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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The tank is drained…

Now that the tank is drained, it is time to get back to those 8mm nuts we sprayed with penetrating oil earlier. Find your 8mm, hopefully 6 point socket and get onto these nuts carefully.

If they come off easy that’s great, consider yourself lucky. What you have to remember is these nuts are attached to some 5mm studs that come through the trunk wall and breaking them off is just going to make a great deal of work for you later.

If they give some resistance, then you want to loosen them slightly, then slightly tighten them again. Spray some more penetrating oil on them, and repeat the process.

Take your time and they should all come off without snapping on you. The key is not to put so much resistance on them that they snap. When you feel them giving a bit of resistance back off and slightly tighten them to release the resistance. Remember it does not take much to break a 5mm shaft on a bolt.

OK, the nuts are off…

Once these are off and you have removed the gravel shield, you will notice that there is a short length of rubber hose that the filler neck attaches to before it connects to the actual neck of the gas tank on its way through the frame.

Here you will notice some clamps. You want to remove them. If they are original strapping clamps it is easiest to cut them off with your wire cutters, or equivalent.

Up close to the cap, or fill end, of the fuel filler neck you will notice a vent tube. On later models there was a charcoal canister attached into this vent. Carefully disconnect things and be sure you inspect all the tubing and hoses for splits and leaks. This is an easier time to replace them than when you have a full tank of fuel.

The clamps are off…

Once all the clamps are off and you have popped out the rubber surround from around the filler cap, you want to wiggle the filler neck loose from the rubber hose that connects it to the tank. Once this is done, carefully pull the rubber hose off of the tank spout.

This piece can get very hard with age, and is often prone to splitting. I have had the best luck with replacing it with 2″ inside diameter fuel hose from my local auto parts store such as NAPA. I also understand that recently a reproduction of this piece has become available. Here in the states it can be found at: Brad Nauss Automotive. You can contact him at: citparts@aol.com

Now for the straps…

Now you want to move back into the car. You will notice two straps that hold the tank down. At the front of the fuel tank compartment there are screws that hold these straps down.

Loosen the screws enough to unhook the straps at the front. Now remove the back end of the strap where it hooks into the frame.

This can be sort of tricky and you might have to use a large flat bladed screw driver and nudge the tank forward a bit in the compartment in order to get these ends out. Push between the back of the gas tank compartment wall and the flange on the fuel tank.

Around the sides of the gas tank, you will notice pieces of molded rubber tubing that are secured with a metal tab holding the rubber tubing against the flange that runs around the fuel tank.

These help to keep the tank from moving around in this compartment, along with the straps you just removed. Take your screw driver and get under the tabs and bring them up toward you and flatten them out against the wall of the fuel compartment so that the rubber tubing can be removed.

This is very important…

Flattening these tabs up against the walls of the fuel compartment is very important, because when you reinstall the tank unless this is done the flange on the tank will catch these tabs and make them impossible to retrieve unless you pull the tank out and flatten them out again.

I know I am going into great detail on this whole project, but believe me I have taken quite a few of these tanks in and out in my time and there are a lot of pitfalls that I have personally been through that I want you to avoid if at all possible.

This part stinks…

Now, we get to my least favorite part of removing the D Model fuel tank and the part that you have to be very careful with. On that right side of the car you will notice a panel that closes off the door sill from the rocker panel.

If this is a Pallas D Model it will be a stainless or aluminum, two piece, attached together strip that runs the length under the door sills and cuts at a 45 degree angle from the bottom rocker edge of the Citroen and is attached to the under edge of the door sill with quite a few screws.

If this not a Pallas model Citroen, then there will be two tapered panels up under this sill closing off the area between the sill and rocker and each panel is held on by several screws. Remove the panels and place them off to the side were you won’t step on them.

Do you see the two hoses…

Looking back into the fuel tank compartment you will see two hoses that go into the front right corner of the tank. One you will notice is a vent tube. Remove the clamp and pull it free from the stand tube where it connects to the tank.

Now comes the fun part. Look under the sill that you have just exposed. You will notice the fuel line comes through the wall of the fuel tank compartment and runs up the side of the car toward the engine compartment.

