The gas tank is in and the evaporative fume recapture hoses are replaced, although the latter was not done exactly per factory.
The tank didn't come out of the car easily, rather like a stubborn molar at the dentist, being located in close quarters and making graunching noises as it yielded. Therefore, I suppose it was somewhat naiive to expect it to go back in with relative ease.
Aircraft-spec foam kindly provided by fellow New Englander pfarrah. Thanks Patrick.
This morning I invested half an hour to stretch my decidely non-limber self prior to heading down to the garage, with the proverbial
fresh set of eyes and a desire to not be impeded by something that on the face of it, looks so simple. I removed the tank from where I'd left it yesterday and gave it and its destination a good look over.
One thing did stand out, a bent corner of the tank's joining flange with some paint chipped off as a witness mark.
Feeling optimistic and atypically elastic, I thought to myself,
"There it is ... the smoking gun ... this should be easy now." Well, pride go-eth before the fall and no, straightening that bent flange with a hammer and dolly did not yield an easy reinstallation. What did apparently work was, I suppose, a more iterative approach to pushing and prodding it into place, working out where in the Up and Forward directions it was hanging up, and using lengths of 2X4 as levers and fulcrums to apply further coercion. It did not end in any sort of satisfying falling into place, but I had a similar (<1/4") gap between it and the leading face of the spare tire well, and the straps' fit looked right. The location of the sending unit within the hole in the trunk floor was better so I called it done.
While waiting for the tank, I'd been working out how to replace the evaporative vapor collection/routing hoses; two of them look like they'd be regular sections of braided metric fuel line but annoyingly are not. Take the hose that goes from the rearmost (clear plastic) of the two one-way valves by the fuel filler, to connect with a metal pipe, just behind the left rear wheelwell, which heads off up front to inlet manifold vacuum. This hose looks like 5mm ID hose, BUT at the end that fits onto the one-way valve, it's mouth is 10mm ID. AND...it looks like you if you could find it new, it'll set you back about $60. Since this hose will be carrying vapors - agreed, not to be toyed with - but not liquids, I modified some 5mm ID hose with a small section of 10mm fitted (more like, tightly shoved) on its end, with some RTV to seal/glue it, and wrapped in cloth tape and zip ties to keep it all together and, hopefully, adequately fume-proof.
The original hose holds this shape by itself; the replacement is being held into the U-shape by my finger.
I did the same for another hose which goes from the aluminum filler neck to the little plastic evap tank mounted above it in the C-Pillar, which also had different diameter ends (and is NLA).
The last one I re-jiggered was the connector between the two one way valves, a 5" long 7mm ID molded U-shaped hose; the molding is to allow for the 90 degree elbows at each end in a compact amount of space. I used regular 7mm braided hose but had to use more length to allow for a gentle enough curve to preclude kinking.
Photos of this area not oriented properly.
This in turn meant I needed to re-route it and reposition the two one way valves a little. I hope it still fits underneath the glued-and-screwed black steel cover, and it would not pass Pebble Beach scrutiny, BUT all the hoses are fresh and everything seems tight (a smoke machine test might be wise, thinking as I write...)
You may also observe that while I used some original Norma hose clamps, I also deployed a couple of American, non-rolled edge NAPA items. Yes, I did. They were on hand and they fit. (Some folks find these too declasse.)
You wouldn't know it by looking, but I had every bit of four or five hours in these vent hoses. But that's why I took on this project: to have something satisfying to do.
John