Sorry for the tardiness of this entry, but I was ill for a couple of weeks. So here goes:

Now that the tank is in place and you have not caught the tabs on the walls of the tank compartment with the outer flange of the D Model gas tank, it is time to hook things up. Let’s start with the hard one, and that is the fuel pick up line.

This can be tough…

If you remember, the fuel pick-up line was pulled out of the tank and through the sidewall of the tank compartment, and left out of the way up against the outside frame of the D model.

Now with the tank in place, it’s time to bring the fuel line back through the sidewall and start to feed it back down the standpipe in the front right corner of the tank that it came out of.

But first…

But first, you might have noticed the two rubber grommets in the sidewalls where the line comes through. Well, you want to make sure they are in place and have not popped out of place.

A good idea is to coat a little bit of rubber lubricant like silicone to lube up these two grommets and allow the larger diameter rubber hose that the smaller diameter Rislan hose runs through to easily slip through also. You will see what I mean.

Start the fuel hose through the wall and start it down the standpipe. This always ends up being the most difficult part of the project, because you have to get the hose all the way to the bottom of the tank or you will be short sticking yourself and run out of fuel before your tank is empty.

Don’t kink it…

The fit is tight and you will have to carefully push on the line without putting a kink in it.

Now to add to things, you will notice as the line starts to go down the stand pipe tube the larger diameter rubber hose that the smaller diameter Rislan hose runs through needs to be centered and carefully brought through the wall and through the lubed up grommets without disturbing them.

This can be a challenge…

Now, once the fuel line is down the standpipe far enough for the rubber hose to be through the wall, you want to grab a flashlight and get a view up through that 22mm drain plug hole.

You should notice that standpipe that the gas line is being fed through and that the standpipe does not go all the way to the bottom of the tank.

Grab those pliers…

This is where you want to find a pair of needle nose pliers and reach up through the drain hole and carefully grab hold of the end of the fuel pick up hose, if there is enough of it through the end of the stand pipe to be able to grab. Then pull down on it to help it along. Move back up to the tank compartment and help the line down the pipe and then get back under the car and pull on the line again.

Once you have the hose to the point where the larger diameter rubber hose is up against the end of the standpipe you want to get another pair of pliers that can give you some leverage and grab hold of the rubber hose and help it back onto the end of the stand pipe.

Are we having fun yet…

It will get difficult at this point, but remember the rubber hose is tightly bonded to the Rislan hose and must be completely onto the standpipe and up against the tank before the fuel line is at the bottom of the tank where you want it.

OK, the worst is over…

Well, believe it or not the worst is over, and at this point you are probably going to want a cool one or at least a change of shirts if you are working in the summer months.

But we aren’t done yet…

Next you want to take the vent tube for the D model gas tank and put it back onto the standpipe where it belongs. Now there are original clamps that are available for these hoses, but I would tend to go with a screw tighten high gear clamp for these. Clamp them down tight.

Next thing to put back in is the fuel level sending unit. Make sure the rubber gasket is clean and in good shape. Apply a little bit of sealer onto the gasket before you put the unit back into the tank. Brass screws are used to hold this unit down so make sure you use the correct type and size screw driver, and don’t cross thread the screws or mess up the heads when you tighten them up.

Plug the electric wire back onto the unit.

Gather up the two straps that hold the tank in place. Find that large flat bladed screwdriver again. Wedge it between the back wall of the fuel tank compartment and push the tank as far forward in the compartment as it will go.

Now slip the back double U ends of the hold down straps into the two holds on each side of the back of the tank compartment where they fit. Now with those ends in place, move with the screwdriver to the front of the gas tank compartment and move the tank back as far as it will go.

I said as far back as it will go…

With the front screws in place on the front of the straps, slip the loop that the screws thread into over the tab on the front wall of the compartment. Start to tighten the straps down, but first move the tank once again a little towards the front of the compartment to centralize it.

Gather up the rubber hose-like pieces that go around the outer edge of the tank up against the walls. Put them in place and bend those tabs back over them to hold them in place.

With the tank in place, move back to the fuel filler neck as it comes through the frame wall. Lube it up with some light oil and slide the rubber hose that connects the filler extension neck to the tank.

Once you have it on, lube up the filler extension neck and slide it into the rubber connecting hose.

Here once again you can use the original hose clamps or replace them with the proper size gear clamps. Replace the fasteners holding down the extension neck to the trunk wall.

OK, back under the car…

Move to the underside of the car and replace first the 12mm drain plug with its gasket and tighten it up.

Now here is where you are going to make a decision; I usually don’t replace the stacked washer type fuel filter back into the bottom of the tank. I choose to add a good replaceable filter up in the engine compartment.

The choice is yours, but…
If you chose to put it back into the tank, then carefully slide it up onto the fuel pick up line that should be right at the bottom of the tank. Now, screw on the 22mm plug with its gasket and tighten it up.

Go back over the whole tank installation and make sure all hoses and gaskets are in place and that everything is tight.

Now, we have not closed up the tank compartment and that is because we are going to see if there are any leaks anywhere.

Check for those leaks NOW…

This is a better time to find out them when everything is closed up, or when you have some close relatives in the car and decide to fill the tank up for the first time.

So that’s what we are going to do right now.

After you’re sure that everything is good and tight and sealed up, remember those proper fuel cans I told you to have on hand to drain the tank?

Please do the right thing…

Well, if that gas was bad which I assume it was, then dispose of it in the proper manner at a local oil waste station or find out who will take it. Please do the right thing here and dispose of it properly and not on the neighbors fence.

Now that you have taken care of that chore, you want to go to a gas station and get some fresh gas. You will need about 17 gallons to be on the safe side and fill the tank completely.

Yep, that is what you are going to want to do, fill that puppy right up to the fill cap and then set back and see if anything leaks.

Make sure you have the car parked in a well-ventilated area with no chance of any ignition points. Leave the car like this for several hours. I have been known to leave it like this over night.

No leaks? Great!!!

Now you can put the rest of the car back together. Put that clamp back onto the fuel pick up line on the sidewall on the outside of the frame. Put the frame covers back on. Put the gravel shield that covers the fuel filler neck where it connects to the extension back on. Replace the D Model’s rear fender. Replace the lid that covers the top of the fuel tank compartment. Replace the back seat back cushion and bottom cushion.

Take the Citroen D model for a ride and enjoy!!!

Now about the Citroen D Model Wagon, also known as the Safari or Break…

I told you I would explain the differences with the wagon at the end of this article so here they are:

The wagon or Safari / Break model that was available in the USA, was the standard model and not the familiale. I will therefore explain the standard model in this case.

The wagons back seat is a little more involved to remove then the sedan. The seat cushion that hinges forward will need to be removed at the hinges, and this means unscrewing them and then picking up and removing the seat from the D model.

Once that is removed, you will notice there are ends covers on each side that need to be removed. Here you will have 8mm headed bolts and 11 or 12mm headed bolts depending on the vintage of the car.

Once these sides are removed you want to remove the front panel that the seat hinged forward on. These will be 8mm headed bolts. Now you need to move to the back cushion of the seat.

Fold it forward and take notice of the bolts that will have to be removed here. As you can see, the D Model wagon in our market had two small jump seats in the rear compartment. They fold up out of the floor.

The first one, closest to the front of the car, attached on the right side of the compartment, will need to be removed, as will the fold down cover panel that is across from it on the left side of the compartment. These can be removed by unscrewing the 8mm headed bolts holding them in.

After these are removed, you will see some additional 8mm headed bolts to be removed on that back seat panel. Hidden down two round access holes, you will find two 11 or 12mm headed bolts that will need to be removed also.

Once all these fasteners are taken out, the rear seat back of the D Model wagon can be removed.

At this point you will see that the gas tank compartment lid removal is the same as the sedan.

The rear fender on the wagon is also a little different to remove.

Under the rear taillight cluster you will find a small red reflector. Two screws hold it in place. Remove the screws and remove the reflector. This will expose a 14mm headed bolt that will need to be removed to take off the rear fender.

As with the sedan open the right rear door of the Citroen. Pick up on the rear of the fender and pull it away slightly from the body of the D Model. Now reach down between the body of the Citroen and the fender and disconnect the wires that connect to the taillights.

Once this is done, continue to pick up on the rear of the fender and once it clears the back rubber bumper guard, start to pull it back and off of the two front pins that hold it on to the C pillar of the Citroen.

From there on the D Model wagon will be the same as the sedan to remove and reinstall the gas tank.

Please leave your comments on this blog in the box below and let me know if it helped you in any way. I appreciate it.

Good luck and stay safe!!!

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