Ventectomy gone awry?

vw4life

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2001
Location
New West, BC, Canada
TDI
2014 Touareg TDI
Hmmm, yah. So I was pushing that little bugger everyone says is so stiff and it busts off and rattles down fuel filler neck into the tank. OK, it could be worse. I don't suppose it will cause any harm down there...

My bigger question is did I complete the venectomy? Is my tank vented now or not? The car is so new to me I don't have any idea how much fuel should be going in at any stage of the needle.

Funny thing is that my buddy showed me his vent mechanism that was removed and the part I saw swirl down into the tank looked to be only half of that- the lever part. Parhaps the flapper part is still in the vent assembly? I dunno.

I fished around with L-angle hex keys to see what I could feel in there. Nothing appeared to be spring loaded anymore...

At that point I had used 3/8 of a tank- I filled up to the brim with 31.7 L - thats 8.4 g for some of you. So, assuming a 2 gal vent capacity, I think that I filled the vent- unless the top of the tank IS much bigger than the bottom disregarding vent space. However, my passat fuel guage appears to be more steady than my Golf. So my feeling is that it is vented. But it sucks to be unsure.

Any words of wisdom for me?

A suggestion for all who might attempt this. Stuff a big rag down your filler neck before you start a ventectomy. That way you will be sure not to drop anything down there.
 

TDI_Jeffster

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
Location
Winterville, NC
TDI
2004 Passat, Black
I feel your pain. I did the same thing last year!! So far, no problems. And no, you didn't complete the ventectomy. What I didn't understand at the time is you're not supposed to push it down (towards the gas tank) but back (towards the rear of the vehicle.

And you are correct, the piece that broke off is just the lever piece. The rest of the device is still installed in place.

Jeff
 

bigEZ

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2005
Location
out there
TDI
2013 Jetta Sportwagen; 2006 New Beetle
did you check this out and follow it?

http://pics2.tdiclub.com/gwillie/VW/ventectomy/index.htm

you remove the tab button, the black ring and the spring. the white part goes back (or stays in).

when i did mine, i could not get the vent out either, so i ended up just pulling the button out with pliers. luckily, i was able to keep the pieces out of the tank.

when you fill up now, the pump will still cut off before it is full, but the tank will automatically vent itself, as opposed to your having to push the vent button. you can fill the tank all the way up until you see the fuel (not foam) in the filler neck.
 

vw4life

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2001
Location
New West, BC, Canada
TDI
2014 Touareg TDI
OK - I did it! When we first tried I had viewed the photos several times- but we went to do it we didn't have the reference and couldn't find the release tab.

As some others did, I put a large allan key in vice grips and while pressing the release it poped out.

I can see how it really can be a 1 minute job.

Ventectomy tips for total newbies:

1.) View photos thoroughly, don't operate from memory.
2.) ensure you can locate step #7 in the photos and do that. I just jammed a small flat head in there so I didn't have to hold it.
3.) stuff something down your filler neck to plug it just in case.
4.) spray in some WD40
5.) push

maybe when I have a low tank of fuel I will pop the top off the tank and try to find the bit that slide down.

Now, I can't wait to fill up again. Got to wait 1000 km.
 
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dbranson

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Location
Ballwin, MO
TDI
6/15/2011 - 2000 Jetta TDI 5-spd
Thanks for the excellent how-to with links to the pics! I did a ventectomy on my 2000 Jetta tonight, filled up, and got an extra 2 gallons in. So cool. I'm a software guy, and even for me it was easy. Normally, I would expect a mod like this to cause the left front tire to leak or something, but not this time. ;)
 

Dean

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 Passat TDI(Sold)
Old thread is old, but you're supposed to pull the knob thingy towards you, not push it.
 

dbranson

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Location
Ballwin, MO
TDI
6/15/2011 - 2000 Jetta TDI 5-spd
Old thread is old, but you're supposed to pull the knob thingy towards you, not push it.
It's true it's old, just happened to be the first one with pictures that I stumbled across when I searched for ventectomy. Once the white plunger is out of the car, it's easy from there, even if the push/pull guidance is awry. ;)
 
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