Re: Fuel door lock.

["Khan M. Klatt" <kmk@pacificrim.net>]

Adam, I'm cc'ing this message to the GLX list to see if anyone had any
comments...

Adam Liss wrote:
> Khan - Have just completed retrofitting a gas tank lock onto my '97 Jetta
>GLX.
>I was inspired
> by the instructions you posted.  I had to buy the valve from VW as there are
>no good salvage yards
>in the NYC (Brooklyn) area.  I removed the old plastic tee and replaced it
>with
>a rubber one;
>no need for heating the tubing this way.  My question is: does your fuel door
>lock tightly, or
>is there some play.  Mine opens approximately 1/4 inch, because the
>position of
>the valve
>mount causes the lock rod to enter the grommet at an angle.  This is okay,
>but
>I was wondering
>if you had this same situation or if you had done something to change it.
>Thanks for reading this
>long message, and thanks in advance for your advice.   Adam

Yes, there is a quarter inch or so of 'give' when the door is locked. I
think this is the behavior even in cars that had the pin built-in to the
vacuum lock mechanism, although you can ask on the list to make sure.

This give exists because of the large diameter in the hole on the door or
because the thin diameter on the pin. If they were closer in size, there
would be less give. There must be some leeway, as the locking mechanism is
not a precision engineered piece (as say the cylinders in your engine that
are machined to be within hundredths of an inch away from touching the bore
of the engine).

So, yes, you can expect a little give. If the system had been designed with
less 'give' the mechanism may have been less reliable.

You may be able to jimmy or bend the pin so that it points back further
towards the car to try to get a snugger fit, but again, any of this type of
work may make the mechanism less reliable, and may misfire the pin into the
locking brace on the door as opposed to cleanly into the hole. This would
be seen by me, and I'm sure Dr. Ruth, to be "a bad thing". In general,
while some people complain about how loose the hole is, they don't try to
bend their pins one way or the other for a tighter fit. The size of your
pin is average, don't feel self-conscious about it. Making the hole smaller
isn't really easily doable, and may end up damaging it. :)

Sorry, couldn't resist the sexual innuendo.

- -Khan