So I just had the joy of replacing the rusted gas tank on my '93 245. Christmas joy. Other than the working outside in the freezing cold, the absolute worst part of the job was connecting that damned V band clamp at the fuel filler neck pipe/tank junction. This has got to be one of the worst designed components on the 240 series. I normally consider myself a fairly competent shade tree mechanic, but I spend almost 4 hours fiddling with this damned clamp before I finally got it installed in a proper and hopefully leak proof configuration. My final solution was unbolting and dropping the tank slightly, supporting it with a jack, and removing the shock and the bump stop on the passenger side to get access. I then fitted the clamp, and after many attempt s was finally able to fit and tighten the 10mm bolt. Inspection of all sides with a mirror releaved that it appeared to be properly seated, securing the O-ring between the mating surfaces. I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I fill it up with fuel. God help me if it leaks.

I did at first try installing the tank with the filler pipe attached. Working off ramps in my driveway, I couldn't get the tank aligned properly to get the filler pipe positioned in the fuel door opening.

Am I missing something here? Is there an easier way or an alternative to this damned V band clamp?

Nothing else about this job was really hard. Even removing the very rusty sender lockring from my old tank was a breeze by comparison.