[Inevitability]

Hello there!
I'm new here... I've had my non-runner Zafira Z22YH for about a year now and I've been working on getting it fixed
To cut the long story short, I wanna drop my fuel tank so I can clean it out... I suspect there's some nasty stuff in there.
Most "how to" tutorials for other cars show the step where you remove the fuel pump first, from some kind of access point under the rear seat.
So I moved the rear bench seat around at the back of my Zafira and I can't find any kind of flap to check under... I'm nervous to rip out any carpets looking for the pump in the wrong place.
Can anyone please tell me where to look?
Thanks!

 

[Geordieric]

You must be reading Astra tutorials.
No access panels as far as I know on the zaf.

Drop it from underneath. Ain’t hard tbh if you have supports or extra people to take the weight when undoing the straps

 

[Inevitability]

Shot! That's a huge help.

 

[Geordieric]

If a fuel problem if i remember right the seals used to go on the pump.
When you are searching you may find more info searching pretending it’s a vectra.
That engine was highly used in the vectra c and loads of people played fixing up those cars.

 

[Inevitability]

I have the infamous high pressure fuel pump issue. Its the rubber diaphragms inside the pump that get damaged and then it can't generate the fuel pressure anymore.
Problem is that it's difficult to get a replacement pump at a decent price here.
I did fix the pump using a repair kit, and it worked fine until the next diaphragm got a hole in it..when i took the pump apart and washed it out, i noticed some debris in places where there should be nothing but oil and petrol. ... So that's probably what's destroying the diaphragms
I wanna drop the tank, clean everything out and see what I get out of it.
Then assemble the pump again with another new diaphragm and see where that gets me

 

[Geordieric]

If there is debris in there. Work out what it is. Could be the pump breaking up and will just cause the same problem. Or could be rust in tank?
Not sure if or where a fuel filter is on it.
You could fit your own in line fuel filter if needed.

 

[Inevitability]

You packed a lot in there!
Great stuff... will keep all that in mind (...and probably come read that post again a few more times to make sure I've done all of it)

 

[Inevitability]

OK, so very slow progress on my side, but i did find this MAGIC trick to empty the tank before I try and drop it. Now that it's empty it's gonna be so much easier to handle when I try to drop it.
YouTubers are lifesavers!
Hopefully someone else will come across this and it will also save them from trying to drop a heavy tank of fuel.

 

[Inevitability]

fuel relay location for the above trick...

 

[Inevitability]

Ok, I'm stuck now
The tank is off, but I'm finding it impossible to get this pump out from inside the tank
So take a look at the video below... Its the closest i could find to my situation.
There's some kind of "module" that houses the pump inside the tank and its got clips holding it in place and I don't have the special tool to release those clips
Any ideas would be most welcome.
Tried using screwdrivers but they don't fit in to release the clips.

 

[Inevitability]

Lots of finger and arm scratches later... and it's out.
Dunno why they make this so difficult
Next step ... Proper cleanout of everything

 

[Geordieric]

Enjoy.
Once done put some bio agent in to kill any bugs left.
Then change fuel filter after tank ran thru

 

[Zdeano]

“Once done put some bio agent in to kill any bugs left”…
…. Do you have any suggestions and is it possible to clean if suspected by pouring something )treatment) in the fuel tank without dropping it… thznks in advance