There should be a small clamp that holds the line against the wall just a few inches forward of where it comes through from the gas tank compartment. There is an 8mm headed bolt holding the clamp. Remove the bolt and remove the clamp from the line. (very important!)

Now, back into the fuel tank compartment. Notice that fuel hose that you saw running up the side of the car just a minute ago.

It is made of an old type of vinyl called Rislan. It can be very brittle and you will have to exercise great care with it not to put a kink in it or it can split. This hose as it comes through the wall of the fuel tank compartment runs through a larger diameter rubber hose.

This rubber hose is attached to the metal stand pipe on the fuel tank. Then the Rislan hose continues down into the fuel tank and goes down into the tank, out of the curved stand pipe and into the center of those washers/discs filter that I spoke of in an earlier article.

Please be gentle…

Now here is were you are going to use some “gentle strength.” What I mean is, you will have to gently pull that fuel line out of the fuel tank stand tube without putting a kink in that Rislan tubing.

I usually begin by putting on a pair of leather gloves and grabbing that rubber hose that attaches to the tank stand pipe and getting a good grip, pull on it. Now, what you will be doing is pulling the whole thing out and through the wall of the fuel tank compartment.

You may find that some lubricant, such as spray silicone, will work best here… sprayed on the rubber grommets that go through the fuel tank compartment wall to allow the rubber hose to slide more easily through the fuel tank wall.

Sometimes if I have one that is really stubborn and does not want to move, I have been known to put some flat billed pliers on the rubber hose and use the inside top edge of the fuel tank compartment as a leverage point to get the hose to start to come up out of the fuel tank and come out the hole of the wall through to the outside of the car.

Remember that clamp…

Remember how I said to remove that clamp on the outside wall and how it was important. Well, here is where you will have to get your hand up in between the sill and side of the car and pull on that rubber hose, and if you did not remove that clamp, you would put a kink in the rislan hose potentially causing it to split and leak.

Once you have pulled the fuel pick up hose completely through the wall of the fuel tank compartment and have its end out under the sill, you can start to take the fuel tank out of the car.

Make sure that the pick up wire for the fuel sender unit is out of the way. I sometimes will wrap tape around it to protect it from getting cut by the flange of the fuel tank as it is removed.

One thing you will want to do at this point is to find a suitable plug to put into the filler neck on the tank before you start to remove it, just in case there is any residual fuel still in the tank. This way it won’t spill out when we have to tilt the tank to lift it out of its compartment.

OK, it’s coming out…

Now, you want to get your large flat blade screw driver and get it between the front wall of the fuel tank compartment and the front flange of the fuel tank. Pry back on the tank to move it as far back into the compartment as you can.

This is to avoid a clearance problem with the two hooks in the front of the compartment where the straps were attached.

Now that you have done this, watch your fingers for pinch points and lift the front of the tank up so that it is high enough to slide it forward and the the neck of the tank back in the passenger side corner will clear the hole in the frame and allow the tank to be removed from the D Model.

It’s finally out…

At this time we can put the tank on the bench, plug up or tape up the various holes in the tank, and lets talk about what we want to do with the tank.

Next time…

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Ready to drain the tank…

Now that you have the D Model safely up on jack stands and everything is stable it is time to proceed with draining the tank of the D Model. (I will first explain this for a sedan, and then come back with the few things that are different for the wagon)

With the Citroen up on its jack stands, you can remove the lug nuts on that right rear wheel the rest of the way, and remove and put the wheel out of the way, or slide it under the car for additional safety.

As you look at the inner fender with the wheel removed you will notice the route of the fuel filler neck as it travels down the inner fender liner/trunk wall on it’s way to the gas tank which is located under the rear passenger seat.

Don’t forget to get some good penetrant…

Find some good quality spray penetrant, and spray the 8mm nuts that attach the hold down straps for this fuel filler neck to the inner fender liner/trunk wall. These buggers are constantly being bathed in road grime splashing up from the wheel and can often be very rusty and prone to snap off when you attempt to remove them. We don’t want that to happen if at all possible.

