Years back I bought a used Diesel Rabbit. Ran great, but after a few days I noticed that the fuel gauge didn't work and when I made a left turn the engine stumbled and lost power. Called the dealer I bought it from and they ordered a new fuel tank sensor/pickup. I volunteered to replace the unit myself (easy, inspection plate in the trunk, 5 or 6 screws, turn the lock ring, unplug the wires and lift the unit out).
Upon lifting the unit out I shone a light in the tank to see how much fuel I had. There was a half tank, about 5 gallons, but in the low part of the tank was this brown/green blob, looked like spoiled liver, that moved if you shook the car.
I drained the tank and used paper towels to remove the blob. It was algae, which was new to me. I cleaned the tank, blew out the lines, replaced the sending unit and fuel filter and ran that diesel Rabbit for another 200K before I sold it. It seem that when I made a turn, the blob covered the fuel inlet sock, cutting off fuel supply. The "blob" was over 1 quart in volume.
Upon lifting the unit out I shone a light in the tank to see how much fuel I had. There was a half tank, about 5 gallons, but in the low part of the tank was this brown/green blob, looked like spoiled liver, that moved if you shook the car.
I drained the tank and used paper towels to remove the blob. It was algae, which was new to me. I cleaned the tank, blew out the lines, replaced the sending unit and fuel filter and ran that diesel Rabbit for another 200K before I sold it. It seem that when I made a turn, the blob covered the fuel inlet sock, cutting off fuel supply. The "blob" was over 1 quart in volume.
