. I also removed the two straps holding on the tank and let them drop down onto supports about an inch. I removed the fuel filler and vent pipe. I see two other small black pipes at the fuel filler side of the tank nearest the front of the tank. How can I remove the clips [i.e how to unclip them] to release the pipes and tank without causing any damage to them as it is a cold day here and plastic would be brittle i.e how to unclip them. Any help on how to remove fuel pipes etc. would be greatly appreciated.

was wondering when you take out the rear seat and screw off the fuel gauge is there not enough room in there to just clean it out from in there even wash it out with sopy warm water and clean it out really good as i took out my tdi fuel gauge and well was plenty of room and could get right in to clean it out 

[Stivino]

Don’t waste your time, the filter has a water trap that you can use to see the state of the fuel.  It will catch any water and the paper element will catch any dirt.

[Handy Andy 11]

Since I was last on here I removed the diesel fuel tank and cleaned out what was a very dirty, black, slimy mess what some would call algae but actually it's not, as algae needs sunlight to grow. There was quite a lot of this microbic bug which thrives in the new low sulphur bio-diesel. I had to pressure wash the inside of the fuel tank using washing up liquid and dying it out thoroughly. I blew out the fuel pipes, cleaned the fuel filter housing and put in a new fuel filter. Initially when I proposed the idea of removing and cleaning out the fuel tank to local mechanic repair shops they acted as if they had no clue what I was talking about and did not want to take on the job of cleaning out the tank etc and most said the car was for the scrapyard and later (after the tank was cleaned) one mechanic admitted that they pretend they do not know what your talking about as they hate the job and it is easier and more profitable to replace a clutch. Since removing, washing and replacing the tank the car is now running like it should and the slow starting issues I had previously been experiencing are now gone. Has anyone else experienced this diesel bug or mechanics attitude. I hope this may help someone in the future. 

[Avensis dude]

Well done for figuring it out. 

Had the same problem years ago. Diesel slugs ! 

Nobody knows / believes what you are talking about. It comes from a fungi that lives in diesel, and makes a film between the boundary of water and diesel. Older cars end up with a bit of water in the tank and the film builds up into 'slugs' that jam the strainer. 

A sure sign is the car slowing down after going up a hill. When it gets to the stage of no power at all, have a look at the priming pump (on top of the fuel filter), with the car running press down the bulb, if it gets stuck down you know the fuel is blocked.