You also want to spray the penetrant on the 8mm nuts that hold down what we call the “gravel shield” This is the sheet metal cover that you will see down in the corner of the fender liner covering the fuel filler neck as it goes into the unitized frame of the Citroen on it’s way to the fuel tank. Spray all of these nuts heavily, and we will get back to them in a bit after that penetrant has had a chance to soak in.

Take out the seat…

Next go around and open the rear door on the driver’s side of the D Model so that both rear doors are open. While you are over there reach down and put your hand under the front edge of the rear seat cushion and lift up. Go around to the other side of the Citroen and do the same thing, giving the seat cushion a lift up.

This will free the rear cushion off of the plastic plug type pins that hold it in place and you can then lift the front edge of the seat up and lift it out of the Citroen and put it in a safe place. Next you want to remove the rear back cushion. For this you will need to remove two bolts. One on each side. Feel your hand at the two bottom back corners and you should find two 8mm bolts with 11mm, or 12mm heads depending on the vintage of your D Model.

Take your open end wrench of the correct size and remove these two bolts. It’s tight under there and you will probably only be able to get a portion of a turn at a time, but be patient. (Here is where you will find out how many of the bolts found on Citroens are much longer then they need to be).

Once these bolts are out, you want to lift up on one corner, then go around to the other side and lift up on that corner. What you will find is that the top of the seat is held in place by two hooks on each side that hook the top of the seat to the rear window, or speaker ledge. Free the top of the seat from these two sockets and remove it from the D Model.

There’s the tank cover plate…

With the seat completely removed you can see into the trunk area. You will also notice a cover plate that was under the rear seat cushion and covers the fuel tank compartment. First, remove the seat belts if the car has them. A 5/8″, or 17mm should fit these. Once those are removed, remove the rest of the 11mm or 12mm headed bolts that hold this cover plate down.

Once these are removed pull up on the back side of the plate. You will notice that it is stuck down a bit, but it should hinge up toward the front. Once you do this carefully slide it out of its hinge and out of the car. You are now looking at the fuel tank!!! This can also be a favorite area in D Models for mice to make nests, so if you see any evidence of them put on a face mask so that you aren’t breathing in anything they may have left behind.

Now it is time to drain the gas tank. Hopefully there is not too much fuel in there, but we have to be prepared. Full, the tank holds a little over 15 gallons, so have enough cans and pans to accomidate this amount. Surprises are a pain when you are draining a gas tank and don’t have enough containers for everything.

You don’t need any surprizes…

If the tank is pretty full you will want to pump some out from the top first. In the center top of the tank toward the front you will notice a round gizmo with a triangular top that raises up on it and a wire that plugs into it. This is the fuel level sending unit and you want to remove it. Unplug the wire and put it to the side, out of the way.

You will notice two brass screws in the top of the unit, remove them. Now, carefully pull up on the unit. There is a float attached to it with a wire arm that travels off to the side, so be careful as you remove it so that you take this into consideration. You will have to give the unit a twist so that you can get the float out. Go slow, you will see what I am talking about.

Once removed you can look down into the tank with a flash light and see how full it is. This is where you can use that siphon if it has a good bit of fuel in it. Siphon the fuel into the empty fuel cans that you have.

Once you can’t siphon any more, look under the D Model. Here you should find two brass plugs. The one on the passenger side has a 21mm head and the one on the drivers side has a 12mm head.

Remember, they’re BRASS…

Remember, I said brass. They are soft and prone to rounding off so make sure you use a six point socket on them. Get a couple of large oil drain pans and put them under these drain plugs. Find some suitable rubber gloves for your hands and carefully start to remove the 12 mm one that is on the drivers side. Let it drain out and when it pretty much slows down to a trickle, come over to the passenger side.

Now this one has a very shallow head on it, so take care with that six point socket so that you stay square on the head and don’t round it off. Remove the plug and try not to let gas run up your arm to your arm pit, cause it’s not much fun. Finish draining the tank and put the fuel into the proper gas cans, seal them up, and store them in the proper manner.

Next time we will be removing the D Model Gas tank from the car so stay tuned…